The Ramsey Show - App - I’m on Baby Step 2, How Does That Affect My Career? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: May 27, 2021

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Ken Coleman, host of the Ken Coleman Show, where he talks about careers and jobs and getting into a workplace that you love every day, is my co-host today. Ramsey Personality, number one best-selling author of the book, The Proximity Principle. Again, open phones at 888-825-5225. Now, we talk all the time, Ken, about the outgo side of the equation. Okay, what do you do first?

What do you do second? Baby step one, baby step two, baby step three. And we also talk about things that aren't predictable, which is what happens when you're in the thick of baby step two and find out you or your spouse are expecting. Or about the time you start working on your money stuff you lose your job that can be scary very scary and so what we do is on the ken colman show we're coming at this big shovel thing and and and and the reality is is when you all listen and watch the debt-free

screams that happen every day on the ramsey. You almost always see an increase in income during that time. And people go, hey, I've got to go make more money to drive that gazelle intensity. Sometimes it's part-time jobs, but sometimes they just wake up and go, you know, I need to talk to my boss about a raise. Yeah. Or I don't really like this place. I'm going to go get a different job. Yeah.

But the whole getting out of debt thing caused them to reassess their career. That's exactly right. And doing what you love is possible. In fact, Dave, you can make the income you need and the impact you want. And that's what we talk about here at Ramsey Solutions. We talk about work that matters here. That's an anthem that is on the big screen. If you come and like we've got hundreds of people in the lobby today.

Work that matters. This is the idea of doing something that you're good at that you love and that produces a result the product or service whatever the company does that means something to you and you can actually pursue that and you can get there even if you are walking through the baby steps and many times it is that pursuit which makes you more money which gets you out of debt faster so let's go to the other side of the equation. That's the maximized self-actualization side. Let's go to the other side. Like, I need some money to eat because I lost my job.

That's right. I need some money to eat right now. That's right. So you want to focus on just getting some money. That's right. So here's what you do. You lock that into one part of that three-part equation. You go, what do I do really well?

Think of those as power tools. When you show up to do a project at home, you want the best tools because you do the work more effectively and that's what you have to offer the marketplace. You focus on, hey, I'm really gifted here. I've got some talent and if I offer this talent

or I make this talent sharper and I turn it into a premium tool, guess what? I'm going to get paid more. I'm going to have more opportunities, maybe even side hustles to make even more money. So when it's just, I need a better job to pay me more to get out of debt, focus on that talent part. That's what you were created to do because you're really good at it. That's where you can make money quick.

Quick? Right now. And get started. Right now. And get the wolf away from the door. Then we can pivot. We get out of debt and we go, okay, now I've been putting everything into my debt. You start asking questions like, when can I start and when's the first paycheck? I mean, because I'm hungry right now. That's right. So what you have to focus on is what you bring to

the marketplace that you do really well, because people will see that and they will pay you for that. And then after we get out of debt, get that baby step three fully funded, now we can begin to look at what's the transition to do work that I really love that produces the results. So we're going to help you wherever you are on the journey. Big shovel. Hey, let's get that shovel bigger so we get out of debt faster. Live like no one else so that we can live, give, and work like no one else. Yeah.

It's all tied together. The hole that you're in is the mess that you've made, and we always call it the shovel-to-hole ratio. That's exactly right. I have $60,000 in debt. Okay. I'll make $20,000 a year. Uh make twenty thousand dollars a year oh that's right or i have sixty thousand dollars of debt and i'll make two hundred thousand dollars a year oh big shovel that's right look you know medium-sized hole yeah

uh tiny shovel big hole you know i mean the the shovel to hole ratio will give you an indication how quickly you're going to get out of that, how quickly you can put these financial hard times behind you. That's right. And so we often say stuff like you need a bigger shovel. That's right. One of the ways to get that doesn't always mean leaving a career. You could just get promoted. That's stage five of my seven stages to doing work you love.

Stage five is get promoted. How do you get promoted? Well, you've got to know your role, get really clear. When's the last time you had a conversation with your leader to say, what is expected of me? I want to win here. Help me understand how I can drive more results. Leaders don't get that conversation much. And you might be surprised at how they go, wow, that's awesome. Because if you're winning folks, guess what? They're winning. And so get promoted. Hey, here's another thing, develop some qualities. What are the most promotable qualities according to LinkedIn right now in 2021?

You ready for this? Dave, it's adaptability. So, hey, you know what that means? That's a fancy multiple-syllable word that basically means I can handle change. And as you know, change is hard for all of us. Why? Because change makes us confront the unknown, Dave. Man, I just, I don't even want to. Do not make me get another phone.

Right. I have to learn all this crap over again. Yeah. And they just put new software on my dad-blamed computer this week. Uh-oh. And it's just, I think I'm going to office space the thing only with a 45 caliber. Oh, my God. I don't like change.

I'm not promotable. I'm not adaptable. I hate this crap. Right. That's right. And yet you're a CEO. How important is it? promotable. I'm not adaptable. I hate this crap. Right. That's right. And yet you're a CEO. How important is it? Oh, actually, I am adaptable.

I know you are. Except when it comes to freaking technology. Well, that's right. Your squares are different colors on this computer, folks. Shut up. Everybody say a prayer for Dave. He's struggling right now. Just shut up.

But see, adaptability is a learnable skill. It's a muscle. Okay. Wait a second. In this economy economy with technology always advancing so i wonder adaptable people does that include the thing of uh i'll help with it even though it's not my job is that adaptability you better believe it because it's you know there was an the old thing the old guy uh back in the 70s there was a sitcom and the guy would go

not my job man it's not my job that's right it's not my job. That's right. It's not my job. That's right. And I'm always amazed when I go in some business and you can't beg them to take your money. Yeah. You know? And you're looking at three people standing there looking at you and you're like, would you take my money? That's right. And it's like, it's not my job, man. That's right.

I'm here to do something else. No, by God, you're here because of the money. And yes! Yeah, yeah. It is your job. Adaptability really is an attitude. something else no by god you're here because the money and yeah yeah it is your job adaptability really is an attitude i mean we call it ability adaptability but really is an attitude that says you know what change is a part of life it's going to make me uncomfortable it's a great book written

on change and that's who moved my cheese fabulous book for anybody who wants to really develop this muscle but adaptability is just one quality that makes you promotable here's another one likeability how about just being more likable? How about reliability? Don't look like you're a winged on a pickle. That's right. Smile. You talk about this all the time.

Hey, smile. If you're happy, notify your face. Yeah, have a conversation with somebody. Hey, leaders, if you want to move up the leadership ladder, here's two questions. You ready for this one? Hey, talk to your people regularly and ask them these two questions. Number one, how are you doing? And it's not the how you're doing when we cross each other in the hallway that's a greeting

and everybody just goes, great, great, and then we move on. It's sitting down with them on their desk intentionally, having a meeting with them going, hey, how are you doing? How are the kids? How's everything going? How's everything going in the gig here? And that leads to the second question, which is, how can I help you win? You want to get promoted as a leader? Ask those two questions on a regular basis and watch your effectiveness as a leader and the impact you have on your people absolutely skyrocket. Because the first one's about connection. Dave, the second question is, they trust you now and they will begin to tell you, hey, here's how you can help me win. And that's what leadership is all about. So the idea is you can be shiny or you can be dull.

Yeah, you just need to decide to be shiny. Be shiny and watch the money come in. Because people are like bass. They go after shiny stuff. In an uncertain world, being a good steward of your money is more important than ever. While some circumstances can't be controlled, there are items within your budget you can take charge of, such as your health care costs. For nearly 40 years, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, has provided a budget-friendly means of sharing for medical bills when our members need it. Learn more by visiting chministries.org slash budget.

That's chministries.org. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, number one bestselling author of the book, The Proximity Principle, is my co-host today as we talk about your careers, your jobs, your life, and your money. Mark is with us in Casper, Wyoming. Hi, Mark. Welcome to the show. Hey, thanks a lot, guys. First of all, I want to thank both of you for faithfully following God's call on your life. Well, thank you, sir. It's changing lives out here. Thank you. It's kind of cheating, but it's good.

Yeah. That's great. Well, I'll get right to it. My mom went home to be with the Lord in April. Oh, my goodness. And so, yeah, it's still a little fresh. Yeah, I'm sorry. You know, she's a faithful servant of God and a wonderful mother and I know exactly where she's at.

I look forward to seeing her again here soon. Now the other side of it is she ended up graciously gifting me 20 acres with a small house on it and it's just outside of this popular resort town here in Wyoming. I understand that this is a wonderful gift and I want to manage it

well for the Lord. I understand that, you know, this is God's property and I want to make sure that I do the right thing. But, you know, it's a big responsibility for me, biggest I've ever had. And I'm concerned because I think that we may be in a real estate bubble. So my question is, you know, should I consider selling this property at what I perceive to be a high and reinvest the proceeds elsewhere? Or should I start developing some sort of plan to generate a return on that property while it potentially appreciates in time. Did she live in the house? She did not. Okay.

Other than the fact your mom just recently passed and left it to you, do you have any other emotional ties to the property? It is where I grew up, so I do have a bit of emotional ties. Yeah. I grew up in the old farmhouse. That's not a bit. That's real. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. So, I mean, when you sell it, there's a little boy inside of you that's going to cry a little. Yeah. Yeah. That's just, I mean, you need to say that out loud if you're going to sell it. The other thing is, the other time that little boy's going to cry is if you put a renter in there and they tear it up. True.

It's really weird to have renters in the property that you once occupied. It's an emotional experience. I've done it many times. But the first time or two it caught me off guard, and I went, you know, that was my little boy's bedroom, and now you put that crap in there. I mean, what is going on? You know, I mean, it's like, you know, it feels weird, you know.

So either way, you're going to face a little bit of that, and you need to be prepared for that. Real estate bubbles happen when something goes up and doesn't, and then obviously goes down because it went up too fast or went up faster than the marketplace would support. By and large in the U.S. right now, we are seeing tremendous real estate inflation. That is not a bubble. That's not going to come back down. The only time we've had a nationwide bubble where real estate went down nationwide in the last 100 years was 2008. One time it has happened in 100 years so i do not think that that nationwide bubble now resorts you said is near a resort town resorts have a problem in that they're more volatile than traditional housing and that kind of thing so if

they're if the value that's placed on it right now is because of its proximity to the resort, you know, yeah, that could bubble on you. That could dip later. So what do you want, aside from the fact that you're afraid the property might be maxed out, what do you want to be? Do you want to be owning that or something else 10 years from today? Okay. So 10 years from today, you know, I would love to be able to go back and renovate the house and maybe live there.

You know, that's been a dream of mine, but I don't know realistically if I'm in a financial position to own. It's a trophy property. What's it worth? It's worth probably $1.5 million. Okay. Why do you feel you're not in a position to own it when it's been gifted to you? Well, I'm trying to get out of my own head and look at this. And the way I perceive it is if I had a bank account with a million and a half dollars in it,

I make about $70,000 a year right now, but I work 60, 70 hours a week. Would I go and buy that trophy piece of property if I had a million and a half dollars in it? Sure, answer is no. It doesn't have any real income on it. Answer is no. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I wouldn doesn't have any real income on it. Right. Answers no. Right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I wouldn't. I think you're selling it, and I don't think that's unwise, but I think you can expect

some sadness when you do. That's human nature, and there's nothing wrong with that. This is personal finance. So I think you're selling it, and you're going to reduce your hours, and you may use some of this money to do some career adjustment things if you want to. Oh, yeah. You may use some of this money to do some career adjustment things if you want to. Oh, yeah. You may use some of this money to start a business. You may use some of this money to buy some property

and other property that is income producing because this is not going to produce income with one little house on 20 acres of raw ground sufficient to justify a million-and-a-half-dollar investment. It's not an income property. It's not how it's designed. So my guess is you're going to end up doing a little bit of all of those things with this money and moving very, very slow with the money once you get it. But I'm with you.

I'm okay selling a trophy property at this time of the market. It's not a bad time to do it at all, actually. But it is emotional. It is. And I was going to ask you, you know, how does he square the emotion of this was a dream? This was a dream to go back and live in that home, but also square it with his mother gave him that as an inheritance. It's going to change his life dramatically and receive the gift from that standpoint. This is a life-changing sale and you know what enters into this in my mind too is his

strong statement about his faith his mom's faith uh which means that his mom held the property probably with an open hand like he did and he's learned that from her and so he's not um you know you're not freaking out about this that that that was in his words, his word choice, his pausing. Everything was there. It was all indicated there. So he's got a calmness about this due to his faith. And I'm just a manager. I'm not an owner.

I'm a steward. And okay, what's the smart thing before the Lord? What's God want me to do with this? And you don't have to make a decision fast. There's nothing rushing you. But I think you're probably selling it. Yeah, I agree. And I think it's such a life-changing opportunity.

And wow. And receive that. Yeah. Don't feel guilty about that. Nothing wrong with that at all. Summer's almost here. It does not mean you can take a vacation from your money goals. I know the motivation to stay in tents can go away sometimes,

especially when you want that beach trip or all the fun things that come with summer. You can do this, though. It's about getting small wins with your money that lead to big results with your money over time, and that's exactly what you'll do with Ramsey Plus. Live like no one else so that later you can

live and give like no one else. Ramsey Plus membership gives you our best digital money courses, of course, including Financial Peace University, the tools that you need to keep moving forward, of course, including EveryDollar Premium, the world's best budgeting app. Your goals are worth working for all year long. Stay motivated with a free trial of Ramsey Plus, text TRIAL to 33789, text TRIAL to 33789. So I think it's a, you make different decisions when you hold things the way that Mark was holding them. If you hold your career with an open hand instead of this tight-fisted white knuckling

if you hold a car if you hold an investment if you hold a business uh an asset of any kind with an open hand um and say gosh i don't really own this. I'm just managing it for God. What is the best thing? It changes your decision-making paradigm. Because if I'm managing something on your behalf, Ken, I'm a little bit more responsible sometimes than I might be if I was managing it for myself. It's absolutely the case. I feel the obligation to do a good job for you. That's right. And so as a person of faith, as a Christian,

when you say, God owns it, I'm managing it for someone else, you ask the owner what he wants to do with it, it's a whole different thing. And so the heat and air goes out on your house, you go, hey, God, your heat and air is out. I need a miracle. I like that approach. This is The Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Nicholas and Rebecca are in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage. Hey, guys, how are you? We're good. How are you? Better than I deserve. Welcome. Where do you all live?

Gastonia, North Carolina, about 20 minutes from Charlotte. Oh, fine. Good to have you guys. And all the way to Nashville to do a debt-free screen. Yes, sir. How much did you pay off? $36,000. Wow. And how long did this take? 14 months.

Good for you. And your range of income during that time? About $50,000. Good. What do you all do for a living? I got a new job. I work at Chick-fil-A. Uh-huh. I'm an elementary school teacher.

Oh, fun. What grade do you teach? I teach first, but I'm moving to preschool this year. Oh. They don't back talk. So Rachel's oldest one was over at the house the other night. And I said, so you're going into first grade next year. And she said, no, Pop, I'm going into second grade.

I said, no, baby, you're going into first grade. She said, no, I'm going into second grade. She convinced me. And then she's not. She was completely pulling my leg. I like it. She's like her mother, man. She can talk.

She's amazing. So that's a cute age, though. That's so fun. So $36,000 worth of debt. What was it? $6,000 was credit card and $30,000 was student loans. Okay. All right. How long y'all been married? A year and two months. Oh, like 14 months. Yeah. So you get married and come home from the honeymoon and go, game on, we're getting out of debt. Yep. How did that happen?

What got you so fired up? Well, it was probably about 2019, that summer. We were engaged. My buddy was like, hey, we're doing this class at church. It's called Financial Peace. I'm like, what is that? This is going to be weird. We're like, all right, we'll do it.

So in September is when we took it. And as soon as we watched it from day one, we were all out. Wow. So that got you going. We actually took it twice. Yeah, we actually took it twice. That's not a bad thing. No.

The first time was in February of that year. And I was like, yes, let's do this. And I look over here and she's like, no. I like you now. The now part. Yeah, part yeah in that sentence hey what the what did you not like when you first took it you were resistant what was so tough for you um i am a control freak i like to be able to do like what i want to do with my money and it made me realize that this is what i want to do with my money oh it's god's money um so we had to make it your idea that's when that's when you did it no i like it i like

it that's real that's good i love that that's really good yeah you had to you had to want to do it yeah i don't blame you i like that that's smart very smart on your part so what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? You did it. Well, I listen to this every day. I've listened to it for the last couple years, and I hear all these different stories. But when I sat down with Rebecca when we first got married, I said, before we sit down, before we do our budget, before we talk about anything,

we're going to give a full 10% to church. We're going to tithe. And that's the best thing we ever did. And along with budgeting, God has really blessed us. We've gotten things in the mail, unexpected things, and it's just really seen the progress of how our life has been through marriage. I get unexpected things in the mail, too, but they're not the ones you can cash like a check.

That's fun. Look at you guys. I'm so proud of y' you can cash like a check. That's fun. Look at you guys. I'm so proud of y'all. Well done. Man, that's fun. It's a big deal. There is something about, for those of us that are believers, to begin to tithe a full 10% of your income to your local church.

Something snaps inside of your spirit when you do that. Things get loose. It's pretty cool. Was there a big challenge or was there something that was really hard when you guys went all in on this the pandemic oh yeah hello yeah there's that right yeah you're kidding what was up we got married um i'm sorry no you're good we got married the day the stay-at-home order started in our state. So we had to redo everything we thought we were going to do for our wedding. No honeymoon.

We did it in his parents' backyard. So, yeah, it's been a journey. They say finances is like a number one argument, but I felt like we went into it after taking financial peace and like actually had peace about it yeah yeah you bet you had a lot of challenges yeah it's pretty amazing yeah but what i mean gosh i mean you're gonna be like old people too back when we got married there was a pandemic you know you'll be telling your great grandkids this story yeah this is great we're gonna get married in the backyard.

Is there a honeymoon on the way now that you're debt-free? Well, we went to the beach just for the weekend, though, back for our one-year anniversary. And maybe in the future we'll do something. All right, good. Awesome. Well, you're doing so great. I'm so proud of y'all. What a great start.

Yep. We actually got a house. All right. Yeah. So we're going to close in June, and we'll have a mortgage, and we have a 15-year loan, and we're going to pay it off super early. Man, that's amazing. Well done, you guys.

Very, very well done. This is winning right here, man. Well done, you guys. Very, very well done. This is winning right here, man. Well done. $50,000 income and all of this accomplished in 14 months. Pretty stinking impressive. Very, very well done. Very well done. We've got a copy of the Legacy Journey book, which is your next step to become wealthy and outrageously generous.

And you are well on your way because you've been very intentional. guys are heroes very very proud of you very good job you took control you took control of your life you're a control freak i like it me too me too so well done and another copy of the total money makeover book as well eight million of those out there now and you'll have that one to give away to a friend and hopefully pay it forward, get somebody else started on your journey, because they're going to be inspired by your lives, because your lives are inspiring. So well done. That's right. You guys, I could see the peace all over you.

Yeah. Financial peace is a real thing when you can see it on somebody. Yeah. And the T-shirts help with the living debt-free T-shirts. And they're color-coordinated, his and hers. I mean, they're on top of it. Yeah. This is like a whole thing here. It's whole picture i like it well done all right nicholas

and rebecca from charlotte north carolina 36 000 paid off in 14 months 14 months married making 50 000 count it down let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free. Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Oh, man. You know, the first time that a thousand years ago that someone said, you know, I really don't like you. Yeah. How'd that feel?

I thought it was me that they didn't like. And it's not me. It's me telling them what to do. Yeah. And they don't want to do what we're talking about. I don't like Dave Ramsey.

Which means, translation, they don't even know me. They're not, it's not they don't like me. It's like, I'm telling you, be on a budget,

live on less than you make, be a grown up, be mature, not spend money you don't have, don't act like you're in Congress. I'm telling you, all these kinds of of things and that's what people don't like nobody likes to be told they can't do so and see the reality is there's this old phrase the truth hurts oh i thought it set you free well there's that one too yeah okay i do too long of a pause

but the truth hurts and so here's the deal they hear the truth and it hurts it stings and so then they go oh dave's telling the truth i don I don't like Dave. He's a boomer. He's just a boomer. He's just one of those guys. No, it really is true. It hurts. I really am a boomer, huh? Well, that's true, too.

But, you know, it is fun to see. I mean, this couple, it's just. There's their own fire. There's so much peace all over them, the happiness, the joy. And here's the deal. You know, you're going to have to accept a little bit of pain. I don't know of any area of life where we get progress without some pain.

I just don't know of an area. If you want progress, whether it's money, whether it's in your work, whether it's in your health, relationships, if you want to keep progressing and keep growing and head somewhere worth going, it's going to be tough. These baby steps, time in, time out, day in, day out, they work.

And it is painful, but, boy, what it produces on the other end is just pure, unadulterated joy, and we're looking at it. Yeah. I remember Rachel was a little baby upstairs asleep, and we were going broke. Denise was a toddler upstairs asleep. It's 3 o'clock in the morning. I had my Bible open. Romans 5.

Rejoice in your suffering. Yeah. And I went, I don't think I will. No, thank you. It's not a good idea. Rejoice in your suffering because suffering produces perseverance. Yes. Perseverance, character.

Character, hope, and hope. That's what's all over their faces. That's exactly right. That wasn't what the scripture said. I just thought of that, though. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. Ken Coleman Ramsey, personality, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Matt is in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hi, Matt. Welcome to the show. Hey, Dave. Hey, Ken. Thanks so much for having me today. Sure. What's up? Well, first of all, I love that story from the debt-free stage. My wife and I also had a pandemic wedding, and it was a great excuse to spend very, very little on a wedding. I think between the wedding and the honeymoon, we spent about $5,000, and we did it on a fishing pier at a local park with my buddy who was an army chaplain. So I think that was really awesome.

Serious fun. Yeah, definitely. So Dave, the reason that I called in today, I just wanted to say first, you have helped me out so much. My wife and I are 29. We're debt-free except the house with $150,000 in savings. And I'm at a point now where I really want to start giving back, but I feel as though all I have right now is knowledge and time. And I want to do something that I love in my spare time when I'm not working. And I truly believe in the old adage of teaching a man to fish, right? And what I'd really like to get involved in is educating youth, talking about middle schoolers to high schoolers on financial independence and,

you know, financial responsibility, because as you know, financial education is, you know, pretty wanting in the education system right now. I'm an educator, a trainer, and a leader at heart that probably comes from my time in the Army. And what I'm curious to know is, is how would you go about this? Would it make sense to set up a nonprofit or become an independent contractor and try to sell my services to school districts? And then if there are any licenses that you think I would need or resources you think I should, you know, tie myself into, this is something that I'd like to do on the side as a way to give back. But I'm just looking for some creative thoughts from your from from your angle yeah um you know i i always recommend just start and don't i wouldn't worry about some massive um marketing or legal uh strategy or structure i would just call some math teachers and say hey can i come in one day and

talk to your kids about finances and um i am on my off time and uh you know you don't charge for it you don't you just go in there and do it uh and just kind of just start um that's how uh we have a high school curriculum and a middle school curriculum that is now taught on finance. It's now taught in 48% of the high schools in America. So you could give our guys a call and find out some of the teachers that are teaching our stuff, and you could just go into those classrooms and volunteer to answer questions for kids and do a live presentation because the presentation's with me on video, obviously, me and the Ramsey personalities, Coleman's in it, all that.

You don't have to do that, but I'm just saying that's somebody where a door's already open on the subject and you could supplement just to kind of get your feet wet and get started. And then you'll start to figure out maybe ways to form your business model, and that might inform you as to whether it's a business that's a ministry or whether it's a nonprofit that's a ministry. But you've certainly got the bug, and that's a good thing, and you have identified the truth, and that is that the educational system needs a lot of help with this subject.

I've been working on it for 20 years, and I'm still only 48% in. I mean, it's a lot of work and a lot of a lot of people need help and so you know i'm happy to help you guy help you do that help you move forward and do all that um it is um ken he's followed your stuff to a t and that he figured out what he's good at yeah and he's figuring out a way to do it in a way that it makes him happy. Yeah, I wrote down, Matt, what you said. All I have is knowledge and time. And I want you to rephrase that and say, I have knowledge and I have time. And I think you first start with, how much time do I really have?

When you've got a big heart like this and you can just feel the desire coming out of you to help people, that's a wonderful thing. So let's slow down our emotions and let's go, okay, how much time, given the fact that I'm married, I've got a full-time job, how much time do I have a week? I think it's a great exercise. Let's just say, for example purposes, Dave, it's five hours. And so you come up with that. You go, I've got that time, and I certainly have the knowledge,

and you have passion, by the way. You can hear it all over you. So now to Dave's point, I love the volunteering. Put yourself out there and just start actually helping young people. I would look at multiple different places in your zip code, by the way, too, not just the classroom. And Dave's right. The foundations and personal finance, we've already given you the curriculum. Our video team is world class.

You could press play and then instruct a little bit based off of that, answer questions, and really provide a wonderful service. I would look at churches, other nonprofit organizations that are serving young people. So you have a heart for young people. So I would ask in Charlotte, North Carolina, or your ZIPCO, where are the young people? Who is serving them? That becomes your list. So it's not as intimidating when I go, oh, there are multiple organizations and multiple sectors in my area, whether that be a YMCA or a government agency that's serving all those places.

One of the first places I taught what the Bible says about money was a youth group at our church. That's easy. I sat down with 25 kids in the youth group and showed them what the scripture said about it. And then I taught a college age group. Yeah. And that actually formed into an adult group. But it was one of the first places i ever did it yeah the thing is

if you're a if you want to be a writer start writing yeah if you want to be a runner you should run this morning you know if you want to be a if you want to teach personal finance and help kids you should just start doing it that's right and you don't need to wait till you have a non-profit form you don't need to wait until you have a nonprofit formed. You don't need to wait until you have figured out how to charge for it. Just go do it some. Just go do it. And as you interact with the educators, as you interact with the kids,

you're going to start to see what's working, what's not, how to charge for it, whether to charge for it, whether we're going to bring in underwriters and sponsor it as a nonprofit, or whether we're going to actually charge the school system a fee. That's exactly right. And by just looking at all the different places that I was talking about there and asking yourself, who are the kids I most want to help? Yeah.

Your heart's going to begin to fill in the answers, and Dave's absolutely right, Matt. Just start, and then what you're going to find is it's almost like going through a maze. As you begin to walk forward, you're going to walk into a wall, move left, move right. Keep walking. Jennifer's in Philadelphia. Hi, you're going to walk into a wall, move left, move right. Keep walking. Jennifer's in Philadelphia. Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Hi.

Thank you for taking my call. Sure. It's a pleasure to speak with you. You too. So I'm going to make this quick. My husband and I took Financial Peace University two years ago.

I've been really working to get out of debt. I have been wanting to go to your Entree Leadership Summit since I've been really working to get out of debt. I have been wanting to go to your Entree Leadership Summit since I've learned about you. And then now we'll be totally debt-free by October, possibly December, but it looks like October of this year. So I'm calling to see, can I buy my ticket to Summit that's coming up in Orlando, or should I wait until we're totally debt-free,

and then we buy the ticket next, you know, for the following time? Because if I don't do it now, I'll have to wait until next, you know, I've just been putting it off year after year. You know, I'm just getting excited. I appreciate that, and I'm really honored that you want to come. It would be very hypocritical of me to tell you to buy our stuff while you're getting out of debt and not tell people not to do anything like that. But our stuff's different.

No, you really shouldn't. No, that's why I was calling. I'm excited for you. I want you to come, too. But it's an expensive ticket i mean they're what three four thousand dollars right right and uh that's an expensive ticket and i just can't right it would be it would just be completely lacking in integrity for me to tell you to do that so no i would not do that i would wait until you're out of debt before you spend that kind of money on education, which is what Summit is.

It's teaching world-class leadership. It's one of the best leadership. We just came back from Dallas. It was absolutely incredible. And it is probably the best leadership event on the planet right now. It's absolutely incredible. There's not a lot of leadership yeah but it is even when there's a lot it's it's a wonderful only one doing it so we're definitely the best but uh yeah

but yeah i uh you know we welcome you when you're able to do it in the right way and i i cannot in good conscience recommend that you do that while you're working your baby step two. But thank you for the call. Yeah, that's. And the thing is, I was listening to actually the Entree Leadership podcast this morning on my run. And we had a guy on there talking about sales. And he's going, you have to believe so much in your product. I do believe in that product.

I think it's worth a whole lot more than what we charge for it. Without question. And it's going a whole lot more than what we charge for it. Without question. It's going to benefit her more than that. I'm still not going to tell her to do it in the long run. No. But here's the deal. Turn that into an extra motivation. She's already gazelle intense. She's almost there. She can see the finish line. Add that as like, after the

old marathon, I'm going to go get a big pizza. Whatever you've got to do, turn it into motivation. There you go. This is the Ramsey Show. Have a friend or family member that needs a daily dose of Ramsey advice in their life? Let them know about the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast. It's a quick hit of advice about life and money in under 10 minutes. Check out the Ramsey Call of the Day podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.