The Ramsey Show - App - I Have $150k in Debt… How Do I Move Forward? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: March 3, 2023

George Kamel & Ken Coleman answer your questions and discuss: Working full-time jobs after graduation,  Dealing with a negative balance on a credit card, Tackling $150k in debt, Preparing for a layoff. Have a question for the show? Call 888-825-5225 Weekdays from 2-5pm ET Want a plan for your money? Take our FREE 3 minute assessment: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6 Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy

Девочка-пай Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Pods Moving and Storage Studio, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work they love, and create actual amazing relationships. I'm George Campbell, joined by best-selling author Ken Coleman this hour, and we are taking your calls at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. You ready to go, George? I hope so. You just finished up the Ken Coleman Show.

Yeah, I got a lot of juice right now, and I feel like you need to get your energy level up a tad. Oh, boy. Okay. Thanks, Coach Ken. Just a little bit more. A little bit more energy for these fine folks. Thank you for that. You're very, very calm because you're the quintessential professional. Underneath, it's like the duck underwater. The legs are moving.

Well, you and I always have fun together with our callers, so I'm excited. Let's do it. Let's do it. All right. Abby is kicking us off in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Abby, welcome to the show. Hi, guys. How are you doing?

Doing great. How can we help? Yeah. So I recently got married about two months ago now. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. My husband and I are both graduating from college this spring.

No debt or anything. We have about seven grand saved up, and we're looking to do a 15-month missionary program, and we're just wondering if maybe we should put it off a year and get full-time jobs and work a year and then have to leave them, or if we just do the program right away and then get full-time jobs afterwards. I am also in the military, so that would cover all of our expenses, like insurance and that stuff. But at the program, it's free room and food and that kind of thing. So there's not many expenses. Okay, I'm just curious. You're in the military full-time or in the Guard?

I mean, and how are you going to be able to take off for missions work? Yeah, I'm in the Navy Reserve, so it's just one weekend a month and then two weeks in the summer I would have my training. And you'd be able to pay your bills. I know you have no debt, but you have have plenty of money all expenses covered while you're doing this mission work correct yeah how long is it get a stipend um 15 months so it'd be this may to um august of 2024 yeah well if if i'm you i would not do the route of step into a real career move, like I'm now on the ladder that I want to be on, and do that for a year, and then all of a sudden take 15 months off.

I'm not saying that's wrong. I don't think this is a right or wrong, because you can always come back to that work too. So I want to give the other side of it. This is just my personal opinion. If I'm you, I go ahead and do it now. I think it's a great adventure. I think it's going to change your life in a positive way.

And financially, you're able to do it. I would do it now and knock that out and really be able to soak in that and have that experience. And then when you're done with that, you've got the timeline and you can plan for entering into the workforce after that mission. That's how I would do it. But I'm also quick to say, George, I don't think there's a right or a wrong here, especially because they've got financial peace to be able to do this. Yeah, you have the foundation financially.

So the decision for me, have you got this approved with the reserves? Yes. Are they cool with you being gone for 15 months? Correct. It's still stateside. It's in Colorado. So I would still be able to go to training. And there's no funding needed for this mission work? being gone for 15 months? Correct. It's still stateside. It's in Colorado. So I would still be able to go to training. And there's no funding needed for this mission work?

It's just automatically covered? Yes. Okay. And the stipend will just cover your bare bones expenses? Yes. Okay. Plus her pay from the guard, correct? Yes.

So the guard will pay for all of the expenses that we need, and then the stipend we just put in savings or travel and that sort of thing. I mean, this is a very rare scenario. There's no risk here. Yeah, the boxes are checked for me, and if this is something you're very passionate about, then I'd go for it. I'd also have a plan of what you want to do when you're back, because it's going to be a weird world coming back

after 15 months of mission work into the workforce. Right. Do you both know? If there's a certain amount we have to have saved up, like, okay, we're good, then we can head out there. Well, it just depends on your expenses. And so if you guys can basically live on nothing and you don't have any major expenses you need to cover

outside of your stipend and what the reserves are giving you, then you're in good shape. Do you both know the path that you want to pursue professionally? Yes, yes. So what are you studying? I'm studying geology and my husband is studying software engineering. So he's going to come back and be a developer, work in the tech space? Yes. And what will you be doing? I would like to work with the DNR, probably in environmental science, studying water resources. Cool. That sounds pretty specific to me. Yeah. So because you're stateside, because you've got all your expenses covered, I would be thinking almost from day one, what does the path look like?

What do we need to do above and beyond our existing educational qualifications? What relationship building, connections, interviewing, start interviewing, I would say a good eight to 10 months out ahead of time and telling them what you're doing and, you know, finding out what the market looks like. I just wouldn't wait, you know, until cold turkey, the 15 month mission thing is up. And now all of a sudden we're going to try to reenter. Even though financially you could do that. I just, you that, I want to see you planning while you're serving. I think that's my challenge to you. But this is great. And I must say, I don't want to skip over

the fact that this is the best of us, Abby and her husband. I mean, this is what makes the world a better place. A young couple like this who are saying, you know what? Our professional future is in front of us, but we want to go serve people. And we have the financial freedom to be able to do it. I just think it's going to make a huge difference in their lives going forward. Absolutely. And it's one of the reasons the Baby Steps works for everyone. And if you want that kind of freedom, because you are passionate about a certain organization or a certain field, and you're

going, man, if I could just get there. Well, having no payments really frees you up to have those kinds of options. And so I encourage everyone, regardless of what your goals are, to live debt-free, to have an emergency fund. Because when this opportunity does come up, it becomes a no-brainer. And you go, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. We can take it because we don't owe lenders money. So we can go do this thing over here for no pay, for very little pay, because we're passionate about it without worrying about the bills. Yeah. You know, I love this idea so much. And of course, they're doing this on their own from a volunteer and a ministry standpoint. But, you know, I'd love to abolish the student loan program, the federal student loan

program. And what I would love to do is to take the taxpayer dollars or the money that the federal government has made all the years through student loans, and it would be fun to fund a year of service project, just to kind of, we're going to pay for your expenses you don't have to worry about a thing we're not paying your salary but food board uh all that we're going to take care of it for every young person before they ever enter into the professional world they got to serve their fellow countrymen for 12 months i I just think that's a worthy endeavor. That could change society right now. I really do think it could.

That's quite the vision. I'm here for it. Well, way to go, Abby. We're proud of you. Thank you for your service. More of your calls coming up. 888-825-5225. You jump in.

We'll talk about your life, your money, your work, your purpose, and help you get that breakthrough. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm George Camel, Ramsey personality, and co-host of Smart Money Happy Hour, joined by the host of The Ken Coleman Show, you guessed it, Ken Coleman himself. What does a guy got to do to have a chance to imbibe with you and Rachel? That is coveted territory. And here's the truth. We had John Deloney on for a quick segment and never again have we had a guest.

So he ruined it? He ruined it for everyone. Yeah. That's great. He took over. You know, it's my show. Can't have that. Okay.

But maybe one day, Ken. Dream big. Maybe I can just sit there in the studio and drink off camera shoot for the moon and you'll land amongst the stars kid i don't do that i'm just gonna have a glass of milk i love that a full glass of milk are you a whole milk guy no two percent okay but in my coffee keep your physique yeah yeah i try to be healthy i've switched to oat milk if anyone's wondering nobody was and then they're've switched to oat milk, if anyone's wondering. Nobody was, and then they're not surprised, though. Oat milk? Yep. That's not milk. It's fair. It's just water plus oats.

Again, water and oats doesn't make milk. No one is listening to the show anymore, Ken. They've all tuned out. No, I think it's actually now people are weighing in. They're like, yeah, I agree with Ken. That's not milk. That's fair. This is what people want to do. They want to argue, George. If you want to call in and talk about milk, we're here for it, but we'd rather help you with life transformation. How about help you make more money? I'm here today to help you make more money. That's my role. How do you make more income? The phones are going to be ringing like a telethon at this point, Ken. Well, because Dave has said for decades, your income is the greatest wealth building tool you have,

and I'm here to help you make more income. All right? So let's take those calls. You want to make more money? I'm your Huckleberry. Let's do it. And it helps with the baby steps as well. It propels you through the baby steps.

Let's go. If you can increase that income. More money, baby. I'm your guy. Let's go. All right. Let's go to the phones. Devin is up next in Fort Worth, Texas. Devin, welcome to the show. Hey, guys. I'm your guy. Let's go. All right. Let's go to the phones. Devin is up next in Fort Worth, Texas.

Devin, welcome to the show. Hey, guys. Hey, how y'all doing? Can y'all hear me okay? Yeah, loud and clear. Okay, good, good. I was having a little bit of an issue, so I just kind of stayed put. I was like, I wanted to move. Those are just the voices in your head. Don't worry about it. Press through those.

Exactly. Yeah, tell me to make more money so I can buy bills. Come man there we go so what's your question so i i actually i just i didn't realize actually ken coleman was on the show today so i actually thought i had a two-part one kind of a silly question and the other one's a little bit more deep but the first one i wanted to kind of run by was uh in regard i whole Ramsey financial piece and everything like that. I know it's all about no credit card at all. But I've actually, I've never heard this address, and so I was just kind of curious about what y'all's opinion on it. So I have one card that I ended up paying off.

It's gone, done. But I didn't realize in the process of paying it off that i had a minimum auto pay draft on it and it put a negative balance on the card and it's not a huge thing because it's not a whole lot of money but i'm just kind of curious to know is there any benefit at all to that like as far as i guess like maybe uh i know the rewards points thing wasn't a huge deal but why don't you tell us what's the number what's the negative amount on your credit card I guess, like, maybe, I know the rewards points thing is a huge deal. Why don't you tell us, what's the number? What's the negative amount on your credit card?

$35. So you had a zero balance, and then it auto-paid $35, and so now they technically owe you $35? Right, yeah. So it was a $62 and some change balance left. I made the payment, got it done, but I guess in the process of doing that somehow, it was still stuck on the auto pay because I was wanting to ensure that I wouldn't at least miss a minimum payment, and it put a negative balance on that because I guess it ended up processing that within the time spent of that taking it all.

Yeah, I've never heard of this, and I can't think of any benefit you would get from that. I don't think this is like a life hack that you crack some code with the credit card companies. Right. And I don't know how it would affect your credit score, having the negative balance where they owe you. It doesn't make sense. I would just contact the company and say, hey, listen, there was an auto pay. I have a negative balance. Can you reinstate it and credit me back that money back to zero?

And then I close the account. Either that or I guess just transfer it back to my checking account. Yeah, just transfer it back to where you owe them nothing. They owe you nothing. And then just close it. It's not doing you any favors at this point. Yeah. Okay.

That's cool. I was just kind of curious. Now, I don't think I've ever heard of that question. That's why I was curious to ask. Really, the other thing I kind of wanted to get an opinion on, though, mainly is, man, I've got to be honest, I'm 30 years old. I've got a family, and I have never felt like I've had a direction as far as a career goes with my life. I've done a lot of different things.

At this point, I just like, I guess I'm just wanting to know what kind of mindset, like what I should, what kind of things should I be thinking about? Like, as far as like, um, and to be honest, I don't have any like formal education or anything. I just have always known that, um, no matter what I do, no matter what that is, I just want to make sure that I always take care of my family. Yeah. Well, you're going to do that. You're going to do that. So here's high level. Here's the high level answer. And then I'll ask you to shoot some ideas at me. A high level answer to how can I figure out what my professional direction, what that is in my life is very simple. You got to figure out

what you do well. These are your talents. And then you got to figure out what work you actually enjoy doing. And then you got to figure out what results motivate you. Those three areas allow for someone to get self-aware. And then when I get self-aware as it relates to, well, I'm good at doing these types of things. I enjoy doing this type of work. And these results get me excited. When I think about them, I'm going to get out of the bed. You don't have to motivate me. I'm motivated to produce these type of results. What that does is that begins to spit out ideas. And what it does is all that clarity makes me confident. When the ideas pop up, I go, oh, this makes a lot of sense. So I want to put you to the test really quick. What have you wondered about? I think you've probably spent

more time wondering about a certain direction than maybe certain other ideas. There's probably one or two ideas that have always popped up for you, and maybe because of fear or doubt or pride, you just haven't done anything with them. So why don't you just tell me, what is something that you wonder about on a regular basis, but you just haven't ever pursued it? Helping people.

Okay. Well, that's pretty high level. Who do we want to help? What people do you wonder or think about helping? Describe those people, maybe their problem or their desire. I guess in a sense, I guess I'm trying to break it down between what they would need help with. I guess that's the part that I've never thought about exactly what it is that I would want to exactly help them with. All right, let me put it this way.

Let me put it this way. You're overthinking, and I need you to stop thinking. Okay. You need to feel this answer, all right? Don't try to explain it to me. If I gave you a great chunk of money for 30 days, more than you're making now, and I said, all you've got to do, Devin, is just find a way to help people for 30 days of work, who would you go start help? How would you help help? Forget the who. What would you be doing?

You get to choose your choice. You just say, Ken, I would be doing this. I'd be helping this way. How would I help these people? What's the answer? I guess I would help them to achieve what it is that, man, I guess I would help them achieve what it is that they want to accomplish as far as their goals go. Great. Now, I guess is where I think about that. Yeah, but here's what happened. The entire audience heard you think your way through that sentence. You started, and I'm telling you what was going on behind the scenes in your head is there are certain people that you find yourself going, I'd love to help this kind of person. Now, you're real high level right now, which is I want to help people achieve what they want. Well, do you want them to help them achieve it in the area of physical nutrition exercise?

Do you want to help them financially? Do you want to help them professionally? Do you want to help them spiritually? Do you want to help them relationally? You don't have to answer that right now. I'm not going to put you on the spot anymore, but hang on the line. I'm going to give you two tools. I'm going to give you my Get Clear Career Assessment, which will allow you to answer

those questions easier because we ask them of you. You're going to get a detailed report on what you do best, what you love to do, and what motivates you, and then some really good ideas. And I'm going to give you the book, From Paycheck to Purpose, which is the guide to climb the mountain after the assessment tells you what mountain you want to climb. Hang on the line. We'll get that to you.

Thanks for the call, Devin. Appreciate it, Devin. This is The Ramsey Show. This is The Ramsey Show. I'm George Campbell, joined by Ken Coleman this hour. The number to call is 888-825-5225. If you need a breakthrough, you need a second opinion, a third opinion on your money, your work, your purpose, we are here for you this hour. Aiden joins us up next in Atlanta.

Aiden, welcome to the show. How are you doing? Hey, how's it going? Good, good. How are you? Good. I just, man, I've been so eager to get some kind of professional advice from someone. We'll give you the best we got. Well, let me tell you, you have arrived at the right place.

Ken is a consummate professional. I don't know. I mean, we're pros, aren't we, George? That's self-proclaimed. What's going on, Aiden? So just real quick, I'm 19 years old. I work for the fire department of my city and they lowered the age limit. So I was able to be very fortunate, be very blessed to get in a career so young right out of high school. That's great. I saved up quite a good bit before I moved out of my mother's house. And I saved and saved, but I still ended up making the young, foolish mistake of getting a place and getting a car.

Because in my head at the time, I was thinking, well, I want to stay ahead of my age group. I want to stay ahead of my peers. So why not get a place with a mortgage and why not get a car that I've always wanted? And so I accrued about $150,000 in debt. I've been able to maintain responsibility and continue to make payments on it. But I still really want, my biggest life goal is to have a legacy and create generational wealth, um, and really just continue to stay ahead. Um, I was just wondering what your thoughts and opinions on what I should do next is. What's the 150 in debt? Break that down. So 125 is for this townhouse that I'm staying in. So that's your mortgage? The mortgage, it's, I believe, $10.50 a month.

Okay. And what's the other $25? The other, so it's $150. The other part of it is the car note. And the car that I got was, I believe, around $30,000. And I'm making payments on that as well. And it's about $500,000, $600,000 every month. What's your income? Basically, I'm sorry? What's your income? I would say around $48,000, $49,000 gross. Okay.

And here's what you told me. You said you want to create generational wealth, but your goals and your actions have so far been misaligned. And so I need to know, which one do you actually want? I know I can't have my cake and eat it too, but I definitely want... Well, you said you want to get ahead of your your peers that's different than generational wealth getting ahead with your peers means looking good which we've succeeded at so far generational wealth means we're going to get out of debt and have an inheritance to leave to our children's children that's what that means to me and so okay comparatively to your income this is a lot of car for a 19-year-old. Yes.

My car is not worth this, and I'm a net worth millionaire, and I'm going, for a 19-year-old to step into that, that's a lot of car. So what is the car worth today? As far as reselling it, there's been a shortage on the make and model that I got, and that's why I wanted it because I knew it was going to go pretty fast. Which means you could sell it for a pretty penny. Right. They're worth a little bit more. So how much could you sell it for, top dollar today?

Probably $38,000. Okay, and you owe how much left on the loan? $30,000. I think it's like $30,000 and some change. Okay. So it'd leave you with eight grand, which you could pay for a used car. It's going to be a whole lot dinkier than the one you're driving now, but that puts you a whole lot closer to becoming a net worth millionaire and having generational wealth. That just leaves you with the mortgage, right? Yes, sir. And then making 50K and you're 19, it's going to continue to go up. How quickly could you pay off the mortgage and begin investing for the future? Pretty soon. I plan on picking up extra work for another ambulance company. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I wanted to

hear. I mean, at your age, you want to get ahead. George is right. You're working more hours, man. And in your world, firefighter, ENT, all that, you can get a lot of overtime, presumably, correct? Yes. They do a lot of different bonuses and different pop-ups here and there for games and stuff like that and transporting patients long distances. Fantastic. And I know I'm very happy and fortunate to be in this field because I know I have pretty well security in that field. Well, yeah, you're going to get a great retirement situation there, but then you're going to follow the baby steps.

And once you pay this condo off or townhome or whatever, my friend, that is you getting way ahead of your peers in that you have a cash property that you own, and you're investing 15%, and you got your fireman benefits, and you got overtime possibilities, and you have promotional opportunities. I mean, it stands to believe you could move pretty high up in the fire department by just the simple fact that you started so young. So you've got a great future ahead of you, but you got to really listen to what George said. I mean, he really challenged you on the mindset side of this, which is what it takes to win with money. Perspective changes my belief and belief changes my actions. So George is challenging you with a proper financial perspective. And then you begin to see, oh, I believe that he's right. I believe that this is what I should do. And then before you know it, you're to see, oh, I believe that he's right. I believe that this is what I should do.

And then before you know it, you're living differently, acting differently, and that's the result. Amen. So, Aiden, do you have any savings? I do have a thousand put away. Okay. I know that being so close paycheck to paycheck has already already created me like a good deal of anxiety which is why I want to get more work because I don't like the feeling of being in this you know predicament and um you know just watching the content on YouTube that's available and like just hovering

over as we speak like the whole financial peace university because my mom did it and she's almost done with her mortgage and and just of that nature. Hey, can I give you an instant ladder to a pay raise? Can I do that for you? Sell the car today. Sell the car today. Go get yourself an $8,000 car and go get your roommate. So now all of a sudden, if we get a roommate, and let's just say we split the mortgage because

you've got a roommate renting with you and you're- And you charge 600 bucks? Yeah. I mean- So now you freed up a $600 car payment. Plus the car payment. So now you just got a $1,200 raise. Right.

That's before overtime, my friend. And now we can start building that three to six months emergency fund. Then we can begin investing 15%. Whatever's left, we start attacking the mortgage. Then we can begin investing 15%, whatever's left. And don't forget the margin. There's no anxiety. Dude, I feel more free just talking about this with you, Aiden. And so the question is, and this is a hard thing.

I'm not saying it's easy, but you've got to put the blinders on and go, I don't really care what my friends think about what I drive. Because they're going to see you driving that other car and go, dude, what happened? This ride stinks. You had such a cool car. And he went, I'm trying to create generational wealth. And if they don't get that, that's fine. And I'm glad you bring that up, George. Aiden, can I give you another little mini peck talk? George, you know the numbers on student loan, the average student loan. You probably know this. I want you to add to it.

But I know that the average college student is spending almost six years in trying to attain that degree so i just want to give you a little perspective that here you are working right now and many of your friends have got another five years before they ever exit college and then they got the student loan hanging around what's the average you have an idea what 38 000 i think is the average amount so six years to get out of school and then you walk away on average with about $40,000 in debt. And, Aiden, that's not you. So if you start feeling like, oh, I'm worried about what everybody's going to say about me, I'd run that reality through your head one time.

And as you get older, you automatically start caring less and less about what other people think. Oh, it's so true. But if you do that at 19, dude, you're going to be light years ahead. And that is the best encouragement I can give you because I remember being your age, and I was a knucklehead, man. I was spending every dime I was making from my jobs. I was buying gear, trying to impress people. And then I realized no one actually cares.

They're all so focused on themselves and their own insecurity, and they're doing exactly what you're doing. And when you realize we're all just running our own race as insecure human beings, just do what's right for you. And remember, 20 years from now, Aiden, you're probably going to walk out in your backyard, your neighbor will see you in a robe and tube socks and flip-flops. That's right. Because you just don't care.

We're all going to be lame dads one day. Just lean into it, my friend. Hey, we're going to gift you one year of Financial Peace University so you can be like mom, maybe go through it with her. It'll be a good time. So hang on the line. We're going to gift you Financial Peace University. Watch all the lessons, do the budget, and you'll be on your path to being a millionaire, my friend. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. If you're a new listener to the show and you want a deeper dive

into all the things that we talk about, especially the Ramsey Baby Steps, our team has made a really easy tool for you. Just go to ramseysolutions.com, click on Get Started, and we will help you figure out the next best step for your financial journey. The button's right there. As soon as you hit the website, ramseysolutions.com, click on get started. And if you're planning on moving anytime soon, that's fantastic. I'm excited for you, but let's be real. In most places around the country, you'll still be facing high home prices and interest rates aren't exactly returning to those record lows. But here's the good news. It doesn't make home ownership impossible. If you want to buy or sell, you've got to make sure you're financially ready. And you've got to have a trusted and experienced real estate agent to walk you through this. Not a family friend who

just got their license last month. Not someone who does real estate as a part-time hobby. You need to work with a pro who's a true expert in the local market, knows how to negotiate strong deals. So you can find those people, these high caliber Ramsey trusted agents through our endorsed local provider program. And since we vet the agents from around the country, you're going to have the best support, whether you're moving from Florida to Alaska or buying your first home somewhere in between. Just go to ramseysolutions.com slash agent to find a Ramsey trusted real estate agent today. That's ramseysolutions.com slash agent. Are you settled in your new home? We're agent today. That's ramseysolutions.com slash agent. Are you settled in your new home?

We're very settled. I could not be more settled. Yeah, and you used a Ramsey-trusted right there. And got the right house in a neighborhood close by. So you're loving life. And it's so important because they understand, they run the comps, they know everything about the neighborhoods,

they know how to market it, they know how to stage it. I mean, they are true marketing experts. And so to do this on your own, I've seen people do the for sale by owner where they've got the sign of the yard and they want to save on the realtor fees. So they go, I'm going to do this myself. Someone will drive by and give me top dollar. And their photos look like their toddler took it on like a Nikon Coolpix. And I'm going, what are you doing?

I can see the litter box in the photo. Yes. See, you're right. what are you doing? I can see the litter box in the photo. Yes. See, you're right. What are you and Whitney doing tonight? You want Stacey and I to come over, see the new house? Yeah, no. We'll think about it.

Okay. Yeah. All right. We'll see what the plans are. I got no control over the plans. As you know, Ken, Stacey runs the calendar in your house. You might as well be a professional bullfighter the way you evaded that question. That was good, George. We do love the Coleman's.

We have had many a personal interaction going out to dinner. It sounds so warm. So warm. George and I are tight. We've had many a personal interaction. You sit right next to me. Well, we're colleagues, Ken. You remind me of that every day. It's a good word.

But me and Ken actually sit next to each other in our cubes, and we have a great time. Truth be known, to paint the full picture, I sit between you and John Deloney. So I would appreciate your prayers, thoughts and prayers. Send them my way. Some people call that a double blessing. Some people call it a nightmare. Double dose of meds. That's what I need. All right. Let's get to the phones. And if you've got a question, you can jump in at 888-825-5225. Lori, I believe, is in Toledo. Did I pronounce that right, Lori? That is correct. It is Lori. Good. How can we help today?

All right. Thank you for taking my call, George and Ken. All right. So just a quick backstory. I previously worked 10 years for a private urology office. We were going through a merger with a local hospital. During that merger, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I chose not to go back when I was off for my double vasectomy. There were several reasons for deciding not to go back. And during that time, which was two and a half years ago, I took a job working from home for a large health insurance company.

Since then, I have doubled my income as well as I have moved up within the company. The position I have now, I've been doing very well in. However, I'm currently on short-term disability. I've been off for five weeks and have another week off. I had one of my previous co-workers from my other department that I came from that I had just moved up from reach out to me last night and stating that there was some layoffs that were going on and several people within that department was laid off. So my concern is at this point, I don't know if this is a mass layoff within the company or if it's just

specific departments that have been affected by this. And the company of course is one big umbrella. So it's really hard to determine. I did reach out to my supervisor by text this morning just to say, hey, just to let you know, I'll be back on the 13th. And but she hasn't even responded to that. So I guess I'm at that point. Do I ride this out? I don't really want to give up the working from home at this time or as well as the pay because I've doubled my income by working for

this company. So I'm not sure if I should ride this out or if I should kind of keep my eyes and ears open for something else. What's your financial situation if they called today and laid you off? What's your reality? What would you have to do financially? Financially, I know i would need to look for another position or to go you know somewhere else i i can tell you that between my husband and i we have more than doubled our incomes in the last two years but you know we were kind of you know playing that whole thing credit card game that we were doing and kind of got ourselves into some credit card debt. So what's the current household income? Well, what I want to do really quick, George, I want to get, I want to focus on that. I want George to walk you through the financial part, but I just want, I want you professionally,

I want to answer that part really quickly. Okay. You need to be looking and connecting right now but i would not leave unless so i would ride it out but riding it out does not mean just well i'm gonna go i'm just gonna do my thing and just wait to see what happens no i'm gonna start connecting and looking at the same time i'm looking i'm connecting and the more i look the more i realize i need to connect and what you're going to do is you're going to put some feelers out. And it's a very simple message. You have to worry about how it comes across because you're going to say, basically, look, there's been some layoffs and I'm just kind of seeing what's out there. Not a guarantee that I'm going to get laid off. So I would be doing that now. Okay. But don't leave unless in the looking and the connecting something better comes along,

then it's a no brainer. Okay. But you are looking and connecting and then George will tell you what you're doing while you're still collecting that paycheck to give yourself more margin. So while you're doing homework on the career side, I want you to start looking at your financial numbers. So what is the household income today? Our income is about $120,000 a year. And how much debt do you have? Excluding the house, it's over $100,000. Okay. What kind of debt is $100,000? It is credit card debt, one vehicle, and credit cards. So more credit cards? Of course. Yeah, there's quite a few credit cards. So more credit cards? Of course.

Yeah, there's quite a few credit cards. And then of course, student loan debt. Okay. Well, how about this? Live your life like you're going to get laid off tomorrow and let that drive how you look at your finances. Because right now you've been living la vida loca and now we've got to go to fire mode and go, oh my gosh, there's a storm coming.

We need to get rid of as much debt as possible. We are shoveling the water out of this boat so it doesn't sink. And so that would be my plan of attack. And if you want to save up a bunch of money right now for the next month until you know more, that's okay. If you need to weather a storm. Did you just say you have it? Did I hear you say that? What did you say?

I'm sorry. What was that? As George was talking, you said we have or we have, and I wanted to know what you were saying. Well, we actually have been, we have the plan in place as far as paying off all of our debt. You know, of course, we have it listed from smallest to largest. And when you were talking about doing that whole connecting thing, I actually am. So I do volunteer work and the gal that I do the volunteer work with, as well as she was a head of the HR in the old hospital that I just came from, she said, Hey, you know, this position is open and was open with the new company

that I work for now, which happens to be five minutes down the road. And she said, I just want to let you know, in case you're interested. So I did apply for that position. I did send my resume last night. So it would be staffing for an assisted living place facility here in our rural northwest Ohio town where we live. So I am already kind of on that lookout, keeping my eyes and ears open. But living in very rural northwest Ohio, we are very limited options. So that's why I said I've doubled my income going to this company

because the pay around here just isn't. Well, let me say this. I want to drive an hour to the city. And let me encourage you on something. One of the things you may need to look at is what does the freelance market look like? A lot of freelancing work that's done remotely because of the freelance nature. I'd be looking at that to supplement the income. A little bit of overtime, George, through some freelancing is somewhere I would start digging. Absolutely.

And that puts this hour of The Ramsey Show in the books. Appreciate my co-host, Ken Coleman, all the guys in the booth, and you, America. Thanks so much for listening. We're going to be back before you know it.