The Ramsey Show - App - Should We Pay Off Our House or Keep Saving? (Hour 3)

Episode Date: April 26, 2024

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show, where we help you win in your life, specifically with your money, in your work, and with your relationships. 888-825-5225 is the phone number. It's toll free. We'd love for you to jump in and talk with Jade Warshaw and I, and me, I should say, proper grammar, and me, Ken Coleman. 888-825-5225. Let's go to Jackson, Mississippi to kick this hour off.

Angie is there. Angie, how can we help? Hey, how are you all doing? We are having a blast. What's going on with you today? So my husband and I are trying to figure out if we should pay off our mortgage. We're both, or I'm 36 and he's 37, and we just started trying to have a baby last month. And so we're not really sure, you know, it could happen soon.

It could take a while since I'm a little older, you know, it's in God's hands. So we don't know if we should go ahead and pay the mortgage off now or if we should keep the money that we have in our non-retirement account and save it for, like, the baby and if we run into any potential issues having a, you know, conceiving. So what do you have in your non-retirement? Like, what money do you have in your non-retirement like what money do you have saved beyond your emergency fund so in a non-retirement investments we have about 22 000 or about 23 000 and the amount we owe on our house is 32 800 wow and so

if we took the investments out and paid put that towards the house we could probably have the house paid off i would say in about two months okay but if we did not take the investments out it would probably take us eight to ten months to pay it off okay so right now we're throwing or go ahead oh no i was I was just going to say, you know, you're 36, 37. You know, I was pregnant at that age as well. My question for you is, have you been given any reason? Has anybody told you that there's a reason to believe that you might have trouble conceiving? No. Okay. Then I'm going to, like when you're older that you might have issues or it might take longer or...

But no one has said, because of this reason, you could have fertility issues. No one has said that to you. No. Okay. Then I'm operating as though you are a healthy female and everything is looking good

and you have no reason to believe that this is going to be a problem. You're just out here like anybody else trying to start a family. And so if there's no other debt, if you've got three to six months of expenses saved, if you guys are currently investing 15%, and this is non-retirement savings above and beyond your emergency fund, I'm totally fine with you guys taking this money and being mortgage debt-free in the next two months.

I think that's awesome. Awesome. Yeah, that's exciting. That's what we're looking forward to. And I think, too, the money that we're putting towards the mortgage, we could stockpile, you know, afterwards. 100%. So fast. Yeah. I mean, what are you paying right now towards your mortgage? The mortgage is $1,500, but we're throwing an extra $2,000 to $2,500. Oh, man. You're going to stack that up in no time. An extra $2,500 a month plus whatever else you have laying around. Yeah, you're going to stack that up in no time.

That's exciting. I'm happy for you. Thank you. We don't happen to have time for a question on career. Let's get it. That's fine. Sure, go ahead. What are we going to say?

No? career let's get it not that's fine sure go ahead what are we gonna say no so currently i'm a i'm a project manager for an engineering firm and it can be quite demanding and stressful um and i've kind of lost my i guess love for it and it's just a struggle kind of going to work every day and um so i don't know, you know, as we start building a family, if this is something that I want to continue doing. I make, you know, good money and we're able to get to a point right now, you know, we're about to pay off the house. And so I'm just trying to figure out, do I stick with it right now and just so baby comes and just keep saving and keep saving and then potentially look into making a shift or. Is it the work? Is it the work or is it the place? It's not the place.

And I love working with clients with project teams and the interaction. I like learning. It's just the deadline-driven demands. Okay. So this is fun. Let's keep going on this. So what would you remove from your day-to-day if we could, if we could just for fun go, all right, I have the power to remove this type of work,

and then I would be really, really at peace and be really fulfilled and happy? Would it be just the deadlines or is there other things? I would say mainly the deadlines and maybe customer demands. Yeah, I mean, that's probably the most of it. If I could take away having to deal with budget and schedule, then I think I would love still working with project teams, building people up. Okay. So I have a suggestion.

Working. Do you think you're fairly valued with your current leadership if Jade and I came to your place of work and you weren't there and we said, Hey, what do you guys think of Angie? What do you think they'd tell us? I think I'm valued. I mean, they tell me that I'm one of the key people that they want to try to keep and build up and leadership and things like that. So here's what I'm going to suggest. I'm going to suggest that you go in and you basically tell them in your way, and you're very sweet and you're very kind. I just don't think you come across as entitled at all. You

just seem so, so grounded. And I would say, hey, here's where I'm at. We just started trying for a baby. And I want to be here. I'm very much considering working, if this is true. But you don't know when the baby's going to come, and you said that earlier, and you're right. But I think it would be to your advantage physically in trying to have a baby if you didn't have this extra stress. And we just know this is a fact. This isn't my opinion. The stress has all kinds of effects on the body.

There's already desire to be a mom, and that's a pressure that's kind of on you guys in this season. So I would try to remove the pressure by sitting down and saying, hey, is there a way to remove this and this from my role and me focus more on this stuff over here? Is that possible? Would you be willing to sit with me and try to figure out a way to remove some of this stuff off my plate? I'll pick up some of the other customer stuff if it's not so much the high demand pressure situation. I think it's worth having a conversation. I don't think they're going to kick you out of the office and make you leave if you just have that conversation. Do you? No, I don't think they will. I just think with the line of business and what we do, like contracting, engineering firms, that it's...

It may not be possible. You're right. Okay, great. So then that's good information. So here's the deal. So the question is, can you find a project management role that's more suited to you? And what would it hurt to kick the tires and be looking right now? To your point, you may not get pregnant for a year. You may not get pregnant for two years. We don't know. And so to the extent that you can remove some stress in that part of your life, I would recommend it.

So it hurts you not at all to look, Angie. And you know what you're looking for. You and I just went through the little quick exercise. You know what the perfect job description is, or at least a much better job description than the current one you have. Go look for it. Project managers are in high demand. And if you can get a better setting, I would absolutely make the move while you're trying.

And let's remove that extra stress. I think that's a great move. I would not, though, make that move and sacrifice much income at all because that income is really great right now. So let's see if we can find something that's a better fit for you emotionally and mentally. Why not? That's a win-win situation. Hey, we're excited for you. Open Baby comes soon. You guys are crushing it. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. Jade Warshaw and Ken Coleman with you this hour,

888-825-5225. So excited that you're with us. And I don't know if you know this or not, folks, but April is National Financial Literacy Month. And, of course, that's a big deal to us because the entire month of April, teachers and students in classrooms across America are taking time to talk about the importance of good money management. And to celebrate, we've got one of our rock star foundations in personal finance. That's a curriculum that we have created here at Ramsey and is in schools all across the nation. And so we've got one of the teachers who teaches it. And Chris is joining us today. This is exciting.

He is at Katie High School in Katie, Texas. Chris, how are you? And it's she. I'm doing great. How are you, JJ? I apologize. That's okay. I guess I should read my notes. That's on me And it's she. I'm doing great. How are you, JJ? I apologize. That's okay. I guess I should read my notes.

That's on me. It's okay. It's, you know, I saw the Chris. So sorry about that. I'm so glad you're with us. So tell us how long you've been at Katy High School. I've been at Katy High School about eight years now. Oh, wow.

Fantastic. And how long have you been teaching the foundations in personal finance? I have been teaching it for about 15 years now. That's really cool. What grades are your students in? 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Very, very cool. That's the older kids. Are they open to it? What's their attitude in this day and age? Well, I would say the ones that are working have really plugged into it right away.

But I have a lot of students that don't work. But I think the information is still good for them because anyone that I talk to and tell them what I teach, they're like, I wish I had had that class when I was going to high school. So I think the seed is being planted, and they're at least getting the information before they actually get a job. But the ones that have a job, the most exciting thing to me is that they tell me, Ms. Davis, my savings account's a lot bigger now, you know, and they ask questions about how they can invest. And so it's just exciting to see that they are getting this before they start their lives and their careers. So where do you find, you know, there's always a little bit of pushback area. Like, where do you find is where they have the hardest time getting their head

around? Is it, you know, this debt concept? Tell us more. Like, what are the points that they embrace and the points that they're like, I don't know, Miss Katie, you might need to go a little deeper for us. I think the budgeting, you know, that's, I think for them, budgeting is foreign to them. And I keep stressing to them that if it's in your budget, you can put in your budget that you're going to spend money, but you always need to have that savings component and have it mapped out so that you know, just like Dave says, where every dollar is going. That's right. And that, I think, is probably the hardest thing for them to do. So you've been teaching this curriculum for 15 years, you told us, is that correct? Yes. And eight where you are currently. I'm curious if any former students, if you've stayed in touch or maybe they've come back by the school or schools that you've taught

them in and shared how they're doing financially and how much your instruction through this course has played a role in that. I'm curious if you've got any fun stories. Yeah. In fact, I ran into a student at a restaurant, local restaurant. He's like, I don't know if you remember me, but I had you, and he mentioned the high school that we used to be at because I was at another high school before.

And he just said, you know, I'll never be able to thank you enough for teaching me that, you know, you have to save your money and you don't need a credit card. So that was nice, you know, because again, they're getting bombarded with you need a credit card and you need a credit score. And so just teaching them that, no, you don't need a credit card and you don't need to worry about a credit score if you do things right. That's good. I would imagine a lot of the students probably are taking the information home too, right? They're taking information home to, right? They're taking it home to their parents even. And do you hear anything about that? Well, in fact, this one young man, he had told me that his dad and he were going to get a house and they were going to rent it out.

So they were going to start with rental property. And he was asking me, you know, about, you know, what I thought about that. I thought, that's a great idea. I said, that's, you know, income that you're going to start earning, and, you know, him and his dad were going to be working on it together. But basically, the main question I get at this age is, you know, how do I invest? Where do I start? And, you know, how do I start saving? And they want to start, the ones that are really interested want to start right now. Yeah, that's cool. Just as an educator who's actually been on the front lines with this particular curriculum, I just want to know what your thoughts are that we're seeing so many states now adopting our curriculum and it's being required for high school students. It feels like

this is something we should have been teaching for a long, long time. What do you think about the value of this in general? Well, and that's one of the reasons I enjoy teaching it, because I feel like, you know, I've taught different subjects throughout the years, and you know, you always tell them you're going to need to know this, you're going to need to know this, but this is an, I can honestly say that this is going to make a huge impact in your life learning this now so true and i love history jade okay but chris i gotta tell you i've always loved history but i even i can't remember everything i learned in history class but this stuff you don't forget this stuff because it's just a part of your everyday life it's not the pythagorean theorem yeah yeah i can't even spell

that much less remember what it was and i've taught math and i would tell them oh you, oh, you're going to need to know this, knowing that, no, they really weren't. But this time it's for real. This time it's for real. This time it's for real. Well, Chris, you are a rock star, and you really represent so many teachers across the country that care deeply. And I know it's getting tougher and tougher to be a teacher. And I know it's hard, and the environment's not always the best. And so I love the fact that you've been teaching as long as you have, and certainly we're grateful that you're a part of this movement in teaching our foundations in personal finance.

So on behalf of Jade and I and our entire team, we want you to know we really appreciate you. Well, I appreciate you all. Like I said, this has just been a blessing to be able to teach this to my students and make a difference in their life. And I may not see it right now, but I know down the road that seed has been planted. That's right. Well, thank you for being with us.

We know you've got a lot going on. And I want to mention for any teachers that are listening, and quite frankly, anybody that knows a teacher, if you're listening right now, be sure to let them know about our Ramsey Teacher Appreciation Giveaway. This is sponsored by Ramsey Education. And one teacher who enters will win a $5,000 vacation, and two more teachers will each win a $3,000 vacation. So all you got to do is go to Ramsey Solutions, excuse me, RamseySolutions.com slash teacher. That's our main website, RamseySolutions.com slash teacher to enter. And so, again, if you're a teacher, please do this.

And if you know a teacher, tell them about it because what a fun thing this is. And, again, a $5,000 vacation. These are men and women who are, let's just be honest, underpaid. They are so invaluable. They are instructing the greatest resource this country has, and that's our next generation. So please spread the word and check that out. It's always fun to do this. Do you have a teacher?

I just always love when we get to talk to these teachers because I always think of my favorite teachers, the ones that I would want to go back to and say, hey, you know what? You really made an impact in my life. You got a favorite teacher? Let me think about this. I really, okay. So Mr. Walling. Or a coach. Oh, yeah.

Because you were in the same idea. Miss Grogan was my volleyball coach in middle school and high school. Okay. Miss Grogan. Miss Grogan. She was great. Have you stayed in touch with her? Not really.

Sorry. Don't look at me like that in touch with her? Not really. Sorry. Don't look at me like that. You know what? I apologize to you. If you felt there was any judgment, that was not my point. I felt a little bit. No, but can I tell you this? I was a little surprised because you went on to play at the next level.

I'm surprised you haven't done a drop in on Miss Grogan. They did a drop in on me. They came to a couple of the games which was cool she brought the team which was pretty great why was she one of your favorites she just was really great uh she had a good balance of love and like toughness you know what i mean like she really just i don't know she's a good she was tough but you knew she was tough because she cared yeah she cared for us and she really she was a great coach. I enjoyed playing for her. And then my, Lewis Walling was my theater and show choir teacher. And so he was the first person that introduced me to Broadway.

And so I remember we listened to Les Mis in his class. And I was like, this is amazing. Did you ever perform in Les Mis? Did you do a production of it at school? No, I didn't. You didn't. I didn't. But it was the first time that I, you know, I didn't grow up with Broadway. So that was my

first introduction to that. And I was like, this is really cool. Very cool. Love that. Gotta love the music teachers, by the way. So great. I love it. And then Mr. Crawford was the first person who ever mentioned investing. Mr. Crawford. Yeah, he was a music teacher, but he told us all about if we invested, what we could have. He introduced you to Broadway and invested. Yeah. Well, this is a different guy. Oh, okay. I'm trying to keep up.

I'm trying to keep up. I was going to mention a few. I'm judging you, Ken. I was going to mention a few, but Jay took up all the time. So I can't even share my teachers. No. Hey, we love you, teachers. Fun stuff. All right.

Quick break. We'll be right back. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. If you need help budgeting, you need our budgeting app, EveryDollar. It helps you manage money the Ramsey way. EveryDollar works wherever and however you need it to, iOS, Android, or online. You can start EveryDollar for free if you'd like to right now, and it'll help you figure out,

hey, where am I? Where is my money? Where is it going? Get organized, personalize your budget, and stop overspending so you can save. If you're brand new to EveryDollar, we'll show you a long-term financial roadmap, track your net worth, debt-free date, retirement date, baby step progress, and so much more. You can download the free app for iOS and Android or go to everydollar.com. Ken Coleman, Jade Warshaw with you this hour, 888-825-5225. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is where we're going now, and Will is there. Will, how can we help?

Hi, guys. How are you? Good. What's up? So as a 23-year-old who's been working for about a year now, is it one, realistic, and two, is it wise to be able to pay for a wedding and then also afford a house within the next year? Well, it depends on your income. Yeah. We got to know some numbers.

So tell us. So gross, I'm at about $55,000 net around $36,000. Okay. I have about $40,000 in student loans, just under $40,000. I've already paid off about $20,000 of that. Okay. No car payment. I have a company vehicle, so no gas or car payment.

Okay. Anything else? I just got engaged this past weekend. My fiance, she grosses about $60,000 in net, I'd say, $35,000 to $40,000. Did you pay cash for the ring? Yes. Great. So when you guys get together, she'll be making $60,000.

When you guys get married, she'll be making $60,000. You'll be netting $36,000. You've got $40,000 in student loans. Does she have any other debt? No. Okay, so no debt from her. So the question you asked is, within a year, is it realistic for you to, basically within the year, you would have to pay off the $40,000 of debt, save up three to six months of expenses, save up a down payment to be able to get the house and your cash flowing a wedding. There's a few more variables.

Is anybody else helping pay for the wedding? Is there a family involved or anything like that? Her parents are paying a little bit, yes. How much is the wedding budget? I'd say between $20,000 and $30,000. I'd say $25,000. Okay. And if you say they're paying a little bit,

what have you guys determined that that is? I'd say around $10,000. Okay. So you guys are on the hook for $15,000 for the wedding. Correct. Yep. Okay. I think that the first thing here is we've got to map this out. I'm not going to lie. Just looking at these numbers right off the bat, I'm going to go with no. Simply because you're netting $36,000 and your student loans alone are $40,000. So that math automatically doesn't math. And so your fiance is not going to reach over and pay your student loans until you guys are married. So that's out of the question um the only other piece of this is just putting it uh putting your priorities in order and just saying okay what needs to happen first first things first when is the wedding and then that's going to kind of we back out of it from there and say okay the what have you guys set a date uh yeah may 17th of uh 2025 2025 may

so now we back out of that and go okay if, if we're aiming to spend $15,000 on that wedding, how much do we have to save each month in order to make that happen? Because a lot of the stuff you're paying for upfront, so you got to get going on this right now. So that would be priority number one. And then priority number two would be, and if I have extra money, I'm throwing it extra to pay off my debt. So I think those are the two things that you focus on because honestly, buying a house, even if you didn't have this debt, and even if you told me the wedding was going to be fully funded by parents, I would still tell you, you don't need to buy a house within

the first year of marriage. You just need to chill out, get to know each other, rent, you know, or do that sort of thing. So I kind of want to lift that off your shoulders, Ken. I couldn't agree more. I wouldn't add anything. Will, Jade's right. Just take your time. There's this big rush and I just, I understand it's cultural. Everybody, you think everybody's doing it. But man, just learning how to be married is hard enough and figuring out maybe where you guys want to live. Enjoy the stress, a stress-free environment of just renting and not having to take care of anything except each other. I like that.

Just relax and stack some cash. And you guys are so young and you're going to be okay. Here's the point. You're not wasting any time at all. I love that advice. Ricky is in Stanford, Connecticut. Ricky, how can we help? Hi.

Pleasure speaking with you guys. I listen to you guys all the time, watch all the YouTube videos. I just have a question on do I – should I be gazelle intense on paying back the more obligation that I have for my mother's Parent PLUS loan the same way I'm approaching my personal subsidized loans? Can you be specific with the numbers? Yeah. So I have $28,000 under my name, which I'm planning on paying off within 18 months. And then there's 57,000 under my mother's name that has so far accrued like, I don't know, like $10,000 of interest since I've been in school. Well, I'm out of school now, but when I was in school plus the pause

and then now we are here today, right? So- Well, what was the agreement? When you were taking out these loans, was the agreement mom said, hey, I want to do this for you and this is my contribution. I'm signing these loans and I'll pay for them.

Or was the idea, hey, you can't take these out in your name, so I'll take them out in my name, but you need to pay them? The latter. Yeah. So I was planning on putting like $1,500 towards what's under my name. So the $28,000 that's under mine, I was planning on doing $1,500 a month. That's what every dollar has allowed me to see now. And the $57,000, like the minimum payment on that one is like $250 after consolidating for the safe plan because parent plus loans did not automatically qualify for it. So back in November, when I wasn't in this mindset, I made the decision with my mom to consolidate them so she could qualify for it. So I could pay less per month.

Okay. Well, you're here now. So now you've got this $250 minimum, which if I were in your shoes, you're working a debt snowball here. So I'm assuming that the student loans are the only thing in your debt snowball. And when you do that, you do, you pay the minimum on everything else except the debt that you're focusing on and the debt you're focusing on, all the money goes onto it, anything extra that you can find. So yeah, it makes sense. The $28,000, you focus on that one first, put as much of it as you can. You said it'll knock it out in 18 months. That's great. Then yeah, to answer your question, you take that same intensity. And then when it's time to focus on the $57,000 debt, you go hard in the paint the same way. Yeah, I'm on that train 100%. I just like, I kind of struggle with the fact that I'm 27 now. And I kind of like I see, you know,

other friends like buying houses, getting married and stuff. Okay. Well, they may be broke too. And even if they're not, hold up. Even if they're not, even if they're doing fine, you made a choice in life. That's right. And I teach my kids all the time. Like when you make, you're responsible for you. So you decided, Hey, I'm going to get this education. I'm going to take out these loans. And when you decided that, you simultaneously decided, and I'm going to spend the next however many years of my life after I graduate cleaning it up and paying them back.

So you can't compare your life to someone else's life because your choices are different. Right, right. Hey, I just want to add to that because she crushed it. You can struggle all you want to about it, but it's still your reality. And so instead of grousing about it and grumbling about it and overthinking it do something about it and get on the other side of this deal how long will it take you to pay off the 57 000 oh um after my 28 i would say if i'm planning on doing the 28 within 18 months, I would probably do the 57. I don't

know because rent is going to be different within a year or two. My point is even if it takes you three years, you have spent four years on this thing and when you look at your whole life, four years is just a little drop in the bucket, bud. It's going to be worth it for you to knock these out

and get them behind you. My guess is it's going to take less because your income is going to go up. I agree. So he's 27 now. Oh, you're a young whippersnapper. You got this. You're going to be fine. You're going to be very wealthy, by the way, if you follow the baby steps like Jay just laid out for you. So good stuff. All right. Quick break. We'll be right back. This is The Ramsey Show. Welcome back to The Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. Jade Warshaw is alongside. The phone number is 888-825-5225.

Our scripture of the day comes from Deuteronomy 28, verse 12. The Lord will open to you his good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And our quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson, I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. Good stuff there. All right, to Toronto, Canada we go. Sahil is with us. How can we help? Hi, Ken. Hi, Jay. Thank you for taking my call. Sure.

I purchased the Total Money Makeover book, and I want to say thank you very much for that. It has totally transformed my life and how I handle money. So I want to get intense, and I'm on baby step number two, and I want to pay off my debt and then get my degree. But the issue is, like, I check at nearby stores, like Subway grocery stores, and they said we're not hiring. We already have like thousands of resumes. I needed your advice on like, should I get a security guard or a forklift license or should I try like Uber or Instacart? Like which one will be more lucrative? Well, I don't know. And I don't think Jade knows the answer to that because we're not familiar with what those are paying in Toronto, but I would go with the one that pays the most right now because

of the reason why we're getting it. It's just all about cash here. So it's not about great fit other than if I've got the talent to do it. So for instance, if the forklift driver, I'm guessing that one pays the most, but do you know? Yes, I did check with some warehouses and they said that minimum they pay 20 and with experience they'll pay even more. And then if I were to pick up a weekend shift and there's extra money. What's it cost to get the license? Somewhere between $100 to $300. If I were to learn the most common forklift, the counterbalance, they said it's $100.

And if I were to learn all seven, then it's like $300. You'd have to compare the numbers because in Toronto, I don't know what people are earning driving Uber. Yeah. Did you run the numbers on Uber? Yes. I mean, I did research online, and majority of the reviews are that they don't make even minimum wage. Okay. But, like, yeah, if they drive at night, then they say they make some money, but they still say that we aren't here in the car. It's not worth it. That's your answer.

That's the easy answer. I'd rather drive someone else's forklift than drive my car and put wear and tear on it, you know? And I think that's a pretty decent skill to have. Seems like you can get overtime as well. Yes, and that's what I'm hoping for, that I can do evenings and weekends. And, like, I put my study on hold because I really want to pay it off. And again, I know that this one will, even when I'm in school, because after reading the book, it makes more sense that I want to cash flow this study.

I want to pay cash for it. Yes. Come on, man. Yes. I was thinking to get a student loan, but not anymore. My mind just, I woke up in the morning and there was a paradigm shift. That's great. Nice. So, Hill, you just gave me. Jay, you're fired up, aren't you?

Yeah. That's great. Yeah, I'm like, even mortgage, I'm going to save up cash. And even if I have to move away from Toronto, I'm buying in cash, like going for a cheaper house. Wow. This guy gets it. away from Toronto, I'm buying in cash, like going for a cheaper house. Um, and yeah, so, so, and that was the reason, like I, because the book made me so frugal, I'm even thinking about

spending a hundred dollars, but back in the days I wouldn't think at all, like to spend a hundred dollars. And that's why I called them. Like, okay, I'm going to check that I'm making the right decision because I'm careful with every single penny now. And then I was like, yeah, you got it. Listen, choose the one that makes you the most cash because you know what to do with it. We're not worried about you. You've got clear focus, so love that. Let's go to Palm Beach, Florida next where Charles joins us.

Charles, how can we help? Well, I guess it's a little similar too. I currently make around $16 an hour. I'm 20. I don't have any debt. I have a little bit of an emergency fund, but I don't feel like it's enough for what I want to do with my life. What do you want to do with your life?

I want to be more successful. I want to be less reliant on people. I was, I live with my mom. I know that that's not something I should be ashamed of right now. Um, but I don't, I don't think there's anywhere for me to go at my company. I'm a barista and we've talked about management and stuff, but I just don't want to rely on that. And even that wouldn't be making that much. Okay. I want to go through a program to become an aircraft mechanic.

It's about an hour and a half commute. So I don't think I would be able to work through it, or at least not as much as I would want to. So I would have to do a student loan. Why? I don't think so. How much is the aircraft mechanic school? It's about $50,000 and it's a year and a half my growing up my mom's company offered to pay for school but right when

i got around 13 14 they pulled that so that's why there was no okay all right well let's just let's just play this out real quick okay so it's going to going to cost you $50,000 all in, and you said it's an hour and a half commute. Is it a five-day-a-week, four-day-a-week program? How many hours? Five days a week. It's five days a week? I think they said six to eight hours a day. Six to eight hours a day.

So that's a pretty big all-in deal. But you said you had a little bit of savings. How much do you have in savings? So I have $1,000 for an emergency fund, and in my Roth IRA, I have about $10,000. $10,000? I can't touch that. No, we wouldn't want you to. That's not why we do Roth. Okay. And you're living with mom, and you're making, what did you say, $16 an hour? Just about, yeah. And you're how old? I'm 20. Yeah. I got to tell you, have you just thought about doing the basic math on $50,000 and just say, all right, over the course of a year, could I put away two grand, three grand

a month because I'm living with mom and I don't have any responsibilities? I would think about starting early next year and I would be able to save up, I think maybe 10 by then, but I would need... No, you keep saying you need loans. No, you don't. You need some patience. Here's why I'm going to challenge you. You're in your, you're 19. Okay. If you saved two grand a month, okay. For two years, that gets you to the 48,000. It gets you two grand shy. Okay? Come on, man. Two grand a month. Here's my challenge, Jade.

What does Charles need to do to save two grand a month? By the time he's 21, he's able to pay cash for the aircraft mechanics school. He's already doing it. He lives at home. I know. I think it's already there. It's already there. Tell me, you know, what else do you have to spend money on besides you don't have a car note.

You are not paying rent, I'm assuming, besides you don't have a car note you you are not paying rent i'm assuming unless you're paying mom a little something something but you know i i pay for the house taxes every year the taxes so how much is that per year it's like three thousand oh okay that's nothing that's one less than 300 a month yeah so what i would do in your shoes ken is exactly right you've got you know you're, you're before taxes, you're, you know, $2,500 a month. And why can't we work more and make this happen fast? You're doing the barista thing. Are you working 40 hours a week? Yeah, I try to. The way that the overtime works is they don't want us to touch overtime. Not overtime. I just want to know, are you working 40 hours a week?

It ends up that it's a little over 35 because of the way they schedule it. You need a new job or two jobs or three jobs. You're 19, bro. You want to be successful and make money? Go do it now. Not wait for it. In your position, I want you with like two jobs. I want you with a nice full-time one where you're working 40 hours a week,

more than $16 an hour if you can pull it, and then a nice full side hustle next to that. time one where you're working 40 hours a week more than 16 an hour if you can if you can pull it and then a big a nice full side hustle on on on next to that so that you can stack away this money as quickly as possible you're in a good position i love that you're at home with your mom in this situation because it's going to allow you to save up more money and you have the margin you need to really make this happen and ken is right on a bad day this this takes two years. So on a good day... I bring home about $2,000 a month. Yeah, but you're 19.

You're missing what she's telling you. You have no expenses. You live with your mom. This just means you're not going to Sonic. Like, you're not going to... Maybe you're not partying. Yeah. Bro.

Yeah, I don't do any of that. Then you have the money. Then go make more money and save more money. And before you know it, you've saved up the 50 grand to not have debt. And in the meantime, Ken, what can he do to determine if this is really the path he wants to? I'd be hanging out with mechanics, car mechanics, aircraft mechanics. You don't have to drive an hour and a half to hang out with some old bird who's been doing it 40 years. His knuckles are all beat up. Let's find out if we really want to do this because $50,000 and the time it takes to save that is no joke. So let's figure this thing out. Hang on. I'm going to give you my new book in the assessment. Find the work you're wired

to do. This will help as well. Thanks for the call, young man. Please don't do the debt. Jade Warshaw, always awesome to be with you, my friend. Great show. Thanks to James Childs, our fearless leader. And you, America, this is The Ramsey Show. you