The Ramsey Show - App - Shocking: What Americans Would Give Up to Be Debt-Free (Hour 3)

Episode Date: October 24, 2018

The show about you

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Sitting in for Dave Ramsey, I am Ken Coleman, host of The Ken Coleman Show on SiriusXM. Also thrilled to be joined in studio by best-selling author of Love Your Life, Not Theirs, and the host of The Rachel Cruze Show, my good friend Rachel Cruze. Rachel, good to see you. Yeah, good to see you too, Ken. Let me apologize to you and our listening audience.

I'm dealing with scratchy throat syndrome. It happens this time of year. It's okay. And I feel fine. I feel fine, but it's a little scratchy. So give me a little bit of grace, and we will power through. How about that? Thank you for telling America that.

Well, you know, it could go at any moment. Earlier on my show today, I had to do the old mute button and a big sweet alarm. Oh, yes, that may happen. So if that happens, we'll press on. Folks, we're here for you this hour. We're going to take your questions about money. We'll take your questions about career. That's what we talk about on our shows, and we're here for you.

888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. We'll start it off with Ashley, who's on the line in Columbia, South Carolina. Ashley, how can we help? Hey, guys. So neat to talk with you all. Okay, so I'll give you a brief overview. I'm 31 years old.

I recently got married in May. And I've been a nanny off and on for 12 years because I love children and I'm actually doing it right now. And I'm great with kids. I love the job overall, but you kind of get to a point where you can only max out at about like between $15 to $18 an hour if you're making really good. And I really need more of a long-term job that is good with my passion, but at the same time be able to make good money to pay off debt and prepare for a future with my husband. And I've experimented with some other options over the years like I tried out insurance and it wasn't for me and some other things but I'm just kind of at a point where I know that I

need to make have a good career path but I don't really know where to turn. Okay two quick questions first of all what is a financial target you have that you want to make? What's that amount of money per year? Well, I mean, honestly, if I could make like $40,000, that would be great. Good. Okay, next question. You said multiple times you know what you're passionate about. Let's just lay it out there. Describe it. What are you passionate about doing? Well, I love children. I do love children. They bring a lot of joy to my life. But at the same time, I really don't want to teach, honestly. I was teaching for about a year and a half.

Let me press you on that. Hold on a second. So let's just stay right where you're at. So if you don't want to teach in a classroom environment but you love kids, is it more of a daycare setting, an after-school program setting? Describe it. If you could just make it happen right now, snap your fingers. I think you know what it is, and I think you're afraid to say it. Or you're worried about how you get there or how do you make $40,000.

So let's just own it. What is it? What would you love to do today? Go. Well, I don't know that i really have something honestly in particular i'm kind of like one of those people that can be really versatile and do a little bit of everything tell me this if you had a nannying job that paid you 40 grand would you be calling oh heck yeah i would do it yeah but would you be calling the show and asking these questions, or that would hit the spot?

I think that would hit the spot. But at the same time, whenever I did nanny, I kind of had the feeling like maybe I should be doing more. I should be more successful. Because a lot of people look at you as like a babysitter. And I'm 31 years old. Yeah, but there's no shame in work. All work is honorable. So I think Rachel really hit the nail on the head. If you didn't have the fear of peers and you weren't worried about the money, let's say

the money was there and you could take care of kids and make the money you need to make, you'd be pretty darn happy, wouldn't you? Yeah. Yeah, so you're overthinking it. And I think you are clear. And I don't think you need to justify in your mind that being a nanny is okay. I think you need to say it's awesome. I mean, you know, and again, maybe one day she opens up her own daycare. I would dream within this passion area.

Dream what could be. Well, and I was going to even say, because we have help with our two girls so that I can work and travel and all that. And so to have someone in your life that is walking with you and your kids that you trust, you are invaluable to families. Like that role is not just a babysitter. And if the family you're working for

treats it like that, like, eh, then that's, because I can tell you, the girl that helps us, we're like, we tell her all the time, like, we could not do this life without you.

That's right. She helps us so much. And so figuring out a family that fits you in that vein and trying to find the money for it. So, like, maybe you say, hey, here's my max. Like, if you want me as a nanny and I'm the best nanny you're going to find, I've been doing it for 12 years, I know exactly what to do, this is what I cost. You know what I mean? And kind of have some of that gumption in it. To your point, in Columbia, South Carolina, I can tell you, Ashley, that if you stay with it and look long enough and hard enough,

with 12 years nannying experience, there are some wealthy families that would need you to do maybe a little bit more than just nannying. That's right. Where maybe you're just doing some light cleaning, laundry, helping manage the household. I was going to say. Life assistance. Appointments. Are you kidding me? And you can make more than 40.

Comfortably more than 40. I think you've got to own that this is what you love to do and find the best place to do it. That's a game changer. And having the confidence. And there's not the questions. You just detect a little shame. I'm 31, Ken and Rachel, and I'm a nanny. Wait a second.

I mean, see, that's the shift. And, you know, think about au pairs. You and I have a mutual friend, shall remain nameless, who is very wealthy and has an au pair. And they pay that lady big dollars. So, again, you know, there's no limits to what you can do there. Really, really can't. And even like for families that are looking for that kind of thing, not to drag this on, but it is such a vital,

I mean like Care.com, for instance, it's exploded because people are in need of this. So even if you started a service where you had, Vini's working for you, that you helped train. That's right. I mean, so yeah, the options are endless. Yeah, that's great. Get creative.

All right, let's go to a social media question from Facebook. Angie types in, I'm not sure what to do. I'm plugging away on my first snowball, which has $3,800 left on a loan, and then some smaller medical bills are coming in. Do I put those smaller bills in front of the $3,800 loan on the debt snowball list? Yes. As more loans are coming in, just go ahead and reevaluate. So if something new comes in, say, okay, where is this with the $3,800? And put it in its place so you can keep knocking it out for sure. And why is that? Because I think that question is very common. They go, okay, I'm working on the snowball. Now I've got some.

So let's say it's a $400 medical bill. Why do that? To go ahead and get it out of the way. Yeah. It's still momentum. Yeah. You're still building the idea of, okay, I can do this. And if that thing is just tagged along at the end, do you know what I mean? Like there's no purpose for it. You know, if you

have the money, you're going to have the money because at that point your debt snowball, especially if you're almost done with it, you're going to have some cash to be able to throw at it and pay it off and then probably still put money on to pay off the other debt. Okay, this is a little bit shocking, but I'm going to put this out there next segment. We're going to talk about this. Are you ready for this, Rachel? The current total of u.s consumer debt as of june this year was 3.87 trillion dollars that's trillion okay unbelievable but here's what we're about ready to share a new study out reveals what people are willing to give up in their life in order not to have the debt. You're not even going to believe it.

It's shocking to say the least. I don't get it. We're going to break it down. Plus, we'll take your calls. 888-825-5225. Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruz, sitting in for Dave Ramsey. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. One question I get asked all the time is, do I need life insurance? Listen, the whole point of life insurance is to replace your income for someone who counts on you.

So if you have a spouse or you have kids, yes, you need term life insurance. It's the only way to protect them until you're out of debt and have built up your wealth. You're only digging a deeper hole if you waste money on cash value plans since it robs you of the ability to make real progress. And that's why I send you to Zander Insurance, and I have for 20 years. That's where I get all my insurance, and they only offer the plans I recommend. It is not expensive. It's not complicated.

And Zander will be there as your guide every step of the way. Visit Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. You need to get this taken care of. I can give you the advice, and I can tell you where to go, but it's really up to you to take that important step to get your family protected. That's Zander.com or 800-356-4282. Welcome back, America. You're joining the conversation here on The Dave Ramsey Show.

I'm Ken Coleman, sitting in for Dave Ramsey this hour, and joined by Rachel Cruz. We're taking your calls about money, life, career. That's what we talk about on The Ken Coleman Show and The Rachel Cruz Show. We're here for you, 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Somebody needs a call today. You need some help.

You need some clarity. Today's the day. Make the call. Now, before we went to the break, I told you that I had some shocking information. Rachel, I cannot. I'm beside myself with excitement to let you react to this. People don't know this. You and I love a good spirited public conversation, whether it be politics, sports, lifestyle.

We enjoy a good conversation if we could have another radio show that wasn't revolved around money and career we could have a current event it would be good so here is a current survey yes all right now here's where we're at let me set the scene as of june 2018 according to the Federal Reserve, in America, the consumer debt was $3.87 trillion. Now, that's a lot of debt, to the point that some Americans responded to a survey from MyBankTracker. And it's a small percentage, but when you look at the total amount of Americans, it's going to blow your mind. And here are the basic freedoms. Hear me when I say this, folks.

Basic freedoms that these people were willing to forego if their debt would be wiped clean. Are you ready? I can't wait. Here we go. 2.4% of Americans. That's about 6 million Americans. Okay, don't do percentage. Let's do like millions. So say again. 6 million Americans about 6 million Americans. Okay, don't do percentage. Let's do like millions.

So say again. 6 million Americans said they would be willing to give up their freedom of speech if you took their debt. We have a live studio audience in the lobby of Financial Peace Plaza, Ramsey Solutions World Headquarters. They're shaking

their head. Isn't that crazy? To literally not be able to. Yeah, there's a guy out there with a Georgia hat on. I know how you feel. He's booing. He's booing. Yeah, he's booing. I get it. Okay.

Freedom of speech. Meaning you can't say. What you want. Not even freedom of press. This is like beyond freedom of press. This is like. Here's the deal, Joe Lunchpail. We'll take away your debt, your $60,000 in debt.

The difference is you can never express an opinion the rest of your life. We would be in jail. What would happen to us, Ken, if that got put on us? I know what would happen to me. I think it's the same for you. I would spontaneously combust. I would go to jail for that. Anyways, legitimately not be able to, apparently they're not a very opinionated people.

No, but that's absurd. Ready for this? This takes the cake. 3.5 million Americans, Rachel Cruz, would go to jail. They would give up all freedom, not just speech. For how long? They would put on the orange jumpsuit. And go to jail. Did they say for how long?

No, it's not that detailed. It doesn't matter. How ludicrous are we talking about? An hour? Maybe? No, stop it, Rachel. No, go to jail. No, but for real, for real.

Go to jail. They would go to jail. Lose all, be away from your family. Yeah. Not have the freedom to choose. Now, it's different if you're away from your family, work, and pay off debt. But you're choosing that, obviously. You lose all freedom.

You're behind bars. Jail food. Yeah. Now, let's break this down for a minute. We're having fun with this. But I want you to jump in on this. So these are people, there's 3.5 million Americans who are going, I don't want to sacrifice cable TV. I don't want to sacrifice going out.

That's what it is. I don't want to sacrifice youth sports. I don't want to sacrifice my rent-a-couch. I don't want to sacrifice my F-250 that's costing me $700 a month. I don't want to sacrifice that to get out of debt through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps and Snowball plan. I want to go to jail. I'll go to jail. Before that.

Okay. Or it's $3.5 million who have not heard of the Baby Steps or that Snowball. And they just truly have lost all hope that they will never, ever, ever, ever come out of it. You just hit the point. They've lost hope, so they think, I'll go to jail. And then when I get out of jail, I don't have any debt. That's it. You just hit the point. They've lost hope so they think I'll go to jail and then when I get out of jail I don't have any debt. That's it. Because they may

I want to believe in my the glasses have full cup if there is one and glasses have full cup that's not right. Yeah. Glasses have full.

I got to ask Georgia guy his opinion. Georgia guy what do you think about that in the lobby? He's like this. He literally put his hands up and looked to the sky

shaking his head. But I want to believe in my optimistic view Yes. that 3.5 million Americans, this isn't optimistic, but that they just don't know that they can sacrifice lifestyle. You can make different choices. You can live on a budget. You can take on an extra job for a short period of time and pay off that debt. But the sad thing is that I really believe that they've just lost hope.

They don't know. They don't know. That's my hope. I hope that someone've just lost hope. They don't know. I think you're right. They don't know. You're exactly right. That's my hope. I hope that someone says, I hope someone doesn't say, I would rather not give up cable and go to jail. Because in jail, do they have cable in jail? No, I don't think so. I don't think so.

I think it's limited and it's like Murder, She Wrote from 30 years ago. So here's the point. Dave Ramsey has a plan. So we're having fun with this crazy stat. But the reality is, if you're joining the show today and you feel that loss of hope, you feel that desperate. That your basic freedoms, you would give up your basic freedom. We've got a plan. It's called Dave's Baby Steps, Total Money Makeover, walks you through it. Join the show, the conversation on a daily basis.

Take inspiration from the men and women that are showcased every day on the show who do their debt-free screen. Yes. Well, and on this show and the Rachel Cruze show, we always have couples come in and share their story. And what I love, Ken, and it's all of you listening too, it's you, it's everyday average Americans. That's right. These people don't make crazy incomes. They don't have like a Superman cape.

Like, no, these are everyday people, but choosing something different. That's right. And that's it. You have to choose something different. That's right. And that's it. You have to choose something different for a different outcome. And so that's the power in it. But again, anyone out there, you can do this. That's right. It's doable.

888-825-5225 is the phone number if that is how it gets started. Take the step today. 888-825-5225. Let's go to Eric, who's on the line in Kansas City. Eric, how can we help? Hey, how's it going Eric, who's on the line in Kansas City. Eric, how can we help? Hey, how's it going? Good.

How are you, sir? Good. So I have two options. I'm a registered nurse, and I'm looking at going to grad school, either a nurse practitioner school or a CRNA school. We owe $100K on our house. We're debt-free otherwise. We have a four-month-old, and we're looking at having a second baby in the next year.

NP school, I could cash flow and work full-time through. CRNA school would be a little bit longer. It'd be about a five-year program in totality with just prerequisites, and I could not work through those three years, and the debt of that would be $90,000 at the end of it. And so, I mean, the payouts are different, obviously. NP make $100,000, give or take. CRNAs make $150,000, $175,000. Which do you really want? If all those money things weren't an issue and you had the responsibility of the wife and the children and the house and all that, which one would you want if you could snap your fingers?

It's hard for me to personally answer just because there's advantages and disadvantages to both. I think I would take away the RNA more, but I mean, I would be happy as an NP as well. Okay. So the question becomes, can you take that next step? What do you call it? The NT? Is that right? Yeah practitioner okay oh okay np okay and so if you do that can you over time work your way into the other role not without going back to that three-year program and doing the same prerequisites right but my point is let's say you're an np for five to seven years and you've got no debt you may even pay your house off in that time. And so you can

cash flow your way through that as you move up the ladder. How old are you? 29. Yeah. I just wonder, can you do it? Just logistically, can you do it? If you go into the NP situation, you're going to cash flow that. So no additional debt. Can you over time save enough money to cash flow your way through that ultimate role? Possibly. Eric, what are you making now? $60,000. Okay, so you'd have a $40,000 bump, basically, a year with that. And how much does that school cost again, you said, that you could cash flow?

That one would be $40,000. Total. And the other one is $90,000, correct? Yeah. Correct. So you could do it just for a bump of salary, honestly, and go and do that. It's $40,000 invested, but you're going to make $40,000 back in a year. So yeah, Ken's right.

If you do that for four or seven years, save up that and then go back to school. Yeah, you may not be able to do the other school right now, like you said, because you don't have the cash for it. So no, don't go into student loan debt for that. But go ahead and go through the school, get an upgrade, a job upgrade, basically. And you enjoy the work. A promotion in a sense. That's right. Or an increase of income, at least. And yeah, and then move into the school in a few years and cash flow it. Yeah. Eric, I just want you to have that idea in your head. I think while you pause, you're sitting there trying to run the numbers. And I think what I'm trying to do is make sure that you see that there's a ladder to that ultimate goal. Might it take you seven or eight years?

Yes, but guess what? Eight years from now, you're 37. You can cash flow your way. So I think it's both and. That's what I think. Because both of them are what you want to do. And both of them are something that you're good at. All right, folks.

More of your calls about your life, your career, your money here on The Dave Ramsey Show. Don't go anywhere. Are high health care costs getting you down? Are you confused trying to navigate your options? Do you wish you could find an affordable, biblical solution to your health care costs? Based on New Testament principles, Christian Health Care Ministries, or CHM, helps Christian families, churches, and ministries join together as the body of Christ to share their major healthcare costs. Christian Healthcare Ministries is the original health cost-sharing ministry.

A Better Business Bureau-accredited organization, CHM members share to pay each other's medical bills. It's not insurance. It's Christians financially and spiritually supporting each other. It's what Christian Healthcare Ministries has done for over 35 years. And our members have shared over $2.5 billion in medical bills. To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org.

This is the Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to talk about your life and your money. I'm Ken Coleman, host of The Ken Coleman Show on SiriusXM, part of Ramsey Solutions. Also sitting in studio with me this hour is Rachel Cruz, host of The Rachel Cruz Show and author of the bestselling book, Love Your Life, Not Theirs. We're taking your calls this hour about money, life, career. It's all open. Maybe today's your day. 888-825-5225.

888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Get the clarity that you need so you can confidently step forward and courageously stay on the path. Let's go to Chris, who is on the line in Miami. Chris, how can we help? Hey, Ken. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. It's an honor to speak to you.

And Rachel, thank you. Go ahead. How can we help? Oh, well, I just wanted to tell you a little bit about me. I'm calling for career advice. I'm 28 years old. I've been working in banking and investments for the past seven years, and I've been able to narrow down my passion,

which is being a financial coach and helping people build wealth. But in my current role, my principles don't align with the ones at work. The bank is very heavy on lending, and sometimes I don't think that's the right thing for everybody. So I find myself talking to people with the heart of a salesman and not a teacher. And my question is, how can I pursue my passion as a financial coach without taking a huge pay cut? Well, what do you make right now?

$80,000. Okay. So, first of all, I think you need to deal with the guilt. I absolutely love where you're coming from and your values, and I understand you're having to sell something that you don't believe in. But in the temporary, don't take on this massive guilt. What you want to put your energy on right now is, how quickly can I replace that $80,000 so that I can step over into the financial coaching space or like one of our smart investor pros. You're a Dave Ramsey fan. You're part of the tribe. You know about our smart investor pros. And I think one of the first pieces of advice I would give

is to go sit down with one of those folks locally in Miami area. All those folks are listed on the website. I'd find two or three of them. Tell them you're a Dave Ramsey fan. Tell them your situation, just the way you laid it out to us. And say, can I take you to lunch or take you to coffee and learn the best path to get where you're at, to do something similar. They're going to give you some very, very practical knowledge and some next steps. Then you need to do your own homework. How much training, how much qualification, certification, whatever that is, that you need to do your own homework. How much training, how much qualification, certification, whatever that is, that you need to be able to do that. That's something you can do.

And then once you know that, you say, okay, how much is that going to cost me from a financial standpoint and then from a time standpoint? These are basic research questions. And so once you get the answers to that, you've got the formulation of a plan. And so you take that wisdom and knowledge from somebody who's actually doing what you want to do and then go do your own homework on what it's going to take, and you've got yourself a timeline, an action plan. And then to the extent that you can go work for one of those people and go work in a space like that and get in proximity and learn the process and get good at it and win, maybe you're doing your own thing one day.

Is that something you'd ultimately like to do is have your own business? Absolutely. Then I think at 28 I would do it for somebody else for a while and work your way up. And are you wanting to be a financial planner or a financial coach? Financial coach. Coach, okay, because a financial financial planner you'll have to go get your cfp and like there's a lot of that stuff down the smart investor road so if that's the road you want to go down totally agree but the financial coach it's more almost like a counseling you know

type of situation uh because you'll have to get referrals and all of that so i would definitely say we have a lot of those that have gone through our financial training our financial um master coach training here everyone Women's Solutions. I would say that's a great first step, too, to come here, go through that training. Chris Hogan teaches a lot on that, and it's phenomenal. And so go through that and try to figure out people in your area that are doing that. And then even get connected, like even some churches, some places that will have people and families that need this specific help that they can give you the referral because that would be huge as well. So that takes a little bit of time to kind of

build up your book of business to be that financial coach, but it's totally doable and to make that money for sure. And so I definitely would go through our training on that route. And I think you bring up a good point, Rachel. Chris, at 28, I think you do need to look at the differences, even if they're somewhat nuanced, somewhat specific between the coach and the planner. Because I think you can be a financial planner and make that money a lot faster, and it's still a coach. I mean, Dave says all the time, if we go sit down with Jeff Dobines and his team, that's one of our local guys. If I sit down with Jeff and we want to know that he's got the heart of a teacher, well, that's a coach. So I do think you've got to do some specific research there, Chris, to be able to determine what does it look like day to day?

What do I want to be doing day to day that fulfills me? And at 28, you've got plenty of time to get there. But in the meantime, while you're pursuing the plan, I can't say this enough. You're not being dishonest. You're not being a shyster in that current job. So let go of some of that guilt, and I think you're going to be fine. I just would not let that weigh on you. 888-825-5225 is the number. Ken Coleman, Rachel Cruz, sitting in for Dave Ramsey this hour.

Let's go to Kimberly, who's on the line in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. Kimberly, how can we help? Hi, Ken. I am 55 years old. I have been teaching in public school. I am a health and physical ed teacher for 30 years. And I just felt in the last few years that it's time for me to look for something else. About the last year, I've really been drawn to real estate. I've looked about the last year, really been drawn to real estate. I've looked into it. I can collect my retirement if I retire with just a little bit of a penalty

as opposed to going the whole 35 years. My only challenge or block is convincing my husband that it's a good idea because it would be a bit of a difference. There's about $25,000 in salary, but I know that I can make that. I really get excited thinking about helping people find homes and property. I find that really interesting. I love my teaching, but it's just time for a change. I get it. I got good news. I got good news for you and your husband. Okay. So for you to become a realtor, a successful

realtor, it's going to take you a little bit of time. And I think the fact that you just revealed to us and our audience that you still enjoy teaching, there's no big hurry. You're not calling in completely burned out. And so I would not take the penalty either. How many more years, just for fun, real quick, how many more years would you have to stay in the role of teacher before you retire without penalty? Five years.

Okay. I just want to throw a scenario at you. What if over the next five years you built your real estate business, showing homes at night and on the weekends? I think that's extremely doable. Anybody that's ever been successful in real estate knows you've got to build a pipeline. Your husband's only real concern, sounds like to me, Rachel, is that he doesn't want you to lose that $25,000.

That's a scary thing, certainly at your age. What if you kept the teacher salary for maybe three years, still take a little bit of penalty, but I'd like to see you go all the way, build that real estate business over a five-year period. It's going to be here before you know it. You step into retirement, full benefits, and by that time, you should have easily replaced, if not maybe another extra 25%, 30% above and beyond what you're making. I think you can just absolutely double your income while still being a teacher. I think that's the thing that I'd want you to consider. Rachel?

Well, I was going to say it's a great situation to be in because real estate, usually agents show houses when people aren't working. So that means it is nights and it is weekends. That's the busiest time. And so to say, hey hey i'm going to commit for maybe when you and your husband can decide this a year two years three years or what ken said even go to five years if you can whatever it is and say okay we're going to commit this amount of time and if you start to see yourself be like wow i'm really good at it because you sound very

enthusiastic about it you sound like a people person which means you're gonna be a great residential real estate agent because those people do great when they have great people skills which sounds like you do kimberly so even though you're enthusiastic you still may not be great at it so you can kind of get some things under your belt while you're learning for again a year or two maybe three years whatever you and your husband decide uh and then kind of step into it yeah i wouldn't go cold turkey by any means but i think that this could be excellent because having a great real estate agent you're and the other great thing about it is it's so commission-based that you get to decide what you make, basically.

Like how much you work, how many houses you sell. Super fun versus going from where you were as a salary, as a teacher, to do something like this could be very incredible for you personally. And you may find that you're really good at it, and maybe in a year you decide to step out.

That's right. And I think once you show the hubby you're replacing the 25, he's fine. Right, right. I want to give you one the hubby you're replacing the 25, he's fine. Right, right. I want to give you one piece of advice. Go and follow Brian Buffini. He's been a guest on this show. He trains the top real estate professionals in America.

That's good. Brian Buffini, B-U-F-F-I-N-I, brianbuffini.com. He's a personal friend, friend of Dave's. Been on this show. He's the best. Consume everything he's doing, and you're going to win. You're going to win faster. More of your calls about your life, your career, your money,

here on The Dave Ramsey Show. Welcome back, America. welcome back america you're joining the conversation here on the dave ramsey show a conversation about your life your career your money triple eight eight two five five two two five is the number i'm ken coleman joined in studio by rachel cruz taking your calls triple eight eight two five five two two five uh real quick we're talking about the rachel cru a little bit earlier, and during the break, she's doing some fun stuff over there. And you just had our good pal Chris Hogan on, and as an organization, we're just so fired up about the early response to his new book, which will come out in January. It's entitled, Everyday Millionaires, How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth and How You Can Too. This book is based on the

largest millionaire study ever conducted. You know Dave Ramsey wasn't going to do it any other way. 10,000 millionaires in the United States. And the results are just unbelievably shocking and unbelievably encouraging. You can pre-order the book, Everyday Millionaires, today at DaveRamsey.com or ChrisHogan360.com. You can get itorder the book, Everyday Millionaires, today at DaveRamsey.com or ChrisHogan360.com. You can get it for only $20. And when you do that, you get over $50 in free bonus items such as the Everyday Millionaires

audiobook, the Everyday Millionaires e-book, a video lesson from Chris entitled How to Retire Inspired, and then a video lesson from Dave Ramsey entitled It's Okay to Be Wealthy. And as I said, Chris is on the newest, latest episode of The Rachel Cruze Show. What's that all about? Yep, just launched on Monday, so you can check that out. Well, I had him on, but we have fun on The Rachel Cruze Show. Super fun. And Hogan, Chris, we call him Hogan around here, is just phenomenal at what he does.

So we spent the entire episode talking about everyday millionaires. So what does it look like to build wealth? What do millionaires look like? The myths around it, the truth around it, and it's so great. Like we even sent George Camel, our very own here at the Dave Ramsey Show, out in the streets of Nashville to ask people, okay, so like, for instance, your job. What do you think a millionaire, what do you think their jobs are?

And it was like doctors, lawyers, movie stars, right? Like all the cliche answers, but the truth is so different. It's all in the book, Everyday Millionaire. So it's just really encouraging, like you said, everything from their job, their salaries, these people, they are not what you would think are the millionaires, but the average millionaire out there in America looks a lot different than what you probably have in your mind. And so it's really cool. So the whole episode, yeah, we have fun talking about how to be a millionaire.

Did you have birthday cake? Because when I was on your show, it was your birthday and I brought a cake and surprised you. He did bring a birthday cake for me. Did Chris Hoban bring a cake? No. I think not. And he should have brought me money.

What is he? He should have. Everyday millionaire. He should have. Bring me a million dollars, Chris Hoban. Look at you pandering for cash gifts. I'm just kidding. Hey, if you want to come on the Rachel Cruze Show, please bring a gift.

If you pay, I'll get you one. I'm kidding. 888-825-5225 is the number. But you can check it out, sorry, at YouTube and Facebook, the Rachel Cruze Show. Yes. And your show's going well, too. Yes. SiriusXM, Channel 121, 2 Eastern.

Thank you very much. Sorry, we're just dropping in. The obligatory show plugs. We're just 888-825-5225 888-825-5225 is the number lauren is up in atlanta lauren how can we help hi thank you for taking my call sure um well my husband and i we're young i'm 24 he's 26 and we've just been really blessed financially by some family. And so we don't have any debt. Our house is paid off, all that stuff. And so we don't know what to do next.

Lauren, you're in an excellent spot. What do you mean? What do you mean you don't know what to do now? I understand what you're saying, but what does that mean specifically? What your next goals are. Is that what you're asking? Yeah. I mean, we don't make a ton of money. I'm what you're saying, but what does that mean specifically? What your next goals are. Is that what you're asking? Yeah. We don't make a ton of money. I'm a teacher, and

he's a pastor. But our family, his grandmother really blessed us financially. Very cool. So is this a financial question or a career question? No, a financial question. We're staying in our careers. Okay, great. There you go, Rachel Cruz. Well, I would say our baby steps,

Lauren, if you know, is pass baby step three, which is to save three to six months of expenses in the bank. Do you guys have that cash available? Yeah. Okay, so you have three to six months of expenses. So that's done. So then I move on to baby steps four, five, and six. Four is start funding retirement.

So whatever you guys make, then start going into funding retirement. So your Roth IRA, 403Bs, if your husband's church as a pastor has a retirement plan, plug into that, put the 15% into retirement. And then do you guys have kids? You do? Yes. Is that a yes? No, no. No kids. I'm sorry. No kids. Okay. So then you'd skip baby step five, which is kids college. You'd skip baby step six because it's done, which means Lauren, you're on baby step seven right now. So that is just building wealth and giving, which is a pretty awesome spot to be.

So what I would say for you guys is funding that retirement, but then also have some goals that you guys want to meet because there can be this monotonous state that you get in when you don't have any debt or a house payment none of that and you're just putting money away in savings and it's just kind of like okay it's just there so you need something exciting that you guys want to do whether that's a vacation you want to take maybe it's we want to upgrade our home in five years and can we cash flow that could we could our next goal be our upgrade of our house we're going to completely we're never going to go into debt like bless your grandmother's legacy and say we're going to do no debt if we sell our house, we're never going to go into debt. Bless your grandmother's legacy and say, we're going to do no debt. If we sell our house, put money towards that. So still have something

you're working towards because that makes the saving money fun versus it going just to this black hole account. And so for you guys too, your lifestyle, keep it in check. You don't need to go extravagant. Maybe you could up it a few percentage points each year as your income grows. That's totally fine. Enjoy that because you guys are at that spot. But have that savings goal. Winston and I, we definitely as a couple now, we're like, okay, what do we want to save towards? Because again, like I said, it can kind of be monotonous of just putting money in savings. So having those goals for you guys as a couple and as a family is huge. And last but not least, Lauren, and it's the first thing we always talk about, but it's true, is give. You're at a position that you get to do some really cool giving because you guys have no payments at all, not even a house payment, which is amazing.

Yeah, wow. So really, the big things you can do now, invest, save for something in the short term that you guys are looking forward to, and be givers. Yeah. We know Chris Hogan talks a lot about this. I know you do as well. I think the thing they need to do next is go to a very nice dinner, candlelight dinner, and take a pad of paper and dream a little bit. Have a dream meeting.

Because essentially what you just laid out was a dream meeting. Yep. And I think they're in the position to actually really dream. And even about giving and maybe a homestead. If that's your deal, you want to buy land. And what happens is now that you're in such a great position, you're going to get there way faster than you thought. But this is a season to dream. And for anyone out there, this is something that couples, especially if you're married, because, Ken, if you're like us, which I think you are, you have three kids.

But it's like every day it feels like your alarm goes off. You wake up. You drink your coffee. You get ready for work. You get the kids up. You get them out the door. You go to work. How do you know my routine?

You come back. I mean, this is my routine. So I feel like that's how you get home. You get kids going. You've got to throw them in the door you go to work you come back i mean this is my routine so i feel like that's how you know you get home you get kids going you gotta throw them in the bathtub one's running out naked you're trying to get them back in the bathtub or mine are my kids fortunately we've gotten past that stage that's good news but like it's chaos and you finally get them in bed and you're like oh what just happened like and you can live in that state for years and you never look up as a couple and be like,

what do we want our lives to look like in five years? And that's the fun part. Chris says it and it's true. This is the fun part of marriage. You guys, like you get to build your future together. So Lauren and her husband need to do that debt free, but also if you're in debt,

still have those dream meetings and dream because that's fun to be able to be like, what do we want to do? Even if it's our dreams to be out of debt in 18 months, that's an awesome dream. Go for it. Yeah. And I think you make a very key point and I want to drive this home to folks. Some of you out there don't have a lot of hope and it's because you're not focused on a vision. So there's a psychology study out there. It's very well known and it shows that the brain, what it focuses on, we tend to see and notice when we didn't see it before.

And here's an example of the study that most people get. When you go buy a car, you go buy that car on the lot, you drive it out. How many times have you done this and you see it everywhere for the next three to four days? Have you noticed that? Oh, yeah, totally. So that's real. That's a real effect. And what's happening is the brain has been so focused on this new car purchase.

You wanted it. You look forward to it so much. Then you go buy it, and you're so excited about it. And then all of a sudden, you never saw it before, but it's materializing in front of you. It's always been there, but you weren't focused on it. So to your point, that applies to this idea of even if you're just completely covered up in debt right now. Maybe you're baby step one. You just got to know Dave, and you're just completely covered up in debt right now. Maybe you're baby step one, you just got to know Dave,

and you're doing the steps. If you can have the meaning that you talked about, Rachel, what it does is it allows you to see to the end of the baby steps. And when you can see it and focus on this desired future, a phrase we use around here all the time, then your brain will begin to see the baby steps and the sacrifices and the opportunities to do the long haul stuff to get you there. That's the key.

It's not just this fun, romantic dream session. It's practical. It's what keeps you in the game. Oh, absolutely. And I said it earlier, but I'm going to say it again because I'm about fun around here. It's fun. It is fun. And the long-term drivers literally be like, okay, well, we're 50.

You guys were, you know, whatever she said, 20, 23. You know, think about 30 years when you're 53. Like, what do you want to do? It's great. It's awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Big thanks to Rachel Cruz for hanging out with me. I want to thank our producer, James Childs, our associate producer, Kelly Daniel, and most of all, you, America. Thank you so much for

tuning in. It is your show. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey guys, this is James Childs, producer of the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm excited to announce that we're now carried on 600 radio stations across the country. To find one near you, head to DaveRamsey.com slash show.