The Ramsey Show - App - Preparing Financially for a Baby (Hour 3)

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

Dave Ramsey & Ken Coleman discuss: Building an emergency fund vs. paying off debt, Paying off an adult child's mortgage, The best way to further your career. Want a plan for your money? Find out where to start: https://bit.ly/3nInETX Listen to all The Ramsey Network podcasts: https://bit.ly/3GxiXm6

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show, where debt is dull, 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, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host. As we talk about your jobs, your career, your money, your mental wellness, and your relationships. All right here on The Ramsey Show. Thank you for joining us.

Debbie starts off this hour in New York City. Hi, Debbie. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. Hey, what's up? I hope you're doing well. I am. How are you?

I'm okay. I'm okay. So, my question. I know that I'm very new, but I've already closed six credit card accounts. Good for you. And, yeah. So, and I have a question, although it's a little far in the future, considering where I am with my debts, but you say to put the, to do the three to six

a month emergency funds from what I've heard from your show and from reading your books, after you do all your debts other than your mortgage, but I don't have a mortgage because I rent, my husband and I, we rent. And so my largest debt is a $93,500 student loan. And I'm kind of, my other debts, all together, the debts are like almost $190,000. Besides when everybody just cut up. Anyway, so my question is, I'm just concerned that it'll take me, that I'll never get to the emergency fund or it'll take way too long if I do the student loan before I do the emergency fund.

My husband, you know, his income isn't 100% steady because he's self-employed. What do you guys make a year? My income is all taken up on my debts. What do you make a year? Household income. I actually looked it up. Last year, I made $106,238. What did he make? That I don't know exactly.

I just, his income really varies. It's less than mine right now. It used to be more. He has a steady $30,000, and then it goes up and down depending upon how much work he has. What does he do? He's an electrician. Why is he not covered up in work? He's 84 years old.

Well, there's that. My husband's a lot older than me. So he's 84. So he doesn't really do the work himself. And he just, you know, backs up other people, basically. And so. So how old are you? So he doesn't like, you know, so he just gets like a small fee, you know. So how old are you? 59. Okay, cool. All right, good for you.

Well, I'm glad you're attacking this. And in general, there's a power to focus. So you've got $130,000 plus or minus income to attack almost $200,000 in debt. Yeah. Ouch. What was your student loan for? Nursing, and first the two loans, the original nursing degree, then I, this would be my stupid, I went for the master's, but I did it as a bridge program because I had a bachelor's.

So now the master's did me bupkis. Everyone wanted me to have the BSN, but my bachelor it as a bridge program because I had a bachelor's. So now the master's did me bupkis. No, everyone wanted me to have the BSN, but my bachelor's isn't another thing. So I feel, I saw I'm going to have a borrower's defense case now for that part of, for that part of loan, I have a borrower's defense case active. And right now I'm in forbearance because of that. And even when everyone else has to pay back their loans because of the pandemic freeze is ending, I still don't have to pay until they decide my case. So right now, I'm not even focusing on that at the moment, and I don't know if I'll win or not, and if I do, I'll still have for the original degree. So you are a nurse today? Yeah, I'm a school nurse. I mean, I'm still in RN, but I work in a school. Okay.

I have a quick question on that, Dave. Are you maxed out with the degree you have and experience you have as a nurse? Are you maxed out, or could you make more than the 106? I tried to get back in the hospital, and no one would even interview me. I didn't ask you that. I'm saying, are you maxed out in the marketplace? Is there something else you can do with an RN that makes you more than you make now? Not that I'm aware of.

I'm an NP, but I couldn't do that because I don't have the experience in anything that you can get an NP in because I spent most of my time in the school. So I can't go for a postgraduate certificate program as a nurse practitioner because of that. And I also work for my husband's business at night. You know, it's like I work all day at the school. Listen, his business doesn't make enough money that you have to work for it much. Yeah, well, sometimes it's busy, sometimes it's not. And he also doesn't even know how to turn on a computer,

so I have to do everything computer-related, even his e-mails. Like, you know, some people owe me e-mails. I have to go through all the e-mails. Yeah, but if all of that's making you $5, it's not worth it. You might hire somebody to do that. It would be cheaper if you could make more money doing something else. So don't get caught in that. So the answer to your overall question is you have a really high, I mean, you're in a pretty deep hole with a medium-sized shovel.

And that's what we always call it, the shovel-to-hole ratio. What's the ratio of your income to the debt? And you have $130,000 to $150,000 household income with $200,000 in debt. And so if we paid $50,000 a year on it, it takes four years. If we pay $75,000 a year on it, it takes three years. And that means that you're living on beans and rice, rice and beans. You're living on nothing, scorched earth, below nothing in Nework city to be able to pull that off and that's why we're scratching around here because if we can add 20 or 50 000 to this equation on income it gets you out of debt a bazillion times faster and whether or not to save for the emergency fund is

really not going to be your problem your problem is you have got to for the first time in your life address this ridiculous debt situation because it's spiraled out of control on you and so i mean we can argue about or discuss the theories of baby step one being a thousand dollars or do you move baby step three ahead but none of that changes the fact that you have two hundred thousand dollars in debt and you've still got to address that and so you know if you say, I'm going to save $10,000 for a little emergency fund before I move on to my student loan, fine, go ahead and do that.

But it doesn't address the issue. The issue is you've got to do something pretty radical and begin to attack this debt at a level you have never considered before. And that's what we're outlining is this intensity and this level of sacrifice to be able to be free and be clear because the last thing i want you to be is 10 years older and still sitting here and he's gone and he's gone to heaven you know i that's not what i want for you and so i want you to have a better life than that and it's going to involve some you know it's a big mess

so it's going to involve some big changes and some big sacrifice to get there it's not a little mess so I'm honored to have you in my audience thank you for calling Debbie I know it's scary and I want you to feel free to call us anytime

we'll always help you you keep fighting it I think you can do it but buddy I mean you've feel free to call us anytime. We'll always help you. You keep fighting it. I think you can do it. But, buddy, I mean, you've got a mountain to climb, girlfriend. This is The Ramsey Show. you've got a lot on your plate a job your home your marriage and your growing family while you're enjoying the present, you can't help but think about your future and your finances. As you explore your options, consider Christian Healthcare Ministries, or CHM, for your health care. Their generous

maternity program and budget-friendly monthly programs have been a blessing to members welcoming children into their families. Visit chministries.org slash budget to see if it's right for you. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a Ramsey Trusted Provider. Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225. All right, guys, how many of you are thinking about buying a home,

but you're cringing at the thought of paying off that debt for the rest of your life with sky-high home prices, some people want you to believe that a 30-year mortgage is your only option. Do not fall for this. If you're not paying for your home with cash, your next best bet is a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage where the payment's no more than a fourth of your take-home pay. You'll pay off your house faster. You'll become a millionaire. You'll pay thousands less in interest. And, of course, the monthly payment is higher.

And, of course, that scares some people. But you know what? You're ready. And if you're not ready, you shouldn't be buying. So don't be doing financial decisions fear-based. You need to make decisions that when you make them, you do it calmly with peace. The free mortgage calculator on our website can help.

It'll give you an idea of what your monthly payments could look like. That way you'll know how much home you can afford so you can be mortgage-free in 15 years or less. Go to RamseySolutions.com, click the free tools to use our mortgage calculator and a bunch of other good stuff, and get confident about buying a home. Click free tools at RamseySolutions.com. Brandon is in Winston-Salem. Hi, Brandon. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave and Ken. How are y'all doing? Better than we deserve. What's up? All right. So I'm just going to kind of give a brief overview of my current situation.

My wife and I are currently in baby step two. We've got about 7,000 left on a car and then about 45 left on student loans. We've been busting through them over the last year or so. My wife is now seven months pregnant. Yay! Thank you, thank you. And then she is actually getting ready to start her online master's degree for nurse practitioner school. We stopped Baby Step 2 to save up for the baby a couple months ago. We've got about 6,000 saved up right now. I am expecting to get around a $10,000 to $12,000 bonus once I finish the job I'm on,

probably around October timeframe. Baby's due into July. Um, so I'm just trying to figure out once we start back up with, with the baby steps, um, how much should I, should I hold back for, uh, the cash flowing of the master's degree? Um, just maybe a little bit more padding for having the baby. This is our first child, so I am a little nervous. Yeah. You don't need any padding for the baby once the baby's here and healthy. You'll be okay. You just start learning to budget for diapers and formula.

That's part of the process. There's not anything that's going to completely blow your mind. They're very, very small at this stage. They do not eat a lot. Right. Okay. They'll get around to it, but not yet. You're going to be okay.

Now, so I'm not worried about that. What's this master's degree costing? It's about, so right now she's part-time. She's taking about three or four credit hours a semester, and it's right around about $2,000, $2,500 for three credit hours. So going up to four credit hours, I'm guessing that'll be right around $3,000. What's your household income going to be when she's back to work? So I make right around $90 a year. That's with, like, vehicle allowance and phone and stuff like that.

My base is $80. It all ends up being around $90. And then she last year made right around $50. She actually just dropped down a couple weeks weeks ago to prn which is just picking up shifts um but she's already scheduled out for two two shifts a week uh for the next uh two months well i mean she's in her third trimester i mean i'm talking about when she's back to work after baby so she's making 60 8060,000, $80,000 a year. You're making $90,000. Right.

She's actually going to be staying home. So she's going to stay at home with the baby. Okay. So she's going to quit work but go get her master's. Now I'm really confused. Well, once she gets her master's, so the master's is a three-year program. Once it's a dual master's. I don't remember exactly what the two are. I know it's nurse practitioner for, like, family and maybe critical care.

But the question is, is she getting that for the long term after baby goes to school? Yeah. Once, oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant, like, directly after she comes. So once she starts working again, I'm right around $150,000. No, stop, stop. She's getting a master's now to use it when? Once the baby is older, so probably maybe two years in the future,

once she's been around and then she'll start going back to work and then we'll send the baby to daycare. I'm still confused. So two years from now, but it takes three years to get the master's? You're right. Now I'm confused. It'll be shortly, yeah, shortly after she gets the master's, she will. Okay, how long is she not going to work?

I guess until she gets her master's. Three years. She might still be picking up shifts while she's taking the master's degree. I am so freaking confused. Okay. To be fair, he is too. He's not even sure what the dual master's program is. I think this is a steak dinner, and let's all get on the same page.

You guys need to figure this out because i i don't understand why number one you do not need to go get a master's to be a full-time mom period if that's the goal if the goal is to stay home you don't need to do that pause the masters pause it okay number two you guys if you are if she is going to use it and go back to work, great. Go get the master's. A PA is a wonderful thing. I'm with you on that. The career track is a great career track. If she's actually going to be in that career field, then the master's will ROI. You'll get a return on investment on it.

But otherwise, you're just gathering up education certificates that you don't need. And what are you, a thermometer? You know, you don't need more degrees. I mean, so, but if you're going to use them that's fine i'm game for it so you guys need to decide that because that's going to tell you the urgency on paying for her masters because right now my urgency is getting you out of debt you know so you can breathe so if i had my druthers based on what i think i'm hearing but i have no idea what i'm based on what I think I'm hearing, but I have no idea what I'm hearing, but what I think I'm hearing, I'm going to put the master's on hold, get out of debt, work a few shifts, be a mom. And once we're out of debt, then you can cash flow.

She can work a few shifts to pay for the master's as she goes along here or there and begin restart the master's at that point. But just going to collect degrees, we're not going to rent. Ramsey doesn't tell you to do that. We believe in education. We're not anti-education, but we are against spending money on education that does not have a marketplace use, meaning you're not going to use it. And so people get upset with us for that. Deloney and I told a guy the other day, you know,

he's going to marry this girl that wanted to go get a degree at a prestigious university and was going to go in deeply in debt to do it, and she had no intention of using it all. And we told him she's not marriage material. And so we got a bunch of hate mail from him, but that's okay. Because here's the thing. We're going to tell you what we would tell our own son or daughter, what we would tell each other because we're friends with each other, because we love you. And that's what you're always going to get here.

This is just common sense. She can go back into nursing once the baby, once they've determined what that time frame is, and then be full-time and blow through that master's. I mean, that's when we do it, but not now. They need that money to be paying off debt i mean this is not urgent um you know but they've got to get on the same page he doesn't even know what she's pursuing and why she's pursuing it now the time the time matters the the timeline yeah matters because but my but i would like to see you if she's not going to be

working for a while go ahead and get out of debt and then cash flow the Masters. Yes. That would be my preference if she's not going to be working for a while. If she's going to go back to work fairly soon and the Masters would accentuate that, then we can talk about piling it all up on top of each other and you guys cutting to the bone on this. But that's the process. So, hey, thanks for the call this is the ramsey show Thank you. this hour on the ramsey show in the lobby of financial peace university on the debt free stage brett and mary are with us hey guys how are you good good cool welcome good to have you guys so where you guys live harrisburg north carolina all right cool welcome to nashville and how much

have you paid off 127 000 all right very good and how long does this take you 35 months almost 36 okay cool and your range of income during that time? It started out at $127,000, and then thanks to COVID, it went down to $97,000, and then back up to $118,000. And this year, we should be back to where we started, $127,000. Cool. What do you all do for a living? I'm a counselor for a large hospital system in the Charlotte area.

And I'm a network engineer and a voice over IP specialist. Ah, very good. Good for you guys. Wonderful. What kind of debt was the $127,000? $15,000 of it was typical Sally Mae. And then another $12,000 of it was one of those 10-year student loan forgiveness programs that we figured out doesn't work. Yeah.

And then $100,000 of it was our mortgage. Oh, look at it, weird people. loan forgiveness programs that we figured out doesn't work yeah and then um a hundred thousand of it was our mortgage oh look at it weird people paid for house well done you guys what's the house worth uh the current market's uh 325 350 nice and it's all. Cool. How long y'all been married? 18 years. You ever been 100% debt free since you've been married? Nope. Nope. First time. I love it.

How's it feel? Feels great. It does feel great. So tell us a story. What happened three years ago that got you started on this? A couple of things. I know you're a car guy. Well, we're both members of a local car club in the area. And just by coincidence, on the way home from those meetings every month, your show was on. And it was just on the radio one day when we started the car. And it started out as just entertaining to listen to. And then it just started to make more sense the more I listened to it.

Then I started to bother them. Yeah, and then so, you know, I just started listening to it every day, you know, on my walks. And then it just made sense. What you were saying made sense. So we just got focused on it, basically. The 10-year student loan, when I would see those statements, you know, you don't have to make any payments on them, but that doesn't mean you're not charging interest. And when I see those statements come in with all that interest on them and just the thought that we might have to pay all that back one day,

realize we needed to. Yeah. You've got to clear this up. Now, once you got started, you just plowed on through the house and everything, huh? Yep. Wow. Funny story about this, though, because he kind of put us on the plan without having a conversation to me about it. so i'm gonna be honest here dave your name was cursed a little bit at my house

he violated every counselor's law yeah until we sat down and went over the budget and i saw that there was a budget for a vacation and i saw saw that there was money in my new car fund. And I saw that there was money, you know, how it was strategically placed. Wow. And after that, I was like, okay, sold. I'm done. I'll be quiet. Wow.

Just like that. Wow. That reminds me of what Rachel says. She don't go alone, but she can be bought. She can be. Yeah. Yeah. That's right.

That was after the student loans were paid for yeah yeah oh yeah he wants to make that clear yeah happy wife happy life i mean we all know that yeah we didn't we didn't do any vacation or any of that when we were paying off student loan debt for sure but you got now where you can and then you did the normal stuff you should have been doing baby steps four through six right where you're enjoying your life but being intentional and then you knock the house out. Right. And it still knocks out because you had a very small mortgage,

and you knock it all out within the whole 36 months. That's very impressive, y'all. Very well done. You're heroes, man. I'm proud of you. Very cool. Thank you. We're honored to be here, too, so thank you so much for having us.

We're honored to have you. You're powerful. This is good stuff. Okay. Now, Brett and Mary, you've done it. You're 100% debt-free, house and everything, first time in 18 years of marriage. What is the secret to getting out of debt? When someone says, how did you do that, what do you tell them?

Having a written plan, having a budget. We were never terrible with money. We never got into serious money issues. I'd throw just one day I'd to put three hundred dollars on the mortgage next month four hundred dollars in the mortgage but i didn't have a plan because i didn't want to spend too much because i didn't know how much money we had because i didn't have a written plan so once i saw on paper it's just like getting the raise it really is you realize how much our fund the vacation fund and pay extra on the mortgage, and pay extra on the mortgage.

And pay extra on the mortgage. You can do it. And we know every month exactly how many extra dollars we had to pay on the mortgage. So that's what we did. All right. So, Dave, I've got to ask because for years, decades, you've said if you live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else. And I'm not going to ask a give question because I've got to ask a live question.

You're totally debt free. You guys are members of a car club is there like a dream car coming is there one already in the driveway do we know what are we looking at here well believe it or not there's no car coming but um we're actually on our uh honeymoon also on this trip here because we didn't have the money to do that when we got married oh that's awesome and so that's first there we go we are on vacation we're paying for it and we're on vacation good that's great good for you guys where all are you going nashville and what else just that was our dream to come to nashville and at the time so we're doing it 18 years later that's a way to go i love it well welcome we're so glad to have you that is is so good. All right. Now, once you do all that, you've got to buy a car.

What's the car? Yeah. You guys are car people. Come on. You dodged the question to get husband points, and it was a good move. It was a good move. In his defense, he has collected cars over the years. And one he inherited, which was his father's, and it was a 1984 Mustang.

And so he has other Mustangs. We're probably going to work on the fun for me because I'm rocking 239,000 miles on a Honda. So come on. All right. Okay, you're up. So there you go. You're up. You're up.

You're up to bat. But I haven't decided because I'm going to cry when I let go of that car. That's so cool. Tears of joy. Well, I love my car. I just love it. Dave. Trust me, we saw your Raptor earlier, sir.

It's down there in the reserved spot, no doubt about it. I love it. Good job, guys. That's fun. You're fun. Well, this is what it's about, living and giving like no one else. And just in your all's case, what I keep hearing over and over again was, A, you got together, and B, just the intentionality.

It took the sloppy edges out of what was already a frugal lifestyle, already a fairly reasonable lifestyle. You were not out of control, as you said, Brett. But all you did was just tighten it up by being intentional, by making everything behave and do what it's supposed to do what you wanted it to do you get to choose and you chose uh wisely well done very very well done good work good work proud of you guys we're honored to have you here with us well thank you very much for that

thank you very much got a copy of baby steps millionaires for you that's definitely the next chapter in your story how ordinary people built extraordinary wealth how you can too a bestseller Got a copy of Baby Steps Millionaires for you. That's definitely the next chapter in your story, how ordinary people built extraordinary wealth, how you can, too, a bestseller. We're going to also give you a copy of our bestselling book we've ever done at Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover. You can give that to someone else and stir up a holy ruckus with them,

get some stuff going on there. I love doing that, so good stuff. Thanks again, guys, for being here. Brett and mary from charlotte north carolina 127 thousand dollars paid off house and everything in 35 months they're officially weird making 127 000 count it down let's hear a debt-free scream three two one we're dead free yeah boom you gotta love it gotta love it

we've had in the last month or so a 24 year old a 20 and a 74 year old and everything in between and since the first of the year almost 22 million dollars in debt-free screams wow uh pretty incredible pretty incredible and uh get to talk to millionaires baby step millionaires every day uh as we go out and sign books and as

they call in here people meeting people that have been doing this stuff and you're listening today maybe for the first time i sure hope that you think this is more than mere entertainment i sure hope you decide to go change your life it's why we show up and do this every day it's for you this This is The Ramsey Show. Thank you. Our scripture of the day, Jeremiah 31.25. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Philip Brooks said, I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back.

Ooh, careful there. That's the truth. You'll get that one answered. Deborah's in Gilbert, Arizona. Hi, Deborah. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Thank you so much. And thanks to your ministry,

my husband and I are everyday million millionaires times two for five years we've been completely debt-free my only regret is we were not gazelle intense sooner would have happened 10 years earlier well congratulations we're proud of you how can we help today well i thank you so i would like to gift our daughter by paying off her mortgage, and my husband is reluctant to do that. We have more than enough to do it without changing any of our situation whatsoever. I would just like to do it as a gift for our daughter. What's the balance on her mortgage? And I'm wondering about $130,000.

Okay. You obviously have that in cash out of your $2 million. And more. Okay. All right. How is she with money? She is very well. She does very, very well, and she's been nothing but a blessing to us her entire life.

Is she single? She is single. She's 42, looking for Mr. Right. If you know one, send him our way. Okay. All right. Why does your husband object? He doesn't have an absolute reason. He just thinks that we shouldn't. It isn't monetarily

because we certainly can afford to do it. And he just not knowing where this world is going in the direction it's going, he's just reluctant to do so. But he can't really put his finger on why. Okay. Well, people that are cut from the cloth that you guys are cut from, I'm one of you, Ken is too, we believe in hard work, we believe in sacrifice to win, and that's how you've won. And he's afraid he's going to steal some of that from her. Possibly.

Yeah. I would guess. I mean, that would be a normal thing anyway. And I would say to pay it off anyway. Thank you. Now, here's why. Let me add a little bit to it for his side of the equation, and we'll make it fun for everyone.

I would ask her to sign a letter, not a formal document, but just a letter, that you keep a copy of and she keeps a copy of, that promises that she will never borrow money in her life ever for anything, if you do this. And there is no question that she would do that. Well, when she finds Mr. Right, if he's a financial planner, we may have an argument. She actually quit a job at a bank as a teller because they were required to sell so many credit cards a day. Yeah, well, Mr. Wright could change her mind. I want to just put that out there.

So I just want something in my file that she has in her file, and it was a little bit formal enough that it sticks in her memory solid, dad mom paid off my house and i promised i'd never borrow money again so we really just can't borrow money if you're going to date me i just can't do it so um i'm never borrowing money again and the reason i want her to do that is so that she's going to because she's going to inherit five to ten million dollars because your money's going to double or double two or three more times before you die. And when she inherits all of that money, we want to keep her from screwing it up. And if she never borrows money again and she's only in her 30s, she's going to be a multi-millionaire on her own.

And so this is for her. It's not for you. And it is for your husband because here's the sale to your husband if she agrees to do that and then she invests a house payment in addition to what she's already investing and she becomes wealthier than you earlier than you uh you have literally changed your family tree with zeros on the end and i think what you're saying hits the nail on the head i think to some extent on his point because i think he you're saying hits the nail on the head i think to some extent on his point because i think he is concerned that she might do that down the road but i don't

believe that she would but putting it in writing prevents that yeah it's not a contract and it's not a it's just a communication piece it's like it's like a um an oath i swear an oath it's the debt-free oath. You know, that kind of a thing. And there's no question that you would honor that. Yeah, it's an emotional thing. I would love to do this for you because I know what it will do for you, but it won't do it for you unless you stay debt-free. And so part of me doing it for you is you sign the debt-free oath or whatever.

I mean, make it corny. I don't care. I love that. Deborah and Dave, I thought I heard you say something to the effect of, well, the way this world is right now, he's not sure. Which makes me also think that there's a little bit of he's worried that spending this money could hurt them, Dave. I hear a little bit of that. There's no chance of that. Yeah, they're in good shape.

Yeah, you've done well. Yeah, you're in good shape. I'm so proud of y'all. yes i would do this we've got a lot of everyday millionaires baby steps millionaires pay off their kids houses but you don't want to pay off a kid's house that's going that you know they're doing cocaine and so that gives them extra money for their cocaine right you don't want to you don't want to fund uh misbehavior indirectly right um and so it could be financial cocaine it could be actual cocaine but And so it could be financial cocaine. It could be actual cocaine. But, I mean, it could be whatever.

So if they're out there spending money like it's water, like they're in Congress or something, then we're not going to give them more to misspend. That's just an enabler. That's not a blessing. But in your case, there's every reason here to do this, and I would do it. And it helps you emotionally to go, okay, this is the last step of me changing my family tree permanently.

Very cool. Ah, Frost is on the line in Flint, Michigan. Hi, Frost. How are you? Hey, Dave. How are you? Thank you for taking my call. Sure.

What's up? I had a career question for you. My wife is 24. I'm 30. We got married in January. Congratulations. Thank you. Together we make about $82,000. We both work in sort of the political part of the economy. And as I said, I'm making about $40,000.

And I just didn't know what sort of advice you would have for me in pursuing other careers that could expand my income earnings. So are you in campaign side of politics or working for a government entity? Campaign side. Yeah. Yeah, I used to do that, by the way. And so, you know, you're not going to have a whole bunch of earning potential unless you move into the consulting side of that business, which those folks can make very good money. I think you've got to decide what is it that you really want to do. Do you want to step into more political and government work, or do you want to eventually go to the private sector?

Or are you in a situation right now where you're just going, Ken, I need to make more money? What's the more urgent question that you have? I just want to make more money. Okay. Well, so right now, if we're looking to just make more money, I tell folks to focus on the talent side of things. I teach there's three elements that every human has, and that's where we get ideas on what kind of work is really meaningful and purposeful. Talent, what we do best, passion, work we love, mission results that we want our work to produce. For you in this situation, if you're trying to get out of debt or save some money and begin to make a transition, focus on talent alone. So you've got skills and you've got some experience that are transferable at the age of 30, correct? Yes, sir. Absolutely.

So we're looking for, okay, I look at my skill set, and here's a fun little exercise homework for you so that you have a lot of confidence in this decision. I want you to just write out what you think are your top five to seven skills, actual skills and work. You can also include people skills in that list. And then I want you to look at the experience that campaign politics has afforded you and write down your top experience that you think is the most transferable to other parts of the workplace economy.

And then begin to look at, okay, that gives me a really clear indicator in what I do best, which is what I'm most marketable for. And I'm looking at job descriptions in Flint, Michigan that line up with that. Now, I'm also going to give you my Get Clear Career Assessment. Hang on the line. Kelly's going to give you a link to this assessment. It's a 25-minute assessment. It's going to allow you to go deep on talent, passion, and mission, give you a purpose statement, which becomes a 35,000-foot view of the world at work,

and you can look at multiple jobs that allow you to be on purpose. But I'd start with that talent side of things because what this is going to do for him, Dave, is identify jobs where he's qualified, hot job market, increase that income immediately, and put that to work in the baby steps while he's getting clear on a long-term play. Kelly, also give him a copy of Paycheck to Purpose, Ken's best-selling book. Get Clear Assessments now blessed. Over 20,000 people have taken that. So if you want to know what you're up for, sign up for that. It's a good deal. Love it. Way to go. That puts us out

of the Ramsey Show and the books. We'll be back with you before you know it. In the meantime, remember, there's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.