The Ramsey Show - App - Seizing Opportunities to Get in a Job You Love (Hour 2)

Episode Date: May 16, 2019

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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. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. You jump in, we'll talk about your life, your money. It's a free call at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Yelena is with us in Hartford, Connecticut, starting off this hour. Hi, Yelena. How are you? Good. Thank you, Dave. Thank you for taking my call.

Sure. What's up? Here's my question. We plan to buy a house and we'd like to know if it's okay to take out a loan on our 401k so that we can have a decent down payment for our next house. No. And then, well, when we move to it and sell our current house, we would take the equity and pay off the 401k loan right away. If your house sells. Still no? If your house sells. Okay. If your house sells. Bill, no? If your house sells. Okay.

If your house doesn't sell, you're going to call me back and go, oh, we had to give our other house away because we became a motivated seller because we had two house payments because we didn't sell our house before we bought another house. And now I'm stuck with this 401k loan. And, oh, I got laid off at the same time. And now that 401k loan and oh i got laid off at the same time and now that 401k loan is considered an early withdrawal and the irs has penalized me 10 plus my tax rate my god dave my world is falling apart don't be that caller i see so it's too much risk yes ma'am sell your house okay even if you have to if you cannot line up the two houses together and you have to make a second move through a rental i would do that before i would do any of this because a you don't need two house payments yeah we were trying to avoid that because we have small kids and just the thought of moving

into an apartment and then into the next house just it's like having a root canal it's a horrible thing to have to go through i don't blame you i would avoid that too if at all possible but no i would not put our entire lives at risk over that because if you end up with two house payments and um something happens to one of your incomes your little children have a lot bigger problem then okay then being inconvenienced by bumping through a rental. But you can put your house up for sale and purchase another property contingent upon the sale of your house and line up the two closings to happen simultaneously

and just make the move. That happens in the real estate business all the time, particularly when there's a fairly hot market like we're in. And so that's what I would do. I don't blame you for not wanting to move twice, but you're not thinking about all the possible downsides, and you're talking to a cancer doctor about what causes cancer. And I've looked at cancer, money, financial, wallet cancer for 30 years.

So I've seen a thing or two. Howard is with us in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hi, Howard. How are you? Very well, Dave. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? I'm the pastor of a church that leases a suite, and the property is just sold. The old company sent us a CAMS, or Common Area Maintenance Bill, for 2018 for $5,000 over the $4,900 that we've already paid, $4,900. They itemize things like property taxes, I think crazy high management fees, all kinds of things that I don't think that are common area maintenance that we shouldn't be paying. So I don't think we should pay the overage. And then the second question is with the new company, how do I negotiate and how do I protect us from all of a sudden getting a bill at the end of the year saying, oh, your CAMs are double what you've already paid?

Well, common area maintenance does typically, depending on your lease, your lease should state what it includes. Every item? It does. Well, it typically will define it. There ought to be a definition of it somewhere. Right. And it's not unusual for it. It does not include property taxes in most cases or insurance, but it does include increases in property taxes or insurance.

Okay. That's not unusual at all. Okay. A lot of the commercial buildings that I own, CAM would include the increases in that. So if that's what they're pointing to, that's fine. And management fees, I've never seen in a CAM. It must be, unless it's some kind of a high maintenance building and they've got an on-site manager or something like that and there were increases in that, that's usually included in their

operating costs. Right, that's usually included in their operating costs. Right. That's what I would think. I mean, it's $31,000, and this is one of several properties. They're not on the property. Yeah. So I think I would just sit down, and I would start with a fact-finding spirit. Right. And just say, let's sit down in person and look at this, and get your lease out, and go over it.

And, you know, have you got an attorney in your congregation? I wish I did. Okay. Or one that you could, just as a friend, would look at it for you as a friend of a pastor, you know, that kind of a thing. Not to represent you, but just to glance over the thing. Or even if you've got a commercial real estate guy you know that would look over your lease and look over the cam charges and go, okay, in the Las Vegas area this is fairly normal,

or that's just very weird, that kind of thing. The one that did stick out to me was the management fee, and it feels like they're trying to stack up stuff there. I agree with you. I'm guessing that the taxes was an increase in taxes, that they're passing through, and that's not unusual in CAM. They've included it before, and, I mean, this year it was $26,000. I mean, that just seems to be really high.

Instead of, like, garbage, $19,000. I mean, all those numbers just seem really high to me. $19,000 for your space or total divided into your space? Total for the property. I mean, it's not that big of a space. Okay. Yeah. Well, I think, you know.

We did negotiate with them. They came back to us for $790. And so, you know, it's very tempting to say, okay, let's just write the check for $790, be done with it, start negotiating with the new company. But I guess I'm just feeling stuck, you know, in principle that it just seems like they're billing us for things they shouldn't. Yeah. Well, I think I'd go on a fact-finding mission and say, okay, on what basis is this item included in CAM to start with? Yeah. And help me with this i'm not trying

to be unreasonable but i don't understand how this building is a 19 000 garbage bill right it doesn't make sense to me just common sense and i think it's it's not unfair for you to question those things but i think you start with um not an accusatory like you people are screwing me spirit, which is how it feels. I understand that. But I think the good news about a commercial building is typically you're dealing with people that are a little bit more professional. And so it's a little less emotion than a residential tenant calling me and going, I've got mold.

You know, they just lose their minds, right? That kind of stuff. So it's just, you know, but I think you can, you know, if I'm sitting on the other side of it as a landlord, if one of our tenants came and said, hey, I don't understand this cam. It seems weird to me. Would you walk me through it? As a matter of fact, I'm doing that right now as a tenant on an HOA.

I just asked my son-in-law, who runs all our property, to get a breakdown of how this HOA came up with their fees because it seemed ridiculous. It seemed high. Yeah. But the first step is show us how you got there. That's an inquiry, not an accusation. And then if I look at it and go, why am I paying for your bush hogging? You know, yeah, which is probably actually going to come up. So that kind of thing.

So that's what you get into. Right. But I think you start with inquiry and understanding. And sometimes that'll solve it all. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Do you know who is a prime target for identity theft? Your children. Kids have no debts or credit history.

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And it's the only plan I provide to my team. Zander.com or 800-356-4282. Book launch week. Ramsey Personality, Ken Coleman's new book, The Proximity Principle, is on fire. Number 39 on Amazon as we speak. The proven strategy that will lead to the career you love. Ken has been traveling all over the United States and is swinging back through our hometown here of Nashville. And so he's in studio.

He's doing a book signing tonight right down the street from here at the Cool Springs Barnes and Noble if you're in the Nashville area. That's on Mallory Lane and Moores Lane corner. So come on down. I'll be down there tonight at 6 o'clock and greet you guys and so will a bunch of the other ramsey personalities whoever's in town a bunch of them are traveling but uh certainly ken will be there to sign your books he's the star of the evening congratulations ken great start well we're thrilled dave thank you so much for the opportunity to share this life-changing message and be a part of what we do here i received an early copy of your book i'm

absolutely loving it i I feel so inspired, ready for any challenge that comes my way. 20-year-old in college, and the future is really scary because I just feel so lost. I just can't figure out what it is I want to do, and when I read your book, I feel inspired. Yeah. That's why you wrote it. That's why we wrote it. There are three major enemies that we're trying to defeat and help defeat. They are fear, doubt, and pride. Fear of failure financially, if you try something new or you actually step out. Then there's the fear of peers, and we can include family members in that. What are they going to say if I decide to

change? This is for that 35, 45 year old. We get this call every day on the Ken Coleman show. Fear of rejection, just moving forward and pursuing something and someone saying you don't have what it takes. Those are three big fears. And if we talk about doubt, doubt that there's enough time. Did I miss the boat? Doubt that I actually have what it takes. And then pride. I don't want to ask someone to help me. I want to do it all on my own. And any man and woman who has ever had success has had help.

Nobody does it alone, Dave. So if you look at those three enemies, that's what we're fighting at the Ken Coleman Show every day. And in this book, we're giving people hope. I think there's another one. Oh, good. I like this. Let me throw this out. Let's see what you think.

Rejection. No question. I filled out 50,000 applications on Monster.com and no one called me. Yeah, you're afraid to get the no. It hurts. It's personal. Yeah. Only it's not personal because when you've just filled out an application, you are not going to get the job.

No. That's not how to get the job. No. That's not how you get a job. Not at all. So the proximity principle takes away the fear, the doubt, and the pride. And it says, wait a second, if you intentionally do these steps, you get around these five people and in these five places, and you use these practices, then all of a sudden what you're going to see is this insurmountable mountain becomes just a forward path. Just one step at a time, I'm going to get around this person, and I'm going to keep showing up.

I'm going to get in these places. I'm going to keep learning, doing, connecting. And that's why we're so excited with these reviews. Doing all those things, how to properly do a resume, how to properly do an interview is also in the book. Yeah, those are the practices at the end. Yeah. all those things, the how to properly do a resume, how to properly do an interview is also in the book. Yeah. Those are the practices at the end.

Yeah. So once you actually get opportunity, how do you actually seize the opportunity? We want you to see it by using the concept. Here's how you do it. That's it. Step by step. Step by step. It's a clear path to the career you love.

Yeah. Number one, we're going to show you how to get the opportunity, and we're going to show you how to seize the opportunity. And then continue to use this valuable principle to move up the ladder. But you've got to get to that ladder first. You've got to get on that bottom rung. You've got to know how to act when you get that opportunity so that you can keep moving up.

And it's such a simple but powerful message. We're thrilled with the reviews we're getting because people are saying, hey, you gave me practical steps that I can start today, and it takes the fear away. Well, and some of them are going to get a job quick. I mean, that's not even what you're really, you think it's going to take a while, but they're just going, I just went over there and was standing next to a guy, and there I am. We want to prepare you for the realities that the dream takes some time at times.

However, there's certainly no rhyme or reason or formula to when opportunity arrives. None of us can control when it arrives. But we need to be there when it shows up so that we can seize that opportunity. And, you know, you're talking about the peers. I get aggravated at the peers. The negative people in anybody's life, mine included, who tell you it can't be done. It can't be done. It's like they sit around sucking their whiny little thumbs

like eeyore is their spirit animal oh it's bad it's so bad and you shouldn't try that it might not work and where are they gonna be in your life 10 years from now you won't even know where they are most of them in 10 years that's right and yet they're controlling your choices well here's what here's what it is when your friends are holding you back and telling you how stupid or how scary you're about to uh the journey you're about to take is sucky friends well here's what's going on they actually are scared to death to see you walk away and leave them standing where they are see they don't have the guts the heart the backbone to actually step out so they don't want you leaving them behind.

And to your point, Dave, you won't even know where they are 10 years from now unless you stay where you are and you're going to be sitting around on the couch. Some of them are being truthful. Some of them, they're not that jealous. They just don't think it can be done, and they don't want to see you hurt. When in reality, they're hurting you by telling you not to go do this stuff. I think that's fair. I think there's some good intention, friends. I think that's a very think that's a very family just don't try that you might don't don't don't do that yeah because because we live in a world that's safe seems to be smart and safe the

safe life i was running a business worth it was bringing in 10 million dollars a year top line many many years ago this building business now brings in over 200 million but it was up to 10 million dollars and my grandmother bless her sweetheart still asked me every time i saw her Many, many years ago. This building business now brings in over $200 million. But it was up to $10 million. And my grandmother, bless her sweetheart, still asked me every time I saw her when I was going to get a real job. Yeah. Exactly. I was just like, good Lord, Granny. David, it's just not smart.

David. It's not safe. David. You know, here's what we want. We want people to reach the end of their life and be hopefully gathered around with friends and family and be reminiscing, not regretting. That's what I want. I want to turn people's pilot lights on so that they can be who they're supposed to be. Remember back when we did that? Yeah.

And it was a great adventure. I'm so glad that I looked fear in the face and said, get out of the way. I'm so glad I didn't believe the voice of doubt. I'm so glad I went on that interview. I'm so glad I made that move. I'm so glad I took that guy the voice of doubt. I'm so glad I went on that interview. I'm so glad I made that move. I'm so glad I took that guy to coffee. It changed everything. Yeah, it could change your family tree.

Go get the job so that you can actually pay off your debt and live like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else. Some of you are going to get out of debt faster if you use this proximity principle and get a job you love that also pays you more and gives you limitless earning potential. And you're going to get out of debt maybe two, three, four times faster and change your family tree for real. Don't, you know, Dave, you said it a hundred thousand times just in my five years here. I was over in the lobby hosting the video channel, listening to you say that your greatest wealth building tool is your job, your work.

Your income. Your income. I mean, it's huge. So why wouldn't you want to do work that you're really good at and that matters deeply to you? You're going to get greater results. So the book signing is tonight in Nashville. The book is The Proximity Principle,

the proven strategy that will lead to the career you love. Ken Coleman is the Ramsey personality, the writer, the author, host of The Ken Coleman Show on SiriusXM and the podcast by the same name. We will be giving away tonight $500 at 6 o'clock. Well, it won't be at 6 o'clock. The book signing starts at 6 o'clock at Barnes & Noble in Brentwood, just outside of Nashville, the Cool Springs, Barnes & Noble, and that consists of

$450 cash and a $50 Starbucks gift card. Why did we break it up that way? Because we wanted to put our money where our mouth is and give you $50 to push you to get in proximity with somebody over coffee. Begin making those one-to-one connections so that you can move forward to do the work that you love.

People who can get you in the door. You want to be around people that are doing what you want to do. And so the idea of beginning that journey by sitting down with someone, and by the way, Dave, this is where the fear and doubt begins to get defeated. Because I'm going to sit down with somebody who's in my field and say, hey, what's the path look like? What do you think I need to do? How long is that going to take me?

All these things become real information that become a plan. Tuesday, Ken, we'll be in Mesa, Arizona, Phoenix area at the Barnes & Noble there at 6 o'clock. Same deal. Friday next, a week from tomorrow, May the 24th, Sacramento, California. Barnes & Noble there. Visit Ken Coleman at KenColeman.com slash events to learn more. The book is The Proximity Principle. You can get it at KenColeman.com, DaveRamsey.com, or anywhere great books are sold.

Congratulations, Ken. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Tonight's book signing, 6 o'clock, Barnes & Noble in Brentwood, Cold Springs area here in Nashville. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. We'll be right back. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Dylan and Brianna are with us. Hey, guys, how are you? Hi, Dave. Good, good.

Welcome. Where are you guys from? We're from Nashville. Oh, neighbors then. Yeah, yeah. Cool. And all the way across the street to do your debt-free screen. Yes, sir.

Love it. And how much have you paid off? We paid off $24,000 in six months. Woo! And what kind of income ranged during that six months? We went from around 30 to right at about 50. Oh, wow. That's a jump in six months.

What caused that? I started working. Oh, there's that. Okay. Got a couple extra side jobs and things like that. Cool. What do you all do? I'm an occupational therapy assistant.

And I'm an inside sales representative. Gotcha. And you took some side gigs? Yes, sir. I did some freelance writing, and then she actually sold some crafts online and things like that. Cool. Good for you guys. That's good.

Both of those can be good money if you watch what you're doing good side hustles very fun so what kind of debt was the 24 000 we had 20 000 in student loans and then some of it were uh the rest of it was medical bills okay all right how long you two been married almost four years okay what happened six months ago after four years or three and a half years of marriage, and you said, okay, something's got to change? Well, that was part of the frustrating part was we knew what to do, and we were doing okay, and I don't know if we just had a bad day or just got tired of working and going to school

and made a mistake and took out student loans. And unfortunately, that was a mistake with some zeros behind it. And we just made the decision after that that as soon as I finished school, we were going to try to pay them off before we started getting a bill for them. Oh, okay. So you came out of school. As soon as we graduated. Was the activator.

And you went, okay, this isn't going to be okay. We've got to knock this out. And so you said before it starts payments, we're going to be done. Six months later, you're done. Yes, sir. So you really leaned into this. Did you have money in savings? A little bit.

The medical bills were to pay off the C-section that I had for our little girl. But actually, when we got that bill, I actually said, well, let's put this on payments so that, you know, we can still save up for a down payment on a house. And he was like, no. I was like, but we should do that. And it's just crazy the mindset shift because I would never think of doing that now. But, yeah, we went ahead and took what we did have in savings and paid off what we could and then really went for it with the rest of the $20,000. Yeah, I mean, you guys, you've been on beans and rice. Yeah.

And we live with the in-laws, too. Oh, okay. We moved into the extra bedroom in my parents' house. Wow. Just threw everything we could at it to try to get it done. Yep. So first order of business, get your own place? Yeah.

Yeah. Exactly. We're on 3B now. So we've got our emergency fund, and we're working for a down payment on the house. Wow. Good for you. Excellent. And how old is your baby? She's 15 months. Okay. Very cool. Very cool. So how did you get connected to us? We actually both took financial peace in high school.

Oh, wow. And my parents are big followers of you and the books, the classes, everything were always in our house. And that's why I said we kind of knew what to do and just kind of lost it. Yeah, made a mistake. Your financial peace babies that sinned. Yeah, yeah. Exactly, exactly. Okay.

I'm kidding, but not really. No, it's true, it's true. We never had any. We swore by no credit cards. Got a lot of pushback on that for really. Yeah. No, it's true. It's true. We never had any. We swore by no credit cards. Got a lot of pushback on that for sure. Yeah. But yeah, we went ahead and took out the loans. And when that number finally came up, like, this is how much we owe.

I was like, no. It's like a financial hangover. Exactly. Oh, man. Yeah, it was bad. Look at you guys. Wow. Well, way to go.

Way to go. So it's been around you your whole life. Yes. I mean, you're in Nashville, and we've been doing this in Nashville the whole time. And so your mom and dad are, you know, they're looking at you going, and so move in the bedroom. Move in the bedroom and work the steps. Exactly. Exactly.

They were very generous to us. Such a blessing. That's good. Very cool. Very cool. Neat. Well, congratulations. Thank you.

Now that you did it, what do you tell people the key to getting out of debt is? I would say for me two different things, motivation and contentment as well. Obviously, contentment had a lot to do with it because it was hard for me to move in with, you know, his family. And I was kind of worried about that and how it would go, obviously. But then, you know, giving up my own kitchen and my own, you know, home. So that was really hard. But I don't know if it's on the screen, but we sent in a picture and it's of just our bed. And there's some Christmas lights strung up with just a few ornaments on it.

And I took that picture and I thought I was like, this is contentment. Like, because I'm a big Christmas person. I love to decorate and everything. And just having the string of lights, I was like, I'm OK with this, you know, and I'm, I'm happy and it's going well and we get along great. And so just contentment. And then we listened to the podcast every single day after work. And so just keeping up that motivation really helped as well. That's amazing. Very cool. What about you, Dylan? I would say just working together, we, we sat down, did the budget together. We talked about everything that we spent money on

regardless of what it was and just learning to do that with each other you know before it was you know i'm the money person and i do this and you do that and we kind of did some of it separate but we learned how to do it together and that that was a big thing for us that's huge yeah that's huge you know you keep that picture and when el when Eliza gets home from her honeymoon someday, you show her that. So she knows where she came from. Exactly. That's what contentment looks like. Yes.

This is what Mama did. Yes. This is what Daddy did. It's a bigger sacrifice for Mama, though. Oh, yeah. Because she's moving in with his parents. Right. Oh, yeah.

Nothing wrong with these people. They're fine people. But still, that's a tough thing to do. It is. It's very courageous, really. It's gone a lot better than I thought it would, you know. But that's all thanks to God, for sure. Well, and your attitude about it, you know.

And now you've got a game plan to get your own place. Yes. It's perfect. Very good. Proud of you guys. Thank you. Who were your biggest cheerleaders, Mom and Dad? Yeah, definitely Mom and dad, for sure.

They made sure we knew whatever we needed, they would help us with it. We love you, but get out of debt and get out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They've been so kind to us. And then free babysitting, for sure. My mom and his mom just have been so wonderful to us just any time we need it. So side hustle, side hustle, yeah. Yes.

They've been great. Both parents. I mean, they had to hustle, side hustle. Yeah. Yes. They've been great. Both parents. I mean, they had to keep their grandbaby. That's awful. What a horrible thing to have to do. Love it. Way to go, you guys. It's not like great family support all the way around.

Yes, absolutely. That's a big deal. Yes. We see a lot of correlation between that and people being successful. Yes. So very good. All right. We got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Everyday Millionaires.

You definitely are going to be that. We'll get Eliza in the picture for the debt-free scream. See if we can scare the baby. She might have been practicing. Who knows? All right. She is third generation, you know. That's right.

All right. Dylan, Brianna, and Eliza, $24,000 paid off in six months, making $30,000 to $50,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Three, two, one. We're debt-free. Very good. Well done, you guys.

Very well done. Excellent job, man. That's the way you do it. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Now, reminder, along with Ken Coleman's book signing tonight at 6 o'clock in Nashville at the Cool Springs Barnes & Noble. Also tonight in Dallas is the last money and marriage event of this year. Rachel Cruz is in Dallas along with Les Parrott. The two of them will be doing the event there.

There are a few tickets left, like about 100 is all. It's basically a sellout, but you can get in. It's over at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in the Carrollton area there in Dallas, and we would love to have you attend tonight with them. If you want to come, just go to DaveRamsey.com

or RachelCruz.com and click on the events tab, or you can call Customer Care, our Ramsey concierge team, and they will help you either one again it's the last money and marriage event of this year because rachel will not be doing events in the fall with the baby coming so not with her third child on the way so come out tonight these two are fun they're funny this event is well it's informative and it's entertaining uh it's edutainment there you go how's that

try that out now check it out folks money and marriage in dallas tonight a lot of stuff going on with ramsey personalities right now i'll be in kansas city this weekend at west side church speaking on sunday come out all three services church is free this is the d Ramsey Show. Lisa is with us in Provo, Utah. Lisa, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Thanks, Dave. I'm so grateful I could talk to you. You too. What's up?

Well, we got a settlement from a car accident, about $41,000. We are in debt with student loans, about $50,000, and some medical debt, and a little bit of loan debt. And my husband doesn't have a regular, like, 8 to 5 job. He's trying to start off a brand-new business doing construction and remodeling and building houses and stuff like that. Anyway, he wants to use some of that settlement to buy a Dave truck and a trailer. But I want to use as much of that cash as possible to pay our debt down. So we're kind of coming to a little bit of a disagreement, and I'm not sure what to do. How long has he been doing his own business of construction work?

Off and on for several years. No, I mean, you said he hasn't got a job and he's working construction on his own. How long? Probably about three months. What's he made? He, well, it all depends on how many hours he works a day. No, in three months, how much has he made? He, well, it all depends on how many hours he works a day. No, in three months, how much has he made? A couple thousand one month and 3,000 another month and a couple hundred another month.

Okay, so in three months he's averaged $1,500 to $2,000 a month. Yes. And minus expenses or net? That's net. Okay, good. And are you working outside the home? I'm not. I'm staying home with two little kids.

And how are you eating on that money? He gets a stipend from the government. He's a retired army vet. So he had 20 years? No, he was medically retired. Oh, I see. So how much is his medical retirement from the government? About $2,300, I believe. Okay. All right. So you guys have been able to make it on that plus the little bit of construction he's been doing? Yeah. Okay, cool. Alright. Good. And how old is he?

He just turned 40. How long has he been doing construction work? Since he was about 16, 15. Okay, off and on. Not counting 20 years in the military? Right. Okay. Yeah, right. Or however long he was in the military before he was discharged. Right. Okay. Yeah, right. Or however long he was in the military before he was discharged. Okay.

All right. Good. And were you guys hurt in the car wreck? Yes, we were. He had to have surgery on his shoulder. Is everyone recovered? We are now, yeah. Is there any more surgery in the future because of the car wreck?

It's a very slight possibility, but he's doing really good so far. We are now, yeah. Is there any more surgery in the future because of the car wreck? It's a very slight possibility, but he's doing really good so far. Okay. All right. Cool. But the medical bills that are laying there are remaining from that? Some of them are. Some of them are just from other health issues that I've had. Okay.

All right. So here's what I know having grown up in the real estate and construction business and know how to swing a hammer myself and hanging out with guys that do that my whole life and also coaching them now through Entree Leadership for the last 30 years. Okay. and also coaching them now through Entree Leadership for the last 30 years. Okay? What I know is that all of us that like to do that kind of thing will spend every dollar we make on new tools. That's true. We are a gadget bunch. There's always a newer one, a faster one, a better one,

and Home Depot will put it right in front of your face and so will Lowe's. You know what I'm saying? And so you're laughing, I'm laughing, it's true, that's why we're laughing. And so a portion of the truck and trailer request is coming from that. A portion of it is a real need. Yeah. But also, the only people that drive up on construction sites in $40,000 trucks are idiots. That's true.

Because a backhoe is going to back into it as soon as you park that thing, because you've been seeing too many Chevy commercials and Chevy and Fordd commercials and you think you need to drive through a mud puddle on a construction site and so it's um this is the thing the guy on the construction site that makes the most money that comes home to feed his kids with is the one driving the junkiest truck. Yeah, that's what he's looking for. There you go. Okay, so I'm good with a $3,000 pickup. Okay. And I'm not good with the trailer. Okay.

He needs to go earn the money to pay for the trailer. Not because I'm trying to punish him, but I'm challenging him to get his dadgum income up because he hasn't really made any money yet. Yeah. And you can make what he's making building three decks a month. Yeah, it's true. So get with it. Go get some business. Swing the hammer.

Make the saw move, and if you need a trailer to do your business, if you get a job that is big enough for a trailer, build into the estimate for the job the rental rate on the trailer. But you don't need a trailer until you have a job that says you need a trailer. And if you don't need to own a trailer, unless you have a lot of jobs that says you need a trailer. Follow me? Yeah, yeah.

So, you know, you can get, you know, don't spend all your money on equipment. Make the equipment make you money. And drive used equipment always when doing construction. Always. Very used is preferable. And rent the rest of it. Rent what you need. The rental people have everything you need.

And build the rental cost into the estimate and charge the homeowner. Had some work done on the third story deck I have on my house. And they had to have a lift. Guess what was on my invoice lift rental it was part of my estimate right and i'm the homeowner okay that guy didn't own a lift and he had to go way the flip up in the air to work on some stuff there, right? So that's how you do this stuff. So your job as mama bear here is let's help hubby with the marketing. Let's get lots of business. Kick him out the door.

He needs to go out there and get business, and then he needs to execute on the business. He needs to get really good at his estimates because most of these guys stick a wet finger in the air and guess on their estimates, and they lose money on as many jobs as they make money. You following me? So this is a business. We have to do marketing. We have to do business acquisition, meaning new customers. We have to do proper estimates and accounting, and we don't spend all our money on equipment.

Yes, I love it. He can make a lot of money in this business. I know a guy doing what he's talking about doing. He made $300,000 last year. Wow. And he didn't build a single house. All he did was rehabs. Oh, my gosh.

Amazing. And he started out doing like you and I are talking about right here. Because if you show up on time, you charge a amount not too much not too little uh and everything's you know all your tools aren't brand new and shiny because you actually know how to use them and um you know and you show up on time and you keep showing up until the job's done the job's completed on time and on budget you'll get more work than you'll ever be able to get rid of because nobody in that world does that there's no competition all you got to do is properly execute your business and you'll have no competition it's your brand differentiator you can make a ton of money but let's start let's crawl before we

walk let's walk before we run okay that's awesome thank you and set some of the other money aside to make sure this business keeps running let's's set about $5,000 aside just for that, and then let's use the rest of it and start working your baby steps. Awesome. That sounds great. Thank you so much. You can do this, and he can too. Proud of him. Thanks for his service to the country. Great opportunity. Great opportunity. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show

in the books. Our thanks to James Childs, our producer, Madison, our associate producer and phone screener this hour filling in for Kelly. She's a little jealous right now. It's okay. Kelly will get over it. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. This episode is over, but if you heard about a product or service

and didn't have a chance to write it down, don't worry. We list everything that is mentioned during this episode in the podcast show notes section. Thanks for listening.