The Ramsey Show - App - I'm Making $70,000 a Year on eBay...Should I Quit My Job? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: January 4, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, 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. Thank you for joining us, America. Chris Hogan, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today as we take your questions about your life and your money. Open phones at 888-825-5225. 41% of Americans make New Year's goals and resolutions. Only 8% end up keeping them.

60% already threw in the towel before they started, apparently. And here's what we know. We know that people don't set goals because they don't think they can keeping them. 60% already threw in the towel before they started, apparently. And here's what we know. We know that people don't set goals because they don't think they can hit them. Right. I mean, 8%? Only 8%. That's why we call people successes. Golly.

They're successful. Yeah. I mean, being able to stick to it, to be able to follow up and i've said this a dream is a goal without a plan it's a wish if you don't have a plan and so what do you want to dream yeah you do have to dream it's important but you don't want to be a dreamer no no no no which by definition is someone that does not ever implement any freaking hard work to do the dream that's right they just bump their gums and talk about it would be nice one day yeah like if your daughter comes home says i'm dating a dreamer you go oh god they're gonna live in the basement that yeah no they're gonna live in the basement

this ain't the one honey this ain't the one oh yeah so i mean you want to be dreaming but dream needs to uh get the clouds blown off of it and put some work clothes on and knock things out so i always wanted to dot dot dot okay then this is your year yeah okay what is it you're gonna do and here's what we do know we do know that we all even though it's unpopular and politically incorrect to talk about winning versus losing. We all admire people who achieve their goals. We call them successes. Now, sometimes people, we only, you know, it's the tall poppy syndrome, as the Australians call it, where we stand them up only in order to knock them down.

Like, we want everybody to be successful, but as soon as they are, we have to do something to make sure that they're not. Because some of them are jerks. But, you know, some people that are successes. But by and large, people that are successful have worked very, very hard to get there. They've done things that other people wouldn't do. And so, I mean, if you want to throw a football like Peyton Manning, if you want to hit a golf ball, you know, like Rory or Tiger, it requires swinging that club until your hands bleed.

It's not like you go out there three hours on saturday and go up there it is i'm just a natural you know it requires freaking work right it really does and so you know it's you and and yet people want to say oh well he didn't earn that or she didn't earn that that's not really any of your business to start with but let's work on you. How can you be successful? And it is by setting goals. It really is. And Dave, you know, I have been here, part of this company, going on 16 years.

And goals is a topic we've taught on a lot, especially inside of Entree Leadership, where we're working with business owners, business leaders, people that are helping other people achieve. And so a part of that, we have found that there are five things that your goals need to be. Number one, specific. You've got to be clearly drawn in into what it is you're wanting to accomplish. And you need to be very specific. Number two, it needs to be measurable. You need to look to see, am I making progress toward this or am i not yeah right and so

i want to lose weight not good enough no because that is measurable but it's not specific right i want to lose 30 pounds ah now we have measurable that's right we have the first two yeah and we have specific okay i want to make more money won Won't work. Nope. How much more? Yeah. Measurable and specific. I want to make $100,000. When? Over 15 years or this year? What's your goal?

What's your aiming at? That's right. And then it brings the next thing in, which Dave was talking about, a time limit. So you've got to have a period of time that you're saying, I'm going to achieve this by this. As soon as you do that, the math kicks in. Those three things. Oh. It's specific.

It's measurable. It has a time limit. I'm going to lose 30 pounds. When? Over 15 years? Right. Or over 15 days? Right. Probably not going to happen.

Or let's say over 90 days. Okay. If you say 30 pounds over 90 days, everybody do the math with me right quick. 10 pounds a month, 2 1⁄2 pounds a week. Increase your water intake. Increase your sweat level. At least 30 minutes a day. Do some push-aways.

Yeah, push back, some push-ups. Push-ups, push-aways. Quit eating the white stuff, the breads and the rices. I mean, we know what to do. You don't need Oprah. You know what to do. And you're going to go do it, right? And so this is how you lose weight.

You eat less, you exercise more. Duh! And so, and you can look at it and go after a week i'm up five pounds instead of down two and a half i don't think i'm heading towards my goal because it's measurable specific and it's broken down then into incremental things i want to write a book okay i'm gonna do 12 chapters that'd be a chapter a month for a year it'd be two chapters a month for six months you've done it you're moving and so you've got specific measurable time limit in writing this was the game changer for me.

Even back in college days, our coach would have us write down, what are you going to do in this upcoming ball game? Yeah. Number of tackles. Yeah, write it down. How many tackles? What was the highest number of tackles you had in the game? Oh, I think 14 or 15.

Did you just lie? No. Really? No, no, no. Because I put it down, and that little man would read the goal, and if you didn't hit it, no, no. Because I put it down, and that little man would read the goal, and if you didn't hit it, you felt accountable. I mean, people, you were coming over the middle as a middle linebacker, hitting somebody 14,

15 times. That scares the crap out of me. I'm just saying. Made my heart happy. Makes me scared. I'm having a flashback. I'm going to scoot over here a little bit. But listen here.

So the specific, measurable, have a time limit in writing, and this last one is huge. It's got to be yours. And as we talk about this, other people can have goals and thoughts and things for you. My wife wants me to lose weight. No, it's not going to work. Your dad wants you to become a pastor. Oh, God. It ain't going to work.

I don't want to go to your church. It's got to be yours. And when it matters to you, I'm going to tell you something. I talk to people, Dave, on my show about this, the secret to setting goals. I want you to identify who wins when you win. Like, think about it. tell you something i talked to people dave on my show about this the secret to setting goals i want you to identify who wins when you win like think about it if you get healthier your kids win because you're better but what are you going to sacrifice in order to get that win you know one of my pastors did the opposite he's got written in the front of his bible who would be negatively

affected if he ever fell in the front of of his Bible, he reads that every day. The number of lives I would destroy if I make bad decisions. And this is the opposite. This is if I make good decisions, I can change my family tree. That's right. I can give to this charity. I can give to this ministry. I can grow a business and give people jobs.

If I win, this is what happens. And yeah, write down who's gonna who's gonna be affected when you win that's powerful no it does and it changes the mindset around it and uh it's really important and dave i know you've also been around zig for many years i had an opportunity to meet him through you uh that man was a game changer but uh he talks about seven areas uh that we call the wheel of life financial Financial goals, intellectual goals, family goals, spiritual goals, physical goals, career goals, and social goals. And they are all intermingled.

You can't just, you know, if you win at finances and lose your family, you missed it. If you win at family and you're all broke because you never work, but everybody's really nurtured, then that's probably not a good plan either, right? And so, I mean, if you win at your work and your family, but you let your physique get completely out of control, then you've lost. I mean, so these things are intermingled, spiritual goals. Hey, America, watch this. Hey, Dave, which area gives you the most challenge and then the seven?

Social. Seriously. Sharon says if I wasn't married to her, I wouldn't have friends. That's not true. You just would have two. I said she said it. I didn't say it was true. So, there you go. It's been the same for 16 years.

It just makes my heart happy to ask it. Yeah, but you coming across the middle 14 times in a dadgum game scares the crap out of me. I'm just saying. Alright, folks. Set some goals. Specific, measurable, have a time limit, and in writing, and most importantly, they need to be your goals. This is the Dave Ramsey Show.

I heard a statistic recently that absolutely blew my mind. In the U.S. alone, over 3,000 people die every day without life insurance. Now, I don't want to sound unsympathetic, but this drives me crazy. What are people thinking? I don't understand how taking care of your family is not a top priority. Most of you probably just spent a bundle on Christmas on things you really didn't even need, and now you're making New Year's resolutions that are focused on yourself. But if you want to use the New Year as a reason to do something right,

like protecting your family, then take care of it right now before it's too late. Term life insurance is something every family needs, and that's why I talk about it every day. It's not complicated, it's not expensive, and Zander Insurance is the only place I recommend. Go to Zander.com or call them at 800-356-4282. Please learn from other people's mistakes and get this taken care of. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. Chris Hogan, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us.

Open phones at 888-825-5225. Fairfax, Virginia is with us. Nana is on the line. Hi, Nana. How are you? Hi, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure.

I'm on baby step four. I'm currently renting an apartment. I have about maybe $42,000 saved up in my savings account by a house. While I am renting, I'm still putting money into the house savings, and I recently opened up an American Mutual Fund account. I'm a little conflicted because I live in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia metropolitan area, which is extremely expensive. Yes, it is.

And I was thinking about moving to the south in about a year or two to purchase a home. Would you suggest that I buy in this area now or wait until I move down south in a few years to buy a home? I know how you are about purchasing versus renting. Well, if you're not going to be there but a couple of years, I'd probably wait. Okay. You could get stuck.

I mean, you could buy a home in this white-hot real estate market right now, and the market slows down two years from now when you're ready to move and you couldn't get out of it. And so that's short a window. How old are you? I am 31. Okay. Well, you've got out of it. And so that's short a window. How old are you? I am 31. Okay. Well, you've got plenty of time.

The point is to become a homeowner over some time. I mean, we don't want to be renting until we're 94. That's a bad plan, financially and mathematically. But if you give up a year or two in order to not get stuck in something, I'm fine with that. Where are you thinking about ending up? So I work for the federal government with HHS, and I was thinking about relocating to Atlanta area to work for the CDC. So I was just listening to about SMART goals. So I kind of have like my SMART goals in order, and I'm hoping that, you know, in that time period, I can move down to

Atlanta where the homes are a little bit cheaper. By then, right now I'm saving about $900 to $1,000 a month into my house savings account. My emergency savings is already capped. So by then, I'll probably have an additional maybe $20,000 saved up. Good. Well, here's the thing. I'm curious. I don't know how this stuff works in your world. Why can't you do it now?

I guess it's just more so I'm paralyzed by fear. I'm just afraid to buy a house. It's the biggest purchase I've ever made. No, I'm talking about move to Atlanta. Oh, move to Atlanta. Because I just got my federal job back in August, so I'm still about four or five months into it, and I'm kind of waiting to get a higher grade

before I can start applying for positions within the CDC. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, listen, I love the mindset that you have and the level of focus that you have. You've got timeframes. You know you're trying to move up in class and then be able to transfer. But I would tell you this. When you get ready to move to Atlanta, I think it's an excellent idea for you to go there and rent for a few months, get a lay of the land, understand kind of the zones, where to live,

where to avoid, and figure out where it is you want to be. And then when you are ready to make that decision to be somewhere for three years or more, then I think you're ready to buy. Yeah, so I think I'd move to Atlanta as soon as your career allows you to, not when you're ready to buy. Yeah. And if you rented there for a little while, the rent will be cheaper. That's right. Maybe, depending on where you locate in Atlanta.

But if you're careful about it, it should be cheaper. And that will enable you to buy faster, but you don't have to buy simultaneous with the move. And as a matter of fact, I'd get down there sooner rather than later if I were in your shoes. If that's the long-term goal, I wouldn't put it off. But you've got to get your grade up. I understand that. And, you know, to be able to make the move that you're talking about within the career

structure of what you're doing, which I know nothing about. So good luck with that. All right. Greg's with us in California. Hi, Greg. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you for taking my call. Sure.

What's up? So in the beginning of the pandemic, my wife lost her job, and then I was put on reduced pay and hours. And throughout the season, we've been able to save money and get to about $30,000 saved. But we do have a $15,000 401k loan. And what we're trying to do, because we're kind of hesitant to pay it, mainly because my job,

they just furloughed more general managers, but I was one of the ones that wasn't. So we're trying to determine if we're holding back because we're more fearful or should we pay it to get rid of that debt, even though we have a risk of my job may be gone? Well, how real is that risk, Greg? Sounds kind of real.

Yeah, I mean, is it something that can happen in the next few months? Well, they're telling us they're confident. I'm a movie theater general manager, so they're confident that we'll eventually reopen. We just don't know when. Right. In California. Right. Especially in California.

Well, here's why I'm asking this. I feel your resume needs to get out and be dusted up and prepared because here's the downside. With the 401k loan, if you do lose that job, you'll have 60 to 90 days before that 401k loan is due and payable. Correct. So mindset-wise, if I'm you, I would be dusting off my resume to really start to look at it. I already am, man. Is your wife looking for work as well? She found something?

No, we had her not look because our children have some therapies and some health issues that have required her to really focus on them while my schedule is actually deep up on time because i travel a lot more to watch other theaters okay so you're more of a regional manager type at this stage is that what you're saying you have more than you have more than one theater is that what you're saying yeah only because more than one theater? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, only because right now they furloughed a lot of the general managers. Oh, okay. They're having one GM check multiple theaters.

Gotcha. Okay, but you're really just looking at closed buildings right now, right? Oh, absolutely, yes. Oh, Lord. I'm sorry. Oh, what a disaster. Yeah, I think I'm with Chris. You know, here's the thing.

You stop all baby steps, push pause, and pile up cash if a storm is coming. Now, we have to define, and that's what Chris and I are doing, talking to you, is try to define what's the probability that this hurricane is going to affect your home. Okay? If I'm in Nashville and it's going to hit New Orleans, I'm probably going to affect your home okay if i'm in nashville and it's going to hit new orleans i'm probably going to be okay right but in your case you got it you got winds coming right at you it sounds like number one you're in an industry that's really struggling uh and it's going to struggle with covid more than a lot of other industries i mean like a

live event type setting i mean it's a this is a very difficult thing to reopen um and number two you're in freaking california which has completely lost its mind and so um uh and you know politically you've got all kinds of problems in terms of reopening and so if i'm you i'm pretty scared for my job so no i wouldn't pay that off today i'd pile up cash as high as you can pile it. I would have everybody working that could work, and let's really get the plywood over the windows. And all of you be looking for jobs, and all of you get your resumes dusted off,

and all of you have a plan for if this doesn't go well. Now, if the storm passes, and it wasn't a direct hit, we take the plywood off the windows, and we start again, right? Okay. But right now, I don't see that storm passing in the next six months, in your setting, or three months anyway.

Yeah. I could be wrong. I mean, maybe they recall Newsom and they open up the whole state, but I doubt it. I don't know anything about it. I'm just watching from the outside like everybody else going, oh, my goodness, what a mess. And so, yeah. And, Dave, like you said going, oh, my goodness, what a mess. And so, yeah.

And, Dave, like you said, the piling up cash, let's talk about this. There's not a downside to it. And here's the deal. This wasn't found money. The plan is when the storm passes, you then unpause and keep working the steps. You pay it off immediately. Yeah. Once you are secure in your job.

That's right. Or the new job. Right. You pay off that 401k loan immediately with the cash that's laying there, and you push play again, and you go finish your baby steps. That's right. You're at point, Chris. That's the main thing you want to do.

It is. It really is. So you take care of the four walls, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and utility, pile up cash. Right. Be ready for the big bad wolf to huff and puff. Yep. Right?

Be the third pig in the brick house, right? Get the four walls built. And then go from there, and so the big bad wolf wanders off. Now we can come back out. We can do, you know, shutters are open. We can be back out in the sunshine. Yep. We can do stuff again, and got to reevaluate.

You poor folks. Man, I'm so sorry for you. I mean, we don't have, I don't think we have theaters open here, do we? No. No, I think we did. Man, I'm so sorry for you. I mean, we don't have, I don't think we have theaters open here, do we? No. No, I think we did. No, they're open. We did.

They probably just closed them again. I don't know. I can't keep up with what they're doing, but it's like, I mean, it's an industry that was in trouble anyway. Netflix is destroying them. Yeah. And so they were hurting already,

and then they just politically just finished it off. A great American icon, the movie theater. This is The Dave Ramsey personality is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. A couple of big things happening. It is New Year's. Happy New Year. And it's time to reset.

A lot of you after last year go, I really need to rethink this money stuff. I've not been doing it as well as I should. Well, if that's you, then Ramsey Plus is ready. And it has a free trial to help you walk through. And they've got a 90-day program right now to help you with some quick wins and help you make some real progress quickly on your debt. And it's really, the team over there has done a wonderful job. I'm so proud of them.

So go to Ramsey Plus. If you want it for free, go to DaveRamsey.com slash reset and you can take on a free trial today is the last day to pre-order Rachel Cruz's brand new book it hits stores tomorrow know yourself know your money 150 dollars worth of free bonus items along with the hardcover book of course all for just 20 bucks if you order it tomorrow you'll get a book, which is worth $20. Absolutely. Oh, without a doubt. But you're missing out on it if you don't go ahead and do it right now by midnight tonight. And the big deal is next Tuesday night, you and I, Chris Hogan and I, Rachel Cruz, Craig Groeschel, live from Oklahoma City, from LifeChurch.TV, are going to be doing a live free streamed event called Reset to get you ready to reset for the new year.

I am so excited. I mean, again, talking about 2020 being behind us and now moving forward in 2021, giving people the opportunity to have the information to be able to grow forward. I'm telling you, I'm very excited for this event. I want you all to mark your calendar, January 12th, 7 p.m. And again, just text this right now. Text RESET to 33789. That way you RSVP and you've got a spot right in your home to watch us. It is free.

Tuesday night, 7 o'clock, one week from tomorrow. Be there, January the 12th. Text RESET to 33789. We're going to walk you through the plan. Some of you already know the plan, but you need a reset. And Rachel's, of course, going to talk about know yourself, know your money. And, of course, Dr. He may be a doctor, but Craig Groeschel, Pastor Craig, is going to be talking.

He did a talk on discipline that absolutely made me want to be more disciplined. It'll do the same for you, and he's going to do that talk for us. So pretty cool stuff. If you're in the Oklahoma City area and you want to be in the live audience, appropriately spaced, Life.Church is going to have our studio audience. Seating is extremely limited, like very, very, very limited. There's just going to be a handful of people. But they're $20, and they're available at DaveRamsey.com slash events.

Make sure you plan to come out if you're in the Oklahoma City area. Yeah. Now, listen to me. All this stuff, the live stream is going to be amazing. Put that on your calendar, January 12th. But listen, with Rachel's book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money, you've got to preorder this thing. You've got an opportunity to have a coaching session with the financial coach. It's like working with your own personal financial trainer.

And so get this thing ordered right now before the pre-sale goes away, and you've got many options ahead of you. Edgar is in Chicago. Hi, Edgar. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave and Chris. Happy New Year. Happy New Year.

How can we help? I have a question about a subordinate loan. I got divorced in 2012 after I found out that my house was in foreclosure and she stole the mortgage money from 2011. So I was able to get a loan modification and something that was called a subordinate loan. I didn't know anything about it. For $54,000, I was able to save my house. Now I would like to refinance, and the subordinate in loan is hunting me a little bit. I would like to try to get to a 15-year conventional instead of a 30-year FHA as I have now.

So I'm trying to figure out what to do with this thing and how to go about it. Well, essentially what a subordinate loan is, all subordinate means is it's behind the other mortgage. And so a subordinate loan in this case is a second mortgage or a third mortgage. It's probably just a second mortgage. You have a first mortgage on there from your original loan. All the back payments when you got behind became a new second mortgage. It works exactly the same mathematically, Edgar, as if you'd taken out a home equity loan to catch up your payments.

Okay. That's how it's working. Okay. So you got $54,000 there. What's your first balance? My first is $146,000 right now because that $54,000 is on a 0% and pay it off after the 30 years is over yeah but it's going to be gone if you refinance yeah so you owe you owe two hundred thousand dollars

on your home what's your home worth uh 285 okay so you can refinance a two hundred thousand dollar first mortgage and it pays off both the first and the subordinate and that's the only thing that's going to work they're not going to to remain subordinate to a new mortgage after you refinance. That was a favor they did you because of the screwed-up mess you got in. Okay, okay. So it's worth going into a 15-year conventional, possibly at 2% or 2.9% instead of being in the 30-year FHA 3.6%. On 146 and zero on 54, yes. Okay, so it'll be on 200 even, just about 200 even.

Yeah, but the point is, I mean, if you figure out that the total interest paid on the way you're paying it now is 3.6 on 146, and the total interest charge might be 3% or 2.9 or something on 200, but you've also cleaned up your mess. That's right. And you don't have this thing hanging over your head, this knife hanging over your head, out there from the past mess and all that stuff. Yeah. And I would do it.

I would get refinanced immediately if you can for the cleanliness even if it costs a slight amount more just to smooth everything out and it's going to be again that past payment history bumps and all that'll be behind you because you've moved forward with a new loan uh that's exactly what i would do having been in this industry for many years this is the better route good question yeah good question okay teaching moment um subordinate if you have a subordinate at work it's someone that's under you correct on the org chart right uh if uh if you're talking about i am so and so subordinate i am after him or her okay subordinates the same thing on a mortgage. The first mortgage date, when you file a deed of trust or a mortgage, depending on the state,

at the courthouse, the date that it's recorded makes it what it is. So the first one, the earliest date, the oldest date, is the first mortgage. Correct. You can't just name something first mortgage and call it first mortgage. That's right. Okay? That's right. The next one that is recorded is the second one that is recorded.

It is subordinate to the first, and it's called a second mortgage. So if you record one and five years later you record another, by definition, the second one you did is the second mortgage, and third mortgage and the fourth mortgage and so on. And even if someone files a lawsuit against you and takes a lien on the property, they don't jump in front of the mortgages. They land on that date timeline. They might be in sixth position if you've been sued a bunch. That's right. You know, they might be in second position if you've never been sued at all other than your first mortgage is in place. That's right. You know, they might be in second position if you've never been sued at all, other than your first mortgage is in place.

That's right. And so we used to call it the race to the courthouse is how title is done. The first one to record the deed is in first position. And so anything after that is, by definition, subordinate. And that's where that name comes from. It doesn't really mean anything except that it's not first. That's right. We don't know if it could be second.

It could be third. It could be fourth. In his case, I'm pretty damn sure it's second. I'm pretty damn sure there's nothing else on there but those two things from what he's describing. That's right. So that story is a very clean story. And the other one, Dave, that I like to clarify with people is this whole home equity line of credit. See, people don't view those.

And the bank was very smart when they brought those on because they don't call them a mortgage when, in fact, they are. That's exactly right. It is a second or third mortgage. But they never call it a mortgage, and so it became this very fashionable marketing tool to use for home equity. I'm sophisticated. Yes, I'm going to get this home equity line of credit.

Rich people have lines of credit. Now I have a line of credit. Rich people have lines of credit. Now I have a line of credit. You have a mortgage on your property. And so just being aware of that, and we don't want to fall for those antics anymore. We're going to count. Yeah. Yeah. Home equity lines of credit.

Yeah. Home equity loans. Yes. Are mortgages on your freaking house to buy a couch. Yeah. What's wrong with you? No, no, no, no. No more.

It was a line of credit, and I'm sophisticated. Oh, brother. Yes, yes. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Thank you. Chris Hogan, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in. We'll talk about your life and your money. It's a free call.

You jump in. Justin is with us. Justin's in money. It's a free call. You jump in. Justin is with us. Justin's in Orlando. Hi, Justin. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Thank you for having me. Sure. What's up? Just want to call in with a quick question, get your advice and your input. I'll explain my scenario real quick. I am an elementary school physical education teacher. I've been teaching now for 11 years, and it's been a wonderful career path for my family. It's enabled me to have a wonderful schedule with my children and my wife. I have three young boys under the age of eight. Long story short, my wife and I found your program right before we got married and had followed it

the best we could all throughout the years. We've been married now for about nine years. Started off working the baby steps, working the dead snowball, and now we're in a position where I feel like we are very, very blessed. God has definitely provided, and your program has been amazing. My situation that I'm in now is when we were working the baby steps, I kind of took your joke of selling the dog on Cra it now for eight, actually, sorry, about nine, nine and a half years. And this last year has been my most lucrative in terms of the business. It's grown each year, and it's honestly my passion, my dream.

It's enabled my wife to quit her job, her career job of working in sports technology, and she's now a stay-at-home mom. And I worked hard to be able to get that done for her, and now I'm kind of at the point where I'm itching to pursue my passion in terms of being a full-time e-commerce seller as well. Wow. I just want to get your thoughts on if it made sense and if I was making a wise, sound decision in doing so.

Wow. Justin, don't leave us hanging. How much did you make? This past year, my gross income was $120,000, and I netted about $70,000. Okay. And what do you make at your day job? My day job as a teacher, I make $44,000 before taxes. Okay. And what's your lifestyle set up on? You're out of debt. You have an emergency fund, right? We're out of debt. I have an emergency fund fully funded at about $50,000.

Our mortgage and house is completely paid off. I live in a $300,000, $310,000 house. And it's paid for? It's completely paid for, yes, sir. You are a rock star, brother. I'm the ball. So you can live on 70 000 right i definitely think so absolutely um it's i'm very conservative and i think you can't not that it scares me i know um i have enough confidence in myself but it's you know going scary making a lot

of my life to um to becoming a teacher and going in a completely different direction. But you obviously have been doing this a while. This is not a lark. This isn't something for one year you did and you got all pumped up. This is something you've gradually grown over nine and a half years, and it's a legitimate, serious business now, right? Yes, sir. Okay.

And it's what you want to do. You enjoy it. Absolutely. I love it. Okay. And it's what you want to do. You enjoy it. Absolutely. I love it. Okay. So when are you turning in your resignation? Well, I was talking with my wife, and I agree with her. She feels that I should finish the year teaching.

Okay. That seems reasonable. And probably go into a headstrong beginning of next school year after I would quit over the summer, you know, going into the next school year. Yeah. That was kind of, you know, her suggestion, and I value it, you know, I'm well-respected in my job and want to leave on a good term as well. Absolutely. And, you know, finishing out the school year is kind of a classy thing to do.

No harm, no foul. You can do that. And you'll have a lot of energy just knowing that it's coming to an end. That's right. Sure. Even though it feels like it's a long way away, but it it's coming to an end. That's right. Sure. Even though it feels like it's a long way away, but it's only five months. Right. I would go ahead and let them know that when the school year wraps up, you are,

and I would get on with my business. Thank you. And I think this. I think you will always be a teacher. It just may not be at that location in the elementary school you might teach someone how to do ebay stuff you might teach uh sunday school at your church i don't know what it is but i think you're a teacher too yeah by the way i am i love teaching yeah by the way i'm a teacher it's what i do and i love teaching it's one of my gifts as a matter of fact i'm a gifted

teacher a lot of things i'm not gifted at, but that one I am. And so that's who you are, and it does not have to manifest itself as an elementary PE teacher. No. And, Justin, I'm going to tell you, buddy, congratulations. Very, very proud of you. Very well done. Set yourself up. Remember the principles that got you here is what I want to leave you with,

meaning the mindset of looking at and seeing debt for what it is. It's not a tool. It's a threat. And so even as you look to grow in your business, again, please don't let your guard down. Please don't think that you suddenly have to hit a grand slam when you've been hitting base singles and you've been winning. So remember those things and don't deviate from your plan, young man. You're on the ball. Four yards and a cloud of dust gets you a first down every three,

and you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to put the ball at risk. And that's all we're trying to do here. It's ball protection. Just finish out. You're doing very, very well. And jump on to the Entree Leadership stuff, if you haven't, and get plugged into the Entree Leadership Elite and get plugged into some groups of some of the other sellers

we've got on there they're doing really well you can learn a lot from each other as you go jordan is with us jordan is in effingham illinois hi jordan welcome to the dave ramsey show hey mr ramsey hey mr hogan how are you guys today great man how can we help thanks for taking my call hey i am kind of like that last guy that called. I'm also a teacher and not in the same situation as him, but one day hope to be. So today I'm calling because I am on my last house payment this next month. And I got a loan without interest from my mom. And I know you told me not to do that, but I did it before.

I knew you guys. And so I'm just telling those that are out there in the same situation are about to do that, but I did it before. I knew you guys. And so I'm just telling those that are out there in the same situation are about to make that mistake. Don't do it. The borrower was slaved to the lender, as you guys say, and, um, you just, it just puts a tear in a relationship that doesn't need to be there. So now I'm in another situation that's probably going to tear a relationship apart for a short bit. Hopefully it'll heal. But, um, after I paid my last house payment, my mom gave me the loan and she did not want me to pay for the shed. Originally I thought that was

because she was protecting me thinking my house, um, I owe so much of my house and that was like an overwhelming feeling for me. Well, now I think it's more that she wants to own the shed so she can store a boat in it. Um, however, my it's on my land and it's on my deed, so it's not really hers. I just need to pay her for it, and that's the $35,000 that I owe her for it. And so she's wanting to now give it to me for free as a gift. I'm the oldest of four siblings under my dad. But they're strings attached. Yeah, I don't want that to tear our relationship with my...

You're afraid if it's not really a gift, it's like I want to be a part owner in a sense. Yeah, possibly. I mean, she's been pretty good. Originally, it was kind of a tear in our relationship when she gave us a loan. We started paying it off so fast that she hasn't really been an issue. But now I feel like this might be her last control piece. And so we don't want to do that. My wife and I talked about it, and I feel like an idiot for making that call and making that ask,

and people are probably like, why don't you just take it? No, it's not an idiot. Listen, it's not a gift if there's that many strings attached, and you feel control and other issues are going to pop up, and she's going to be a travel agent for guilt trips every time she wants to use your shed. Yeah. Jordan, you were wise. You were wise to reach out.

And next January, I'll have it paid off anyway. So it's really just another year of debt. Yeah, just go ahead and pay it off. It's all in your gut. I agree with you. Yeah. And it also complicates the estate plan if you've got five siblings. You know, she gave you $35,000.

She didn't give anybody else, right? Yeah. Well, and she said she's going to give them something, but I don't know if that's going to be fair or what that's going to look like. So I don't want to take a chance on that. Yeah. Mom, just for the cleanliness of your estate, I think it's better if I just go ahead and pay you off, and I'm going to go ahead and do that this year. And please don't take offense. I'm just trying to do the right thing, and I just want you to be – I just want to have this very simple thing where there's no transaction between you and I except mother and son.

Yeah. That's what my mom says. My mom says, or my wife says, well, your mom's always going to love you. So if you make her mad, it's okay. But if your brothers and sisters are mad at you, they may never forgive you. Well, if they're mad at you for no reason, that's their problem, too. But I wouldn't worry about them. Well, if they're mad at you for no reason, that's their problem, too. But I wouldn't worry about them.

They didn't come up in this discussion until the last sentence. But I still would pay it off because I think there's a lot of crap flying in the air here. I can smell it. I agree. Hey, thanks for the call, brother. Happy New Year, everybody. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show in the books. This is James Childs, producer of the Dave Ramsey Show. On your smart speaker, you can add our skill by saying,

Alexa, open the Ramsey Network skill. From there, you can listen to all our shows. Ask Dave money questions like, how do I invest my money? Or what is the debt snowball? Find out more at DaveRamsey.com slash smart speaker.