The Ramsey Show - App - I Tried Timing the Market and Got Burned (Hour 1)

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's The Ramsey Show, where we help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual amazing relationships. Not the fake kind, the real kind. I'm your host, Jade Warshaw, joined rachel cruz host of the rachel cruz show that you can find on youtube also smart money happy hour love that right also the author of i'm glad for what i have listen the list goes on oh jade it's good to be here with you love it all right if you want to talk about your life or your money you can give us a call the number is 888-825-5225. And we will do exactly that. So let's go straight to the phone lines where we've got Nicole in San Francisco, California.

What's going on, Nicole? Hi, Jade. Thanks for taking my call. No problem. So my question is, I live in a very expensive area. Half of my take-home check goes to my rent. I work remotely, so it's kind of ridiculous that I'm staying here. And I'm thinking about moving to Texas. I see that the new constructions in Texas, they have lower interest rates, like 4.9% interest rate, whereas the interest rates right now are seven percent and i'm wondering if that's too good to be true what why are the new construction interest rates so low and attractive and it's and it's should it be something that i pursue i have heard of um new construction being able to offer lower rates i guess they're eating that cost at some point

within the process i just love that you're looking at your situation and saying, listen, it's too expensive for me to live here rather than continue to struggle. I'm going to embrace new opportunities. So I don't think it's too good to be true. Does your question go further? No. Yeah. I was wondering if there was like some sort of trick that they're doing that I'm not understanding. You know, also it's a big move for me and it's something that I want to do because I am single and just live by myself and my dog. And if I were to move to Texas and save money, I'll be able to pay for egg freezing, which is something that my job doesn't help pay for. And it's also something that I was like, I know I don't want to finance it.

They have a lot of payment plans for egg freezing. And it's something that if I move to Texas, I could save money because, I mean, even a mortgage payment is going to be way lower than what I pay for rent right now. Yeah, and we're seeing that, Nicole. I mean, like your situation, it's very common. And we're seeing that a lot with people in these like really high-priced areas, especially where you are. San Francisco, the Bay Area. I mean, I think it's number one right now in the most expensive places to live. But you look at people in New York and, you know, different places.

And we're seeing that people are gravitating, obviously, to places that they can actually have an affordable lifestyle and actually enjoy their money versus being taxed high, real estate being insane, and experiencing exactly what you're experiencing. So just know you're not alone in that change, even though that's a big change.

You're right. I'm like, when you decide to change locations and states, and it is, I mean, you're uprooting your life. But I think what you have to realize is you're, it is. You're uprooting your life. But I think what you have to realize is you're doing it for a reason. You're not necessarily running away from something. You're running to the life that you want. And in order to get that and do the things that you want to do, like freeze your eggs and different things, you have to have more margin.

And so that means other areas of your life are going to have to look different in order to do that. And so you're just kind of weighing the pros and cons. And I really applaud you for that. And it's not easy, but it's a reality I think a lot of people are facing. 100%. And here's the thing. Even if you get there and you realize, oh man, whatever they quoted me on the interest rate, it's slightly higher or it's not quite that. It's still a better situation financially. You're still going to get more for your money. You're still going to be able to afford owning a home or getting a place for yourself more easily.

So what are you looking to spend? Can you tell us a little bit about what you're looking to spend? Obviously, having your rent or your mortgage be 50% of your income is just not sustainable long term. So have you identified a number that puts it at 25% and what you could spend in order to get that? Yeah, so I was looking at homes around 300,000, which here, I would be 1.5 million. Yeah, it's crazy, crazy. Well, good for you, Nicole. Nicole yeah I think it's great and I think you know um I think builders are feeling a little bit of the pinch of people pulling back when rates went up suddenly everyone kind of paused and they're like I'll just wait to see if rates drop and then

when they drop yeah they probably will they're going to fluctuate we're in an election year things are always kind of up and down and then when they drop everybody's and i think jade it just drives prices back up so if anything the time is is to get in now and you can always refinance later but if you're in a good position to buy a home i'm not saying everyone needs to rush out and buy a home but i think her nicole's a great example of kind of looking at all your options being wise and i think yeah, homes are not selling, have not sold, at least in the calendar year of 2023, like they were in 22 and 21. So I think new, I think builders are feeling a little bit of that pinch. They're probably wanting some inventory off their hands. And if they can partner with, you know, the bank and all the things and get a lower rate, they're probably

doing that to entice people. But obviously, Nicole, do your due diligence. I mean, your home is, for most people, the largest purchase that you make in your lifetime. So don't rush into something. Because I think sometimes, at times, even these new builds, if they go real quick up, they may not be the best quality. I mean, you want to look at quality, look at different areas and all of it.

So do your research because it's a big change and a big purchase. And even Nicole, what you could do is since you're moving to a brand new state, you could even rent, which I know you're so tired of renting right now, but you really could for six months to a year just to be like, okay,

is this the part of Texas I want to be in? And because once you buy a home, you're planted there for a bit. Yeah, a completely new state, completely new culture. I 100 100 agree with rachel in that i would rent for him and i would definitely would not do like a long long distance home purchase yes of like i wouldn't do that but to your point um i have seen like there are

new builders that are offering those kind of incentives on the rate um because we had callers call in saying listen i'm trying to sell my property and it's hard for me because i'm having to compete with a new builder around the corner who's offering a lower yeah you know so that is definitely happening so just do your due diligence do your homework don't just jump out there and buy the first thing you see that seems right because i mean i think it takes a while rachel to really get the feel of a new neighborhood, let alone a new city, let alone a new state. Like there's a lot of totally. Yes.

So yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I think, Nicole, too, I do. I do applaud you just for looking at options, because, Jade, we talked to a lot of people and they're stuck. I feel like we always pick on California, but California, your real estate is high and it's a high cost of living. So it's an easy place to pick on. But, you know, a lot of people and they're like, well, I'm in California. I'm in California. I'm in California. This is it. This is it. And you have to realize about anything

in life, which again, I know uprooting your life is a big deal. So I'm not saying it flippantly, but I just love the fact that she is taking initiative and saying, hey, I can make choices in my life. That's right. And for me to have the kind of life that I want, it's going to require some changes. And so for some of you, maybe it's changing your money habits. For some of you, it's changing location. I mean, I don't know what it looks like for you, but this idea that I have control over my life and I get to make decisions for myself, it's powerful. That's right. And remember, it's not just change for the sake of change. It's change to get you where you want to go. You want to be a homeowner.

You want to have more margin in your budget. You want to be able to enjoy your income. So focus on that side instead of focusing on the uncomfortable part, you know, the change or I may not know anybody. And just like think of it as an adventure. You're off on an adventure to create the life you love in the words of Rachel Cruz. That's right, Jade. This is The Ramsey Show. You're listening to The Ramsey Show. I'm Jade Warshaw.

This is Rachel Cruz, and we're taking your calls for the next couple hours about your life and your money. So give us a call. The number is 888-825-5225, and we would be happy to answer any of the questions that you have uh in the meantime the ramsey show question of the day is brought to you by neighborly your hub for home services

neighborly offers a helpful winter maintenance checklist that you can download for free at neighborly.com that would be very helpful for me and for the more challenging stuff in the in and around your home neighborly has a local pro to help. Find out more at neighborly.com slash Ramsey. And today's question comes from Heather in Wyoming. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and this has been the most stressful, painful past two years of my life, with my husband making horrible financial decisions that left us over $500,000 in debt. He owns a tree service business making $70,000 a year and is trying to start a mobile mechanic business and has purchased an investment property. We have $163,000 mortgage on our house.

The rent is a total disaster that's completely gutted and we have to make payments every month while earning no income with it and no progress on the repairs he also bought a brand new truck that we owe now $84,000 on and $18,000 on a loan on a bobcat for the business a $20,000 home equity loan that he used to fix up the rental oh and over $5,000 in credit cards. He keeps saying he's working on it and he is a hard worker, but has put us in a completely impossible situation that angers me and stresses me out every single day.

I work odd hours because we can't afford childcare, nor do I want to give up time with my kids to fix a problem that I did not cause. I feel so stuck and hopeless. All right. Can we just... Listen, I wrote it all out because I'm trying to track with this. Okay, Heather, this is not a...

You shouldn't be this way. She's very bitter. Yes. As we can tell. Yes. Very resentful, which, again, is valid. Is valid. which again yeah it's is valid is valid um but they feel like not only different pages financially but they have been split now emotionally really severed i mean she wants

it sounds like she wants nothing to do i mean nothing to do with him yeah oh and five thousand dollars in credit card you know i mean it is stuck and hopeless she is she is not not in a good place which which i get it heather i'm like yeah all these decisions were not wise decisions made he made decisions without obviously talking to her or working as a team so what do we do heather what are we gonna do uh i'm seeking counsel number one like i always talk to folks about keeping their money safe rachel it's kind of like an acronym and the first thing to to decide like where you're at. So S is for seeking counsel. Like if you're noticing trends within your money with your spouse that you're like, what's going

on here? I feel uncomfortable. I feel unsafe financially. I feel like there's something going on. Seek counsel. And then you're going to find, listen, if there's things like addiction, abuse, that's the A. And then F is financial infidelity, listen, if there's things like addiction, abuse, that's the A. Yeah. And then F is financial infidelity, which this is getting real close to falling under. In my opinion, it is because he's going out and spending massive amounts of money without your. Permit. Permit. Well, I say permission. Your input.

Input. Yeah. Without a mattering. And then the E of that is you need to evaluate your options. So that's how you go through this. And I do think that this is a, sometimes people think financial infidelity is like, I'm just hiding money under the mattress

or something like that. But I'm like, this is a lot of money. And it sounds like, we don't know Rachel, but it sounds like she has made her objections clear. And it sounds like we could be wrong. It might be something that he did. And then after the fact, she was like, well, how could you do that?

But even still, you've got this is there's financial issues here but when i look at this i go this is a couple who desperately needs to go to therapy like they need they need help and um yeah and he's he's obviously not living in reality no and there's people like that that we talk to and i hate to like pinpoint people but it's the dreamers it's the oh i have i have an idea and this idea is gonna work i have a new idea here and don't worry don't worry this is surely gonna and and it is it's a level of immaturity to a point when you actually make decisions in those dreams and they don't come to fruition you have to have reality to say i I can't do this anymore. So there's a safety here, Heather, that I would want for you. Like a point where you're like, I can't keep putting myself.

There's a level of danger there in this situation that's endangering my kids and my family. That is what it is. So that weight that you're feeling is very, very real. And I just want him to wake up to the reality. And I think what's going to have to happen is a third party. You probably not going to be the one to do it heather sadly and i think sometimes that's right i mean it's like our spouse i mean all of us feel that way with our spouses there's always that thing that you're like if you know this this or this yeah and you can you can say it and then it ends up being nagging and it's not effective but when you actually sit down with a third party usually if it's coming from someone else it's speaking there there, but that's, that's it. I'm like the financial issues here are a symptom of where you guys are in your marriage. And again, I don't blame you Heather for being angry and bitter, but what are we going to do with that? We can't just sit in that and continue to be in that cycle. You Heather have to then

grow and learn. Are there boundaries you put up now? Is there like, what do you do now? What are those steps? Yes, that's right. Which is really hard, but that's the situation. Yeah, that's right. Because something's got to change. And in a situation like this, not to belabor it, but there's very little you can do to control the other party. Like there's nothing you can do really to control the other party, but you've got to sit down and figure out, okay, what am I, Heather, going to do in order to try to better the situation? I can seek out counsel. I can put these boundaries in place. But then you've also got to kind of have that point of where you go, OK, where does this just get completely toxic?

And, you know, that's up to you. And like Rachel said, a third party to decide. And Jade, we talk all the time about couples staying on the same page, being on the same team, all of this. But there's extreme situations that we talk about a lot. And I mean, Heather may be in one of those for me where I'm like, there's a point that you have to protect yourself and your kids, right? Like if he's going to continue to spend,

I mean, hundreds of thousands of dollars. Like I don't want my name on that stuff. I don't want my name on that. And if you're headed towards a, I'm not putting this, I'm not putting this evil evil on you but if you're heading towards a point where like listen I don't know if I see us together in the future the more he racks up like I don't want to be any part of that because if you don't stick together there's like I'm looking like so first part of this gonna be on me no you know yeah so for the time being Heather there's probably

some hard boundaries I would put up to protect you and the kids um but working on your marriage could solve a lot of this and then my prayer is that they would get to a point that they're in agreement and realize okay he's not he's not gonna he's not gonna do x y and z and now as a team we have to work together and if you guys get to that point Heather that's where you have to say all right we're in this together yeah what are we going to do? And that's right. But then it's on both of you to just link arms and get out of it together. Yep. And that's what we pray for. We don't want this to split couples. But this is this is the stuff that causes divorce and marriages, right? One hundred percent. If another spouse doesn't want to take the responsibility of the decisions they've made, they're probably not taking responsibility in other parts of the

marriage, too. That's such a good point. So hard hard such a good point and such a good reminder man it's uncomfortable and it is not fun but have conversations with that person that you're engaged to or even that person that you're dating and if you've just gotten married start having these conversations you've got to know the other person's philosophy on money at the end of the day and not just make assumptions and go oh they've got a good job they probably have it together or they don't seem like they have a lot of debt, like really digging deeper and figuring out and just asking, you know, even when you dream together, Rachel, like I know there's times Sam and I will sit together and think about, oh, it would be cool to have a business like that one day. Then take it at a level deeper and go, well, to what extremes would you go? Like

I would never take out money for a business. you you know really ask the questions find ways to bring money into the conversation so you really understand in a lot of different facets what their views are on money because as we see here it can really be an issue long term such attention point so yeah it's a big um it's a big relational uh wedge that's caused so yeah you're exactly right and i think you know especially when you're dating engaged we get this question a lot of you know when do i bring up the money when do i love it and you know we would always encourage to be having hard conversations about everything right and and we've talked to people on the show that have been dating for six years and they don't know anything

about their partner's financial situation and they think this or that. And I remember being on the show with you one time and we were like, what do they talk about? I know.

So take this stuff seriously, you guys. I'm like, don't ask about their 401k on the first date. That's a little extreme. But start, you know, understanding like

to be in the same value system with the person you're going to link arms with. And yeah, but it's a hard one. But start, you know, understanding like to be in the same value system with the person you're going to link arms with. And yeah, but it's a hard one. It reveals a lot. Listen, I say all the time, if you have babies together, you can share a bank account like that. That needs to be it.

And both people's opinions should matter. And sometimes it takes some time and many, many conversations and counseling to get to that point. But go through that journey. This is The Ramsey Show. Hey, you guys. Health insurance costs are only moving one way, and that way isn't down. And if higher costs aren't enough, the wait times to see your doctor are longer, and it's harder than ever to get anything approved through the bureaucracy.

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at chministries.org slash budget. This is The Ramsey Show. I'm Jade Warshaw. This is Rachel Cruz to my right, and we're taking your calls. So give us a call. The number is 888-825-5225, and we'll try to help you out. Let's go straight to the phone lines where we have Avery in Newport News, Virginia. What's going on, Avery? Hey, Jade and Rachel. It's so great to talk to you. I can't wait to see you guys in May. Awesome. Oh, you're coming to the Total Money Makeover weekend? Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I'm bringing a friend, too. Love it. That's exciting. Oh, love that. How can we help today? All right. So here is the situation. My mom always

says the strongest thing in the universe is compound interest. My brother always says time in the market beats timing the market every time. Let's go. And I thought I was smart enough to time a dip. I had about $21,000 worth in a Fidelity Mutual fund in my Roth IRA, and I sold my positions on it back in September. I was going off a bad hunch and have watched the market rally by at least 20% and I've calculated that I missed out on about $4,000 worth of gross. I'm kicking myself.

I still contribute weekly, but that $21,000 is still sitting there in the account. I feel like I've learned my lesson, but what do I do now? Should I buy back in or should I wait for the rally to end and maybe buy in on a dip?

Listen, I'm first, I'm glad that you've learned your lesson and I hope that it sticks. Do you have any debt? I have no debt. Okay. Do you have three to six months of expenses saved? Yes, I do. Awesome. Listen, I'm getting back in today and from here on out, I'm adding 15% of my gross income to it every single month. Okay. Today? Yeah. How are you feeling?

Are your armpits sweating? What's going on? Yeah, I feel like, I don't know if I buy now. I feel like it's so high. If you wait, you're timing the market again. That means you haven't learned your lesson yet. Avery. Yes. Listen. haven't learned your you haven't learned your lesson yet avery yes okay listen yeah because avery i think the point i think the point the point though is is that all of this is long term

right so whether you get in today whether you get in in 30 days whatever it is the earlier you get in and you ride this out again long term we're talking decades here um that's what's important so four thousand dollars at the end of you know when you're you know 65 it's gonna be a drop in the bucket because how old are you now i'm 25 yeah so like all of the i mean it is the if you time it if if avery of february of 24 is different than Avery in July of 24. I mean, like, you know, if you wait six months or whatever, it's not absolutely the end of the world. But I think it's more about the principle behind this, right?

The idea is that I can't time the market. It's an election year. We have no clue what's going to happen. And so if anything, I'm like, yeah, the lesson is I'm not going to try to time the market. The lesson is I want to invest long term. That's what I'm like, yeah, the lesson is I'm not going to try to time the market. The lesson is I want to invest long term. That's what I'm doing. So to practice on the principle of the idea is to say, yeah, I'm at a position to start investing, put my money in the market.

Yeah. Okay. And so even if I buy in today and then it goes down, like, I feel like I'm going to kick myself again. Avery, you're not going to worry about it until you're 65 how old are you 24 25 listen think about it okay if you I think you're focusing and Rachel tried to lay it out for you and I think she did a beautiful job but let me take a swing at it I think you're so focused in whatever rate of return that you're hoping to get immediately or in the next couple of

months. But if you look at it, like, I don't know if you're new to the show, but we talk all the time about, oh, you can get, you know, even if you just invest in an S&P 500 account, you're still going to look at about 10% over time. Everything is over time. And if you're pulling it out every month or every other month, or when you think the market is dipping, you're not allowing for the rebound that always happens on the other end of that. And you can look over the last 20 years, even you can just see, listen, the annualized rate of return has been upwards of 10 percent. And that's what you can count on. That's why we suggest what we suggest. And that's why everybody invests in these accounts in order to have their retirement. Avery, I say this in the most loving, big sister way that I can.

You are going to be your worst enemy. You're going to be the person that's going to be going on CNBC and watching the ticker at the bottom and saying, oh, gosh, oh, gosh, Avery, you have to put the money in and you've got to forget about it that's what this is this part of investing is that it is long-term retirement type mentality and and it's going to take some it's going to take some uh restraint from you and your personality because already i'm trying to talk you off the ledge and your money's not even in the market you know what avery you have to really avery avery is who really needs a smart vestor pro because one of the things that they will help you do is not freak out talk you off the ledge yes yes exactly yeah so it is one of those things avery you i mean i i i never really

i mean i watch the market for this job so so we know what's going on in the economy but from a personal standpoint i'm like and it kind of sucks in the economy but from a personal standpoint i'm like and it kind of sucks for me avery from a personally because i'm like i'm such a spender and when we fund our 401ks and roths and all the things that we're supposed to do because we're smart and we're wise and we actually do it jade even though it kind of makes me like because it feels like a black hole and i'm like this money is leaving where we could be going on a great vacation this summer that is hilarious so it does kind of feel like man my money's just leaving and I'm never going to see it again but you have to have the you you have to

know that a 65 year old Avery is is gonna want to live a great life and and you're gonna have a plenty of money to do that Avery if you start investing now and not try to time every little thing. Because when you're in that little situation, that's the principle you live by. You're not going to win long term because you have to have a long term mentality. Yeah, you can't do that. I feel like he's trying to find a way to maybe make this thing happen faster and get rich quick. And I'm like, listen, it doesn't work that way. And if it does,

I feel like it's a fluke. And then everybody tries to figure out what it was that they did. And it's like, listen, just understand it was just something that happened in a moment. So I hope that helps. Let's take another call. Let's go to Haley in Philadelphia. All right, Haley, what's going on? Hey, guys, thanks for taking my call. You're welcome. My question is, I'm wondering if I should sell my car to pay off my student loans, or if I should keep my car paid off tomorrow and follow the baby steps to pay off my student loans. Okay, well, how much do you have saved and how much is the car bringing if you sell it? So I have $10,000 saved and the car value on Kelley Blue Book is $15,000. Okay.

Do you owe anything on the car? Yeah, I owe $5,000. Okay. So essentially you'd be... And how much... Go ahead. How much is your student loans? I have $17,000 in student loans. Okay okay how much do you make a year i make 70 okay no i would not sell this car no you owe five thousand dollars throw that throw five thousand of the ten thousand but i haven't paid off today and it's gone and then you have yeah four thousand keep a thousand dollars in an emergency fund take four thousand throw it at um yeah the student loans and gosh and you got thirteen thousand left making seventy thousand you're gonna yeah you'll be able to pay off these student loans quick yeah i love it okay yeah i would not i would not sell it okay perfect and i'm right now i'm putting eleven percent of my um take on pay into my 401k so i'm assuming i should probably stop

that yes that's right pause that yep exactly that That'll be more money back in your paycheck To throw at the stat which is awesome I mean if you had like we talked to a girl Two days ago Me and George did and she had a SUV BMW She could sell it for like 70,000 I mean it was a pretty big Like chunk you know she owed some money on it

She could have paid it off with her All this stuff but I'm like It was like it was a, you know, an asset that was like, oh my gosh, you could sell it and make something. But no, you yeah, with a $15,000 car, you owe five, you make 70, you're in a great position just to sell it. And you have that

$10,000 saved, which is awesome. Yeah. And I mean, the reason why I wanted to sell my car to begin with is because I live in Philly, so I don't, and I work from home. So I'm literally using my car once a week and that's only to like go see my parents um so that was kind of my my thought but I mean it makes sense too I mean it's I don't feel like it's something that's on fire for you to make that choice right away I'm with Rachel if you if you still owed 15 on it it might be a different discussion but the fact that you only owe five and

you have the five in your possession and you still have money to make decent headway on the student loan. I feel like it's something that after you pay off the car and maybe a year from now, if you're like, listen, I never use this car, you might decide to sell it. But for now, sticking with it. Listen, good job. I'm happy for you. You'll be debt free in no time. This is The Ramsey Show. You are listening to The Ramsey Show. I'm Jade Warshaw. This is Rachel Cruz. And let me tell you something. I'm hyped, guys, because we have a great live event coming up in the late spring.

Actually, it's May 10th through 11th. It's the Total Money Makeover Weekend. And listen, I've been here for some really great live events, Rachel, but I think this might be the one that I'm most excited about. It's going to be all the personalities. It's a whole weekend here in Nashville at our live event center up there on a beautiful hill with a beautiful view of Nashville and the surrounding area. And we're just giving you a crash course on the Baby Steps, how to manage your money. I love this event because it's really for anybody, regardless of where you are in the Baby Steps. You could be on Baby Step 1 or Baby Step 7. Yes. And you're really going to benefit from being at this event. It's like a rally, Rachel.

I know. I'm here for it. And you know, at Ramsey, we've done so many different types of events, like you said. And we try to cover, you know, at Ramsey, we've done so many different types of events, like you said. And we try to cover, you know, some events we try to cover your whole life and we try to, you know, do it all. But it is fun to kind of focus in on a subject like money, which Ramsey's, you know, it's what we talk about most of the time

here on the show. And so to have a whole weekend dedicated to that and really have the time to walk through principles and ideas and motivation and fun. George and I are going to do a Smart Money Happy Hour live broadcast the Friday before. I think I'm allowed to say that. Go ahead and say it. If you didn't, yeah, if I wasn't supposed to, sorry.

And yeah, there's just some really fun things we're going to be doing. And if you are a fan of the content on this show and others, you're going to love this weekend. It's a really fun. Listen, I'm excited. I had a meeting yesterday with one of our folks on staff who helps plan the content.

And I told her one of my ideas. It's out of the box, Rachel. Oh, I get it. Jade, you're always good at that. It's going to be fun. So early bird tickets start at $99. But remember, it's for a limited time. So go to ramseysolutions.com slash events today

because Rachel and I both know these tickets sell out super fast. And if you want that early bird pricing, you got to do it today or like tomorrow, this weekend, you just got paid. So go on ahead and do it. It's $99. Get that now at ramseysolutions.com slash events. That's exciting. Man, after that, I feel like we have to go to the phone lines. If you want to call in the numbers, 888-825-5225, and we'll try to get to your call. But in the meantime, we have Madison in Tampa, Florida. What's going on, Madison? Hi, guys.

Thanks for taking my call. So I'm just in a predicament. I just found out that I will be terminated from my job that I've been at for almost five years. As of July 31st of this year. Sorry. I'm so sorry. What do you do? I'm currently a business financial administrator for a sales and marketing company. Okay. Yeah. I make about $43,000 a year at this job. So I have six months to plan. We're not officially terminated until July 31st. And at that time we will receive severance, although I don't know how much. Okay. Keep going. I was going to say, I don't currently have anything in savings

and I'm worried about what's coming next. Yeah. Yeah. So, Madison, the way I would handle this, you know, when we talk to people who are paying off debt and there's a big life change that they are aware of, most of the time it's a baby, right? They're pregnant and we call it stork mode. Pause the debt snowball and just pile up money. And I would say the same would be true if someone knows that they're going to relocate and they know that they're going to have some moving expenses.

We'd say put some of that money aside. And for you, thank God you have six months, which is a gift to at least know that they're not coming in and they're like, today's your last day. So for now, I would save as much as possible. I would be in that mode of saving, saving, saving. Do you have a lot of debt? So I have about thirteen thousand dollars in debt um what's it in the majority of it uh student loans okay um I just recently got my accounting my associate's degree in accounting

okay okay so yeah so what I would do I would be saving Madison and then I mean I would start looking what Mayish and say hey I'm gonna or even line up a job sooner than that and just say, I'm trying to do it now. Would you leave the job? I always wonder about that. They give you six months. I mean, if you know, if you know it's happening in six months, I don't I would not wait. I personally would not wait to the wire. Yeah, I don't.

I'll be honest with you, Madison. I don't know a ton about the financial admin space. Is there a lot of jobs out there? Is it easy to just kind of go and apply for something and get it? Or do you feel like, you know, that it could be a couple of months to find something? What do you think? Have you looked? Or do you kind of know the landscape?

So I don't think there's much as far as the admin side. But I do have a part-time currently with a company called Primerica. And I'm currently getting licensed. I just recently got licensed for life insurance. And I'm currently trying to get licensed for investments. So I've been trying to build that. And I am also wondering, so I'm about to receive my tax return

that time of year. I'm going to receive a nice chunk. I have a 12-year-old, 3-year-old, 2-year-old, and a 1-year-old. Oh, we didn't get that. Okay, good. So you have four kids. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to receive a little over $10,000 for my tax return, and I'm wondering what my best steps are to save it. Yeah, save it. Are you married, Madison? No, i'm not okay i have a partner um i do have a i have a boyfriend okay i just didn't know if there was like a dual income situation um here's the thing i'm the only i'm the i'm the breadwinner in my situation okay don't stick what i don't want

you to do is stick around simply to get the severance like thinking like i'm gonna do this thing up to the wire to get especially an unknown amount that you're like, listen, I don't even know how much it is. In this equation, I care more about taking care of the kids and taking care of the kids. So really lining up something or at least listen, start getting options. It's not to say that you have to take the first job you step up, find another position that's within my field of knowledge and what I love to do to possibly get a raise and get a higher salary and really just look at this. I mean, I know it sucks and it hurts. You've been there for five years. But like Rachel said, it's a gift that you've got six months and really think of this as the stair step to the next best thing and the next good thing for you and your family. And before you get off here, let's connect her with some of the Ken Coleman materials.

The assessments, his book, Proximity Principle would be great too. Yeah. So Austin, if we can give those to her, that's a great point. Yeah. And Madison, I would be encouraged to, you know, I mean, it's not like you're trying to replace $143,000 position. $43,000, you can do that. You're smart. You've done this. And you've been with this company for five years. So there is a part of you that you want to leave well. But I don't know why my heart kind of flipped on this, Jay. But when I'm like, oh, you got four kids.

All right, we're a single mom. We got to provide. Now you have to do what's best for Madison. And I think you can leave well and respectfully. But I would be looking for another job because you got to pay your bills. And if you find it and you find a job you love and they need a sooner start date, And I think you can leave well and respectfully, but I would be looking for another job because you got to pay your bills. And so, and if you find it and you find a job you love

and they need a sooner start date, I would just tell the company, you know, I would get plenty of notice. Yeah. Do it respectfully, but you have to take care, you have four kids to take care of. So I would do this faster, you know?

And again, I hate to say if you're a single person and all that, but you don't have, there's not as much. That's right. That's on you. You could probably have a level of flexibility to a degree but when you have dependents yeah in your household you want to make sure that that you're well covered so i would be saving that tax return i would be saving every penny you can um between now and finding a new job but well let's talk about that

rachel okay so when i was in my day um when if you left a job it was like listen give give two weeks notice or more if you can yeah is that still like the running i think so is that still the thing two weeks notice to me i feel like that's a respectful right and the company you know like here at ramsey if someone gives her two weeks they usually don't laugh they don't stay the whole two weeks it's like hey let's wrap some stuff up because once you're done you're done yes um but they're in a position of because it sounds like layoffs so the layoffs so the company's not in a good position so if she does have a critical role i would want to hand that responsibility off yes to do it well before my area is is gone or whatever the situation is um so that'll never

bite you in the butt it's all you never want to burn bridges it's very appropriate yeah i think yeah i think so too i'm like listen if you can give more if there's a way to do that i'm not people give less and i'm like or like or two days or that's terrible i know or to just walk in and be like i quit like are you kidding listen you never know one thing i've learned rachel is you never know who you'll run into on down the line. Yeah. You know, you get older because the world is small. Like it's big, but it's small. And I have always been shocked at the people who have like come back around in my life or vice versa.

And it's kind of funny because sometimes people want things. And I'm like, I know how you were with you before, you know? Yeah. But Madison, too. And anyone out there that has a big change like that. I think, Jade, you said something that I was like, yes, see this as an opportunity of growth. And Ken's book, The Proximity Principle is really going to help you find that next better thing, right? This is

a closed door to open something great. And we want to believe that for you, Madison. Absolutely. Well, thanks for hanging out with us. Keep hanging out with us. We're going to take more of your calls. Hear from more of you guys coming up next. We'll see you next time.