The Ramsey Show - App - She Paid Off $82,000 in 26 Months! (Hour 3)

Episode Date: April 8, 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. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey personality, best-selling author, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Jennifer starts off this hour in Washington, D.C.

Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to The Ramsey Show. Hi, thank you so much for taking my call. Sure, what's up? So, my husband will be retiring from the Coast Guard next summer, summer 2022, and we plan to move back home to Colorado Springs. So we currently have $150,000 down for a home to purchase. we have is because the market is just crazy right now and homes are flying, you know, off the market and 20 to 50,000 over asked, should we start the process now knowing that we're not going to pay over asking, you know, should we start looking at houses now and then buying something and just letting it sit empty if we end up buying something, or should we just wait until we actually get out there?

And we also don't have any jobs lined up yet either. How long has he been serving? It'll be 22 years next summer. My goodness. Well, tell him thanks for his service. We appreciate it. And you two, you guys have moved all over the world, haven't you? Yeah, we have.

Thank you. Yeah, I'm glad you're settling in it's good it's a good it's a good time of life for you and you're gonna have a night and i think i'm also a little bit i think i have house fever because we've been renting for so long yeah you you've got you got kind of a nesting instinct kicking in almost here it's like finally i get to get my place and i'm wanting to do it and all these people went crazy with their houses after COVID, and they're messing up my plan. Yes.

Yeah. I don't blame you. I get where you are. I don't disagree. So the only reason you would go ahead and do all of that now is if you believe that this white-hot, crazy, up-bid market is going to continue for 12 to 18 months i personally don't think it's going to continue at this fever pitch this fever pitch is is the is the other end of the the other side of the coin of covid freezing the entire economy shut

because everybody stayed home and they were afraid a little covid was going to get on them and uh and so they stayed home the government told them to stay home they stayed home and it shut the economy down and then all this pent-up demand it's like the whole economy held its breath it's like holding a hose right yeah all the whole economy held its breath and it finally sticks its head up above water and goes, and that's what it's doing. And so I think it's, you know, just like if you come out of the pool, after being on the bottom of the pool and you're trying to get your breath, you know, you're hyperventilating almost, and then within 10 minutes, what happens?

Kind of everything levels off and, quote, you know, calms down, and that's what I think is going to happen with housing. So I don't think that this hose being pinched and then released or breath being held at the bottom of the pool and then finally released is going to be the continued version of the economy for the next five years. I don't know net, net, net if the house prices are going to end up higher or not. Honestly, Colorado Springs has been a very hot market for a very long time. And so it's going to be a tough market in terms of buying a house. But, of course, you've got a huge military presence there. I've spoken on the base there.

And so there's always going to be some housing turnover because of that. But it's a highly desirable city to live in and quality of life and lifestyle and everything. And so there's always been a lot of activity around it, as long as I can remember. It's been a strong market, but I don't. So all of that to say, I think the feelings you're having are natural, especially given your situation. But I wouldn't worry about it. I'd just wait until you get out, go out there, get your jobs. If you rent for a year to do the right thing, it's not going to kill you. And by then, I think this hyperventilating market is going to get back to a normal breathing pattern of some kind.

Does that make sense? Yeah, it definitely makes sense. I think I just need an outside perspective to calm me down. Yeah. Your instincts are right on both ends, right? You know this is not a good time to buy, and I've got to buy something right now, right? Yeah, I think you accurately diagnosed yourself. Yeah.

Which is good news. Self-awareness is always a sign of good mental health. There's only like 18 people in the country that have that, so good for you. And not many of them are in Washington, Dhington dc so you're a real rarity she won't be for long going to colorado springs yeah she's leaving get out while the getting's good uh yeah thank you for your service again i appreciate you i would just be calm and while all about you have lost their head you keep your head and just go, this is what's right. This is what's right. And there's no better place to be when things cool off.

I'm going to have an in-breathe and an out-breathe. Pile of cash, too, right? I'm going to have a rhythm with $150,000 in my right hand, and I'm just going to sit here and breathe a little bit. Yeah, that's a good floaty, right? Yeah, that's a good floaty on the pool metaphor here. I'm just just gonna beat this metaphor to death yeah yeah just wear it out all right david is with us david's in kalamazoo michigan hey david what's up hi guys thanks for taking my call um also thank you for the

every dollar app that thing that we we love it well you. So my question today is, I listen to your podcast all the time. I don't think I've ever heard you talk about warps, LIRPs. Yeah, because I wouldn't ever tell anybody to do one. Can you kind of explain? I haven't got a good explanation of how it even works or what the advantage over a Roth, just having a Roth. Well, basically, it's a sophisticated version of cash value life insurance. It's a life insurance retirement plan, L-I-R-P.

And you're using life insurance as an investment vehicle, which is the definition of sucks, and you're using life insurance as an investment vehicle to create your retirement plan. It's a horrible right of return. It's very inefficient. But the insurance world, it does the very best they can to sell this garbage and package it up 90,000 different ways, and this is yet one more way they've packaged it, and they try to create some kind of narrative or language around it where people will continue to be snuffed by it.

But basically, any time you buy life insurance as an investment, you have a bad rate of return, and often, most often, the way the deals are structured is when you die, the money you have in the investment is built into the insurance. They pay out the insurance and keep the investment. And it just never works out. That's the typical whole life policy. That's a variable life policy.

That's an indexed universal policy, a double backflip, circus policy. I mean, they just make up crap, you know. And, you know, so it's really anytime you hear investing in life insurance, there's one word you need to remember. Run. Buy life insurance for death only. Do your investing in real investments. Don't buy your mufflers at the transmission store. hey teachers let's be real saying the last 12 months have been hard is a serious understatement you guys are the real mvps between remote, in-person, and hybrid classrooms, your commitment is changing student lives every single day. And because of you, over 5 million students have gone through Ramsey's Foundation and personal finance curriculum in high schools across the country.

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Don't wait. The giveaway ends April 30th. Again, that's ramsandsolutions.com slash teacher. No purchase necessary. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. This is The Ramsey Show. If there's one thing we all need to know by now, it's that you cannot invest alone. You need someone in your life who knows the market better than you, is in it every day, and helps you make smart decisions to respond to it.

Look, I love do-it-yourselfers. I'm a do-it-yourselfer, but I don't pull my own teeth. I don't work on my own cars anymore. I don't even know what they do. When I lift the hood, it doesn't even look like anything I used to turn a wrench on 25 years ago. They're completely different. And I would tear it up. Tear up a perfectly good car with that.

Or I'd probably mess up my dental work were I to do it myself. So I actually bring in professionals. Now, do I take everything that everyone says and believe 100% of it? No, I expect them to teach me. If the mechanic comes out and says, you need to spend $1,000, I want to know why. I want to know what's broken and how it works, and what are we going to do to fix it. I don't want just, oh, yeah, they just tell you what to do. When a doctor says, you know, you have this, and I'm like, well, what's that mean? You're going to have to teach me. You know, the tax guy says you need to do this.

I'm like, I don't do it blindly. I want to know why. I want to know why. I'm that little boy, eight-year-old boy. Why, why, why, why, why? Which is how you properly invest, by the way. You don't just throw your money at some dude in a suit or some lady in a dress and go, take care of my money, and then walk out the door and hope it works out.

It won't. This is how people lose their money. So you get someone in your corner and you ask why and how, and they have the heart of a teacher, and they will walk you through the right kind of a process. This is how you become wealthy. Oh, and by the way, when you're scared or you're worried about the economy or the news comes on and says the stock market dropped today and you're like, oh, no, I've just lost all my retirement.

No, you didn't. Call and talk to your advisor, and they'll talk to you about the history of market fluctuations and how life really works, and they'll talk you off the ledge and let your little emotions calm down, and then you can continue to invest, because the only one that gets hurt on a roller coaster are those that jump off in the middle of the freaking ride.

So you need someone like a smart investor pro with that heart of a teacher and that experience and that know-how to show you what you understand so you can invest and stay invested. Text the word invest to 33789. That's texting invest to 33789. That's texting INVEST to 33789, and we'll create a rock-solid investing plan with one of our smart investor pros today. They don't work for us, but these are men and women across the nation in your neighborhood that I proudly endorse. They are trusted by Ramsey. Alicia is with us in Orlando.

Hi, Alicia. Welcome to the Ramsey Show with Dr. John Deloney. How are you? Hi. Good afternoon, sir. Thank you so much for giving me some, hopefully, great financial advice. We'll try. I had a very bad financial history, and it's taken me over 12 years to get out from where I was,

and I am fearful of repeating history. So after all my expenses are taken care of each month, I have an additional $4,000 that I don't know what to do with. Wow. Look at you. It's been long to get out of it. So wait a minute. Let's talk about it a minute.

What's your income? I earn $150 every year. What do you do? Oh, I work in insurance. You're amazing. Well done. Very well done. So you said it's been a long slog out of the mess.

How long did it take you to get out of the mess? Just over about 10 years was it an income mess you didn't have a good income or was it uh you did stupid mistakes very stupid mistakes i was um one of millions of people that were caught up in the 2008 housing market and i bought a house i couldn't afford and it's just it was ever since then i could not get out of it and i'm finally at a place when did you get out of it i had a short sale and after filing bankruptcy um 2012 was when i finally got out from under that. Okay, so from 2012 to today, nine years, you've been progressively

doing smarter and smarter things and have not added any dumb things to the list. No, sir. That's pretty good. You've got a decade of clean. It's been hard. I learned my lesson, and I do not want to go there.

I've had my car repossessed. I've had... Not in nine years, you haven there. I've had my car repossessed. I've had... Not in nine years you haven't. No, no, that was all part of the downfall of the 2008. Let me tell you what I'm hearing. John and I talk about this a lot. Let me tell you what I heard. The language you're using, you're still living back there in the pain and the shame.

No shame. I'm proud that I've gotten out of it. You ought to be. You ought to be very proud you've got a whole decade of being awesome oh thank you i'm but i'm scared well i mean that's okay my wife's scared we went broke 30 years ago she still looks at me like i'm crazy occasionally and listen all that means is your brain's working just fine yeah it's seen how bad things can get and it never wants to let you do that again and it's willing here's the thing it's like you get near the edge of that cliff you're like no you can fall you know your brain we will smoke a cigarette to calm down today and it will kill us

tomorrow all our brain wants to do is take care of us right this second so as soon as you start seeing this money and you start thinking about it it conjures up all the old to keep you in the straight and narrow, but that can rob you of joy and fun and all of the rewards of this stuff you've worked so hard for. What I want you to hear is I'm talking to a lady that makes $150,000 a year and has made good financial decisions for a decade. You know what that makes you? A freaking unicorn. You're unusually awesome.

You're incredible. It's just learning from where I don't want to be again. That was my only driving force. And the next phase is to not run from things, but to run to something. Yeah. And listen, when your brain tries to protect you, that means everything's working great. And all you have to say is, whew, thanks for checking in.

I'm doing great. I make $150,000, brain, and I don't make stupid decisions anymore, brain. And then you feel free to share your life with other people. And, man, you are off to the races, Alicia. Okay, so what we need to do is we need to assign a task that is future-oriented, because the past has passed, that's future-oriented to these $4,000 a month that you have. And so are you single? Yes.

Do you own a home? Yes. Okay. How much do you owe on it? Well, I think it's roughly around $420 now. Okay. And do you have any other debt? No, sir.

And how much saved? So I have no retirement savings. I have my six-month emergency fund of $30,000. Good. And you've heard us talk about the baby steps where you put at this stage, you are at baby step four. This is my first time coming across you guys. I'm so sorry.

It's okay. It's all right. You have your emergency fund and you're debt- is my first time coming across you guys. I'm so sorry, but... That's okay. It's all right. You have your emergency fund and you're debt-free, but the house, that brings you to what we call baby step four, which is 15% of your income going into retirement. Five is kids' college. I don't think that applies in your situation. And baby step six is pay off your house early.

So we're going to put 15% of your income into retirement. That's going to be $22,500 in your life per year, about $2,000 a month going into retirement. And then everything above that, that you have free, you're either going to spend it and or throw it as extra payments on the house to pay off the house early. And my estimation is, is that as your income continues to grow, you're going to pay off this house in under 10 years from where you are. And you're going to be in a very amazing place with your retirement 10 years from today because you start saving $22,000 a year, $2,000 a month, $24,000 a year, somewhere in there. You're going to be rocking it, kiddo.

And so your future is bright because of what you learned in the past. And I don't want any listener to blow by Dave's wisdom here. When the gazelle takes off, he's running or she is running from a lion. And when that threat is over, then that gazelle has to go towards friends. It's got to go towards a new watering source, towards new green grass. It's got to go to stuff. Not just keep sprinting and sprinting and sprinting. Yeah, you can only run away from things so long.

You start out, you need to run to things. This is The Ramsey Show. Outro Music We'll be right back. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage, Quashira is with us. Hey, Quashira, how are you? Hi, Dave. Hi, John. Welcome. Where do you live? I live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Welcome to Nashville.

And all the way over here to do a debt-free scream. Yes, sir. Whoop, whoop. How much did you pay off? $82,000. And how long did this take? 26 months. Wow and your range of income during that time? I started at $56,000 and last year I grossed $122,000. Whoa! Yes you doubled your income. I did. In two years. Yes. Well first I have to hear how you did that. I took a leap of faith, and I took another career path, and now I'm a mortgage loan officer.

So pretty much right now. What were you before? A premier banker. Okay. So doing credit cards. Okay. So you took the private banking knowledge, the premier banking knowledge. Correct.

And how to serve clients, particularly high-end clients, roll into the mortgage business and go, touchdown! Absolutely. At perfect timing. I was going to say, what a time to get into the mortgage business and go touchdown absolutely perfect timing what a time to get into the mortgage business yeah and what a time to take that skill set and use it well done well done i love it what kind of debt was the 82 000 well i financed a iphone security system i had to pay taxes i took out a 401k loan to put money down on a house i bought i had two car notes i had to buy my mom a car she just

had to have a car right in my opinion um so small credit card debt and the largest one was fifty two thousand dollars student loans god you just did everything yes i mean you're like normal pretty normal plus a little a little extra normal on there correct hey and here's what makes all this ironic you worked for a bank yes i do work for a bank you knew better yeah well yeah no she was telling people to do the same stuff all day there you go yeah so uh what what happened that changed all this yeah it's a few things i was talking to one of my supervisors and just a little gem he asked me how much did i have in my savings and i told him about three or four thousand at the time he said how much debt do you have and I was just counting the student loan so I said fifty three thousand dollars he was like well you don't have a savings so I was like okay that makes sense

I feel like that sparked it and then somehow I really don't remember how but I came across your book I read it and then I went down a loophole of watching debt-free screams and it was this one particular story where this lady she was single like myself she made the same amount of money she paid off the same amount of debt i'm like if she could do it i surely can do it yeah i took off from there and now somebody's watching you yes yeah and they're gonna do it because you did i hope so thank you thank you you're very inspiring very very fun 82,026 months yes so you read the book and then you went down the rabbit hole of youtube and watched um because there's thousands of debt-free screams on youtube i mean we've got we've got them all on our youtube channel about a billion downloads on on the podcast now and

literally and so people are doing this all the time yes uh and what a good i mean you just like that just fills up your spirit yes other people winning yelling yeah that's cool that's gonna be me one day what would yeah what was the first thing you actually did then with this new motivation yeah i um i'm a very goal-oriented person i like to see things on paper so i wrote down all of my debt and my goal was just to be debt free by 30 i started this when i was 26 so four years was plenty enough time but of course you know our lord and savior had sped that up it just kept things just kept lining up where income increasing checks were coming you know i took on extra jobs etc so just got after it yeah i've watched this for years, and the metaphor that I've used is that it's like God is sitting up there going,

oh, look, there's one that's now smart. I can trust this one. Because when you're faithful with the little things, you're given more to manage. That's scriptural. And it's almost as if you're walking along and you step up on one of those moving sidewalks at the airport, and now you're still walking, but you're moving even faster. Yes. And God just takes you faster than your little legs take you by yourself.

Absolutely. He let me finish this a month after. Well, actually, the same month I turned 29. So, again, he fast-tracked my plan. His plan is always better than ours. You're faster. Amen. You're faster than you thought you were going to.

Correct. Yeah. Way to go. Thank you. Who was your biggest cheerleader? You know, my family you were going to. Correct. Yeah. Way to go. Thank you. Who was your biggest cheerleaders? You know, my family is always going to support me. But outside of that, I feel like just watching, listening to your show daily. I mean, I would take road trips.

I would listen to it on the plane. I did Uber and Lyft for a time. I would play it in the car. So just keeping you on and, again, just watching YouTube videos kept me motivated with the listeners looking to do what I'm doing. When did you make the jump to mortgages? July of 2019. And I finished July of 2020. Okay.

So one year of the two years was at a potentially higher income. Correct. Or a higher income. Certainly, I'm sure the mortgage business has gotten better every month that you've been doing this. And you did all this through COVID. Correct. Which was great for me a lot of folks um are taking advantage of not having to pay student loans and i thought it was a great

opportunity to pay student loans since all my money is going towards principal versus interest so of course again just gazelle that as well yeah what was what was give us a moment you got scared things things got dicey um it's a long journey um you know i tell anyone it's it's one of the hardest things i ever did it's simple and i need simple a simple plan to follow but it's one of the hardest things i ever did so just just trying to stick with it and just remembering hey this is temporary this is going to be two years and i'm only 29 i have my entire life to live financially free so when it got scary you just backed up and had perspective. Correct. Remembering the goal. Yeah, and remember where I'm going to be, what it's going to feel like.

Exactly. That's a big deal. That's very strong. That's very strong. You're an amazing young woman. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. I'm sure your mom's proud of you.

She came with you. Who else came with you? Yes, my mom and my sister. All right. The family is supporting. Yes. I like it. This is very, very cool.

Well, congratulations. Thank you so much well done so you tell people the key to getting out of debt is yes so um stay the course again it may get weary but just stick with it you you're literally almost probably close to finishing if you're thinking about quitting um lowering your expenses and increasing your income is a big one i got rid of streaming services um I went from a $120 cell phone bill down to $50. My folks actually laugh at me because my service isn't that great, but my bill is $50. And I didn't want to talk to you anyway. Right, exactly. After talking on the phone with my clients.

Discipline and sacrifice, those are the keys for me. We're getting out of debt. Yeah, you really, you were so game on i mean you you identified the target like you said you said i'm goal oriented but you really are you that's not just that that's the way your brain works and once you set that thing and then it's game on correct you know and there's no stopping you and and uh did you learn anything about yourself during this journey um i would say i can really do whatever i really put my mind to you kind of already knew that yeah this just gave you more confidence correct yeah yeah because you weren't lacking in confidence before no you

you got a you got your mama raised you right awesome. You've got a presence about you that's powerful. Wow, thank you. Very cool. Very cool. Well done. Woo-hoo-hoo. Yeah. Well, we got a copy of Rachel Cruz's latest New York Times bestseller, Know Yourself, Know Your Money, for you. Thank you. And we'll add that to your collection of Ramsey books.

And you're an impressive young woman. Well done. All right. of young woman well done all right a queshera from charlotte north carolina 82 000 paid off in 26 months making 56 to 122 count it down let a lot but when kashira has a goal i'm not going to get between her and that goal no you wouldn't want to no and i don't i i also don't know a lot but i think you just got a parenting principle woven into that that mom taught that kid how to be that kind of woman how to have self-worth how to have goals how to i to know i can do hard things all of it you have value and that means you can go get whatever you'll get

zero chance no that woman's to be a victim. Nope. Or adopt a victim position of any kind ever. There's a brick wall. Do not get in her way. That's cool. I'm going to run right through it. It's incredible. It's incredible.

Cashier's mom, I see you, and you're inspiring me because I'm raising a little girl, and you're inspiring me. Amen. Yeah. Build a warrior princess, baby. That's how you do it. Wow. Pretty incredible. This is The Ramsey Show. Thank you. Our scripture of the day, James 1.4, Let perseverance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Benjamin Franklin said, Energy and persistence conquer all things. Dr. John Deloney, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today as we take your questions about life and about money. The phone number is 888-825-5225. Jessica is with us. She's in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Hi, Jessica. How can we help? Hi, Dave. Hi, Dr. D. How are you all today? Great. She's in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hi, Jessica. How can we help? Hi, Dave. Hi, Dr. D. How are y'all today? Great. What's up? Great. So my husband and I are trying to figure out if we can afford it for me to start my career. So just some quick details. We recently finished Baby Step 2, working on Baby Step three, which will probably take us about five more months. I'm going to be going into real estate. So there are going to be some startup costs associated with that, probably around like $1,200 with MLS access and the exams and everything like that. But we will have to figure out getting child care for our son. So my husband is in the military. We could utilize the base daycare for about $600 a month,

but we're wondering if we should essentially pause Baby Step 3 and save the money for my startup and a few months of child care to cover that gap in between when I start and when I get my first commission check, or if we should finish up baby step three and then save up for those costs associated with me starting work. $1,800 takes you through the first month. $1,200 worth of costs and $600 worth of daycare, right? Mm-hmm. That should be right, yep.

Okay. How old are you? We are both 22. 22? Yes. Okay. And have you had discussions with a real estate broker that you would go to work for? Yes, I have.

I have been in the office several times to speak with them and have interest with a particular brokerage. And what's their training program like and what do they project before you to make your first sale um so they have told me one of the girls who i've been talking to she said that it took her about six weeks to get her first contract but there are other girls um in the office who um they've gotten a contract within the first few weeks and some longer. So that is the part that makes me nervous. What's going to be your lead source? I'm not 100% sure.

Still trying to figure out all of those details. Okay. And what does your husband make a year? He makes around $40,000 a year. Okay. Why real estate? It's always something that I have been interested in, and I have a passion to help people,

and I figure taking my interest and my passion, mixing that together could be a good idea. All right. Let me tell you the full picture of what I'm hearing and what's also running through my head. Okay. And then let's kind of put all that on the table, and we'll start playing with it and trying to figure out what to do i got my real estate license when i turned 18 years old um i did sell a house three weeks later because to one of my high school buddies because i was just out of high school which means both of us were pretty stupid actually but um i mean who

buys a house from an 18 year old except another 18 year old right so um but the uh uh or a 19 year old or something like that i mean this is like happy days does real estate or something but the um uh uh but by and large uh and i sold real estate actively all the way through college from 18 to 22 years old and then um and I've had my licenses ever since. So what you're saying can be done, I will tell you from experience, male or female, it's an uphill battle to have credibility to get someone to make the largest purchase that they ever make in their life with a 22-year-old. It can be done, but you're going to have people that just simply will not work with you because of your age, because you just don't have credibility.

Or they like you, you're sweet, pat you on the head, but won't actually close the deal. You know what I'm saying? That's a lot different than the crusty old, you know, 56-year-old battle axe, right, that just tells everybody what to do and they do it, you know, kind of thing. You're just in a different position in your life in terms of credibility. So you need to know that this is not a hot knife through butter. It can be done. Right. But you've got some uphill stuff.

I did it. I think you can do it. I can be done. Right. But you've got some uphill stuff. I did it. I think you can do it. I think you should do it. But all of those things contribute to the idea that it's probably going to take a little while before you actually start making money. Right. And so that tells me I want your emergency fund in place before you do this. And that also tells me that the fastest way

to cause that to happen and the fastest way to have then the money for the licensing and the daycare months before you get money coming in probably means you look at some other form of extra income as a short-term way to to get to your goal of being in real estate faster. Right. Like, I mean, if you could find something and make $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 a month as a part-time gig doing something, and you do the work it pays, something Uber Eats, deliver pizzas, I don't care what you do, or they'll hire you to do something at that real estate office for a couple grand, that would even be better, and you're just you know you just start

immediately doing that and i would rather you do that than work real estate today until and use that money to get the emergency fund finished faster and use that money to get a little bit of a nest egg to to go six months of daycare and twelve hundred dollars worth of upfront expenses and you're gonna have more than that after i. It's probably going to be more like $2,000 by the time you're done. And so I just want you to have all that, because nothing smells quite as bad as a broke, desperate salesperson. You're right. And I just have spoke with so many folks who want to get into the real estate business.

That's why I asked you what you want to do, because the napkin math is so great. We just have to sell five houses, and I get this cut of this price, and honey, we're going to be rich, and it's super flexible, so I don't even have to deal with the little one anymore, right? Everyone who I know, Dave, and you've done it, I haven't, gets into real estate. It is.

All the time, 24-7, closing deals at 9pm and 6am. It's a lot of work. A lot of hours, a lot of, closing deals at 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. It's a lot of work. Yes, a lot of hours, a lot of work, a lot of accessibility. So I'm not trying to dissuade you. I'm saying you have a higher probability of being in the real estate business five years from today if you lay a really cash-strong foundation

with an emergency fund and your other cash up front before you go in. It's going to help you with your success probability on this because you do have probably a tough fight. I do think you should do it, and I do think you can do it, but I think it's going to be tough. Yeah. I just have worked with good real estate folks and not good ones, man, and it's such a difference.

It's incredible. Yeah, it is. And they're everywhere. Yeah. I mean, it is. And they're everywhere. Yeah. I mean, there's, you know, it is truly the Pareto principle. 80% of the business is done by 20% of the people in the business. Really?

Yeah. And you take that 80%, and it's another 80-20. Again, down to where, you know, 1.6% are doing, you know, the vast majority of the transactions. It's crazy. I mean, you have one real estate agent that's doing 400 transactions a year, and another one does one transaction a year. Is it just because it's a side gig, or they just don't hustle? Well, no. Some people just reach another level in their career,

another level in the octane that they're operating off of, and the protein just drips off their eyelids. And everything comes together. Some of them and then, you know, and everything comes together, you know, and they, some of them build teams to do it with and everything else. So our ELPs we work with all the time, you know, we're looking at these high octane people and it's amazing, you know, what can be done. So I don't want everyone to be a dream killer. No.

But I also don't want a dream turned into a nightmare. Especially the little one. Yeah. There you go. Hey, Jessica, good luck with it, darling. a nightmare. Especially the little one. Yeah, there you go. Hey, Jessica, good luck with it, darling. Thank you for calling in. Let us know how it works out. I'd love to hear from you when you're a big-time successful real estate agent.

John, good show. Thank you, sir. Dr. John Deloney, and that puts this hour of The Ramsey Show in 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. 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

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