The Ramsey Show - App - Together We'll Get Through This! (Hour 2)

Episode Date: May 1, 2020

Steven Curtis Chapman, Ken Coleman, Career Tools to get you started:  Debt Calculator: http://bit.ly/2QIoSPV Insurance Coverage Checkup: http://bit.ly/2BrqEuo Complete Guide to Budgeting: h...ttp://bit.ly/2QEyonc Interview Guide: http://bit.ly/2BuGnZE Check out other podcasts in the Ramsey Network: http://bit.ly/2JgzaQR 

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Thanks for joining us this hour. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality and author of the number one bestselling book, The Proximity Principle, joins me to talk about jobs this hour, career this hour. And we will take your financial questions as well. And since I'm an expert on my opinion, I'll speak into both. I like that.
Starting point is 00:01:04 Open phones if you want to talk triple eight eight two five five two two five we also have a special uh treat for you guys this hour our good friend grammy award-winning steven curtis chapman is going to drop by for a segment uh he's been working on some cool stuff he and i've been talking about offline and i told him to jump on here and share it since he lives in our neighborhood and he's going to come by and spend a few minutes with us the meantime let's go to jeremy in california hi jeremy welcome to the dave ramsey show hey dave thanks for having me absolutely how can we help well i'm new to uh financial peace university so this is my first month with a budget. However I work for a school district with a pension plan. I've been here two years fully vested it's five years but right now I'm
Starting point is 00:01:55 being offered a job for my brother to work for his septic company that he just opened up a little over a year ago. And I'm not sure whether to give up a solid income or something that, you know, has potential to earn more. But, you know, we've got to build the phone calls up and just looking for advice on the move. So what is he going to pay you well we haven't figured that out exactly yet but uh it'd likely be close to 70 000 a year to start how old is his business two years two years uh it's under two years yeah it's uh about 15 months what will you be doing for him to make $70,000 a year? Driving a septic pump truck, which is a Class A license,
Starting point is 00:02:52 and pumping septic tanks. And people that do that get paid $70,000 a year in your area? Well, not just drivers, but he's actually going to bring me on as a part owner. So, yeah, he won't be paying me just as a driver i'd be making you know drivers i think drivers pumpers just make around 25 to 30 dollars an hour yeah but i'd be selling a salary but the salary will fluctuate with what do you make now i make 50 000 a year but for the past year i've been able to make $65,000 with overtime, but overtime has been shut off since the COVID has come down. Sure, which is a temporary situation.
Starting point is 00:03:35 So my first month with a budget, my income cut by $1,200. Well, Jeremy, I've got to tell you, the first answer that you gave when we asked you what you're going to be paid, you said, well, we haven't discussed that yet, or we're not quite sure. And then you came up with $70,000. And I just think that you've got to be very, very clear with what he's offering and ask the questions essentially that Dave just asked you. How are we going to come to that amount? Because I think it's very attractive to say, hey, I'm going to go work with my brother. But I just don't hear enough as it relates to real facts to where you can make a good decision to leave right now. It feels very, very, you know, this is a prospect.
Starting point is 00:04:18 Sounds like you two discussed this over a couple of years. Yeah, it's not solid yet. You don't have an offer. Yeah, and he doesn't have a position to give you an offer, I don't think. It sounds like you guys like each other. You love each other as brothers. You thought, hey, it'd be cool to work together. Let's have a couple beers.
Starting point is 00:04:32 Oh, yeah, let's do this. And you haven't given more thought to it than that. And, dude, it sounds like a train wreck. I'm afraid you're going to get in there, and the business is not going to be able to support both of you because you haven't thought it through. He hasn't thought it through um because people don't make seventy thousand dollars a year driving trucks uh septic trucks and i didn't think so that's why i was
Starting point is 00:04:53 quizzing you about it um and i don't know why you get 25 of his business just because you showed up and drove a truck why does that happen just because he's your brother and he likes you dude and by the way you weren't sitting around going, you know, I hope when I'm 40 I own 25% of a septic tank pumping company. You did not ever have that conversation one time in your head. The only reason this is on the table is family pull. That's the only reason. And it's only two years old into the business. Not yet.
Starting point is 00:05:24 That's right. I think it's a someday conversation maybe because you know we talked about this in the last year from now that's right well with a lot more detail right when he can prove he's got to be able to show you in the numbers how he generates that kind of money and then can support you in that role and the other thing too that i'm concerned about it sounds cool when when brother says hey i want you to come on board my company and be 25 or whatever the percentage ownership is and do you guys work well together have you sat down with mom and dad have you talked to some coaches and teachers that know you both have you gotten some objective opinion on do we work well
Starting point is 00:06:00 together yeah i just think you've got to go into the family business. Some brothers can work together, some can't. I agree. Some parent and kids can work together, some can't. Some husbands and wives can work together, some can't. Yeah. And so you need to think through that. It's not an automatic. You have not done enough work on this question to be able to answer the question yet.
Starting point is 00:06:20 That's what we're telling you. And I think it's going to take you a year of watching his business understanding his business asking yourself in the when you're on the back porch early in the morning and the mist is rising and you're got a cup of coffee in your lap is this what i want to do with my life and um because otherwise it's just like hey it'd be cool work with my brother and then all of a sudden you both have screwed up each other's lives by doing this very Very dangerous, very dangerous. Amanda is in Missouri. Hey, Amanda, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show.
Starting point is 00:06:49 Hi, thank you for taking my call. Sure, what's up? Yeah, quick question for you. I am starting a new job on June 1st, and part of the offer that they have given me, I guess part of the compensation, let's just say, includes a gift of 5,000 shares in the company, which is great. But the person I'm reporting to mentioned that
Starting point is 00:07:16 there's always the option to get more shares in the company, but it just depends on obviously your performance and if you have an interest in more shares and those types of things. And I'm just wondering, as I work for the company and I start to think about, you know, this option for potential shares, what are some of the questions that I need to be asking to determine if that's what I should go, I should request more shares? Are they giving them to you? So 5, more shares. Are they giving them to you? So 5,000 shares.
Starting point is 00:07:47 I know, but the future shares that you're worried about, are they going to be given to you as compensation, or are you going to be buying them? They would be given to me, but I believe it's based on I'm in sales, so it could be part of the comp package for that as well. Well, any time you get shares that you didn't pay for, it's hard for them to be a bad deal. Just be clear. Just be clear what the measurements are.
Starting point is 00:08:12 If I hit these goals, I get the option to get these shares. Just know what you're up against and what the scoreboard's going to be. If it's an option to buy them, that's different. But if they're giving them to you, that's another thing. An option to buy them, no, I'm not going to get in the stock business. You're in the sales business. And very few times does that work out, depending on the situation you're in. But free shares that you can turn around and turn into money?
Starting point is 00:08:40 Always. Yes, I'll always take that gift. Thank you. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Most of us are spending more time at home these days, leaving us with some extra time to fill. If you want to make good use of that time, then you need to be taking care of the important things on your to-do list, like getting term life insurance. Now is the time to buy, folks. Every industry is making changes to the way they do business because of COVID-19, and that includes the life insurance companies. With rates starting to increase due to the pandemic, it's important that you take action now while you can get an affordable policy,
Starting point is 00:09:25 and you need to do that with Zander Insurance. Zander's team of knowledgeable guides are working from home and will help you shop smart, finding the right policy to fit your needs and budget during this uncertain time. Don't let fear prevent you from doing what you know you need to take care of. Put down the TV remote and use this time to take control of your financial situation. Visit Zander.com or call 800-356-4282. One of the cool things about living in Nashville is not only all the country music stars, but this is the home of Christian music as well. And so the iconic figures in Christian music wonderfully have become my friends over the years. Stephen Curtis Chapman joins us this hour.
Starting point is 00:10:35 Okay, his mic's not on. No, it's not. No, it's not. Dave, come in here and check it, please. I think we've got a problem with it. I don't hear you. I can't hear me, but that's all right. Dave, come in here and check it, please. I think we've got a problem with it. I don't know what happened. Okay, so anyway, all that big setup, and then there we get that. But check one, two.
Starting point is 00:10:57 All right. Anyway, Stephen Curtis Chapman joins me this hour, this segment here. Hello, hello. There he is. There we are. What's up? Hey, brother hey brother all right it's that old uh air gap thing it has to be plugged in that's right oh yeah you think we think we hadn't done any radio around here before um it's first day first day uh anyway steven and i've been
Starting point is 00:11:16 friends for many years and um uh you know some of the iconic people in christian music amy grant michael w smith steven curtis uh live in area, are all friends of each other, friends of mine, and Sharon's and our spouses know each other. And a lot of the country music people interact, too. A little-known fact, or maybe well-known fact, is a lot of country music folks have a secret gospel track in their heart. Absolutely. They all want to do a gospel album. Elvis did gospel albums. Virtually every country music star eventually does a gospel album or a song or heart. Absolutely. They all want to do a gospel album. Elvis did gospel albums. Virtually every country music star eventually does a gospel album or song or two.
Starting point is 00:11:49 Yeah. They get mixed in there. So when we get to do a guys get together on my back porch, it's not unusual to have John Rich and Stephen Curtis sitting there talking about stuff I never heard of, and I'm always involved. Yeah. That's where I've hung out with kicks brooks i've got to hang out with some some heroes of mine larry gatlin we got to hang out at your place so
Starting point is 00:12:11 you've given me some amazing opportunities to connect with some heroes of mine and some great music guys and and you play a very pivotal role in this in this song and you you know this but your listeners will who appreciate you need to appreciate you even more as the great connector of people that you are and can be. So I'd written this song, uh, just watching, honestly, here's the bottom line. I was hearing the word together. I was hearing phrases and, uh, things that I have not coming out of my television set that I have not heard in years, months and years, because it seems like everything coming off of that screen is division and anything but togetherness. And suddenly, wouldn't it be like a global pandemic to make us start talking about what's eternally true?
Starting point is 00:12:58 We're actually made for relationship. We actually need each other. We're actually not the enemy, even though we feel that way. And we've got different opinions, different ways of doing it and thinking about it. But the truth is we're all in this together. And suddenly it seemed like some people were talking about that and getting that. And I was hearing this word together. We'll get through this together. And there was something in that. It was like this dark room, this dark cloud and a little ray of light came shining through. And I thought, I want to go kick the door open and see if I can get a little more light in, you know,
Starting point is 00:13:27 get a little more of that good stuff in. So I'm going to write a song, sit down, wrote a song called together. We'll get through this. So I've written the song. I'm thinking this is a song that needs some other people from singing about together. And I'd love to get some people, uh, from different genres of music. I could almost imagine kind of a we are the world. Let's get a bunch of us, not just all of us in our same community, but what if I could get some folks from different places? And I thought of Brad Paisley because Brad and I had connected. We've done a few things together over the years. He's a great man, great heart, does great work.
Starting point is 00:13:59 His store that he and his wife Kimberly have started, he wore a Show Hope T-shirt on the Tonight Show one night, and an organization my wife and I started, a nonprofit to help adoptive families and children that need families. And so we'd connected and bonded over a few things, but we ended up at a Glen Campbell tribute concert when Glen passed away a few years ago and said, you know, hey, let's do something together someday. Well, i didn't know how to reach him because i'm not never one of those guys go hey can i get your number so i can bug you later so i didn't bother him didn't get it but i knew
Starting point is 00:14:33 that you knew brad and had had him a part of your gatherings occasionally or invite him to be and i didn't know how to reach him so i sent sent you an email and said, hey, Dave, I've written a song. And this is weird, and I don't want to do something weird. But if you would let Brad know that I'd love to reach him if he's got any interest, make it real easy for him to say, I don't want to get bugged by that Chapman guy. Who is that guy anyway? And so immediately, and you even prepped me. You said it might take a little while. He doesn't always respond real immediately.
Starting point is 00:15:05 He almost immediately responded, hey, give him my number. Give him my number and my email. So I emailed him. Didn't hear anything for about three days. Almost gave up. Thought, you know what? He's busy. He doesn't have time for this.
Starting point is 00:15:16 I got a text message, number two. I texted him. He immediately texted back and said, did you not get my email? Something happened. I didn't get it. And he said, I'm in. Let's do it. So you and him, I got a minute. Yes. And you and him, did you not get my email? Something happened. I didn't get it. He said, I'm in. Let's do it. So you and him.
Starting point is 00:15:26 I got a minute. Yes. And Elena joined us. Lauren Elena. Amazing country artist. Sweet, sweet lady. And Tasha Cobbs Leonard. I wanted a gospel choir.
Starting point is 00:15:36 I couldn't get a gospel choir and social distancing. So I got the next best thing. Tasha Cobbs Leonard brings the gospel. Amen. Very cool. The song is called Together. We'll get through this. Okay. And it comes out today. Yep. It's out right now. Today brings the gospel. Amen. Very cool. The song is called Together We'll Get Through This. Okay.
Starting point is 00:15:45 And it comes out today. It's out today. Yep. It's out right now. Today is the launch. Yes, sir. And we're honored that you make us part of the launch. Thank you, brother.
Starting point is 00:15:53 Well, you're part of it. Very, very cool. Thanks, buddy. That's very neat. Proud of you and Brad and all of you for putting this together. And some of the proceeds from the song are going to. Going to the Opry Trust Fund to help musicians there and folks impacted by COVID-19. And also to the Gospel Music Association Fund that helps artists and musicians and songwriters in the same way.
Starting point is 00:16:13 Because the music business has been devastated by this. Yeah, it's shut down. You can't do what you do. Exactly. Except sell. I mean, you can sell records. Nobody buys records anymore. I mean, you can sell music, but you can't do concerts.
Starting point is 00:16:25 Right. You can't do anything there. And so you can get this song. We're going to play it right now. But you can get this song by Stephen Curtis Chapman and Brad Paisley and others where any great music is sold. There it is, folks. Together. Thank you, Brad.
Starting point is 00:16:43 I can see the panic in your eyes And I know you can see it in mine We've been through some crazy things before But nothing like this You know I've always got a lot to say But this has left me nothing but afraid And I've got one thing I'm holding on to and it's your hand
Starting point is 00:17:07 cause I believe together we'll get through this together no matter what it is there's no valley too deep no river too wide no mountain too steep we can climb together we got all we need
Starting point is 00:17:24 together just watch and see We're gonna make it come what may Nothing can break us if we stay together I know it's hard to fight an enemy When the sky is too dark to see. And we can't even start to believe we're fighting with each other. But if we really look deep enough, I believe we can find the love. And when this storm is finally passed, we'll see that is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:05 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:05 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:05 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:07 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:09 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:10 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:12 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:14 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:16 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:19 is is is is is is is is
Starting point is 00:18:22 is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is We need together. We're going to make it go.
Starting point is 00:18:27 Nothing can break us. If we stay together. We're going to get to the other side You and I, you and I We'll look back from the other side Knowing we made it together The song is Together. We'll get through this.
Starting point is 00:18:56 Stephen Curtis Chapman, Brad Paisley, Elena, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. I can't get everybody out. They dropped it off my screen here. Stephen Curtis, thanks for coming by and sharing that. America, go pick that song up because together we can get through this. This is what the artists do in Nashville. They are the troubadours of our hearts.
Starting point is 00:19:17 They get to put music into words, into lyrics, what we're all feeling. And you can pick that song up again anywhere that great songs are sold and portions of it uh going to the opry fund and to the gma fund to support artists and many of them struggling like everybody else right now so um thank you steven you appreciate your friendship man you too you too i appreciate who you are in the lord and how you stand up thank you brother good man bless you my friend all right. Stephen Curtis Chapman, ladies and gentlemen. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Folks, I love telling you about well-made, well-thought-out products. Today, I'm talking about Grip6 belts.
Starting point is 00:19:54 I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of traditional belts. They never fit right, and they're uncomfortable. Grip6 belts are unique. Owner BJ designed a truly modern minimalist belt made of high quality materials with no holes, no flap, and no bulk. And the buckles come in really cool designs and are interchangeable. I personally own these belts in different styles and talk about affordability. Grip 6 belts come with a lifetime guarantee. And that means if you no longer like or fit the style of your belt, you can replace them for free.
Starting point is 00:20:29 Plus, I like the way these guys do business. Grip6 is determined to help build and modernize American manufacturing. To learn more and get this month's Dave Ramsey special, visit Grip6.com. That's GripIX.com. That's GRIPSIX.com. Again, thanks to Stephen Curtis Chapman dropping by and putting out what amounts to the first day of the premiere. I was going to say world premiere, but it might not be.
Starting point is 00:21:11 They might have launched it otherwise. But the new song, Together, we'll get through this with Brad Paisley, Lauren Alaina, and Tasha Cobbs. Stephen wrote the song and then was able to put together that group of folks to launch it and proceeds going to the Opry, Grendel Opry, and to the Gospel Music Association to support artists that are struggling right now. So very good stuff and a great song. Together we'll get through this because we will.
Starting point is 00:21:41 Good stuff. Ken Coleman, welcome back to the microphone, and let's go to a good debt-free scream in louisiana it looks like derrick and jackie are debt-free congratulations guys what's up dave thank you hey dave well done you guys how much have you paid off two hundred and ninety three thousand dollars good gracious how long did this take 19 months okay there's a story here and your range of income during that time um about three hundred thousand oh okay there's that oh my goodness what do you guys do for a living i'm a registered nurse and i'm a self-employed trim carpenter okay a registered nurse and a self-employed trim carpenter. Okay. A registered nurse and a self-employed trim carpenter making $300,000.
Starting point is 00:22:29 I'm intrigued. By the blue collars it gets. I love it, you guys. You are working a lot of hours then, I'm guessing. Definitely so. Okay. Very cool. So the $293,000 was what kind of debt?
Starting point is 00:22:43 We paid off our house, Dave. Woo-hoo! Your home and everything. Everything. Wow! We are 100% debt-free, and paying off the house helped push us over the limit, so now we're also debt-free every day. Millionaires.
Starting point is 00:23:01 Whoa. And the picture on YouTube is from the gun range where you put the mortgage down range and filled it full of holes with something what'd you shoot it with oh 45 glock um 40 glock uh 357 a 22 and my nine springfield xds we want to make really sure this thing's dead we want to make sure we kill debt, too. This sucker's not coming back to the front of the range with anything but a limp. That's right. We framed it in our house. That is fabulous.
Starting point is 00:23:34 Literally in our frame in our house. That is awesome. Well, you should. You're millionaires. You're debt-free. How old are you two? I'm 32. I'm 36.
Starting point is 00:23:43 Wow. You are a rock star's hero. Well done. This is amazing. Thank you. So, I mean, even making $300, paying off $293 in 19 months is dead gum near mathematically impossible. How did you pull that off? Well, no days off.
Starting point is 00:23:59 There was a couple of splurts when we had a lot of houses going on. And I can remember last spring i worked i think i counted 56 days straight without a day off every day with a tool belt on grinding it out you know and this wasn't something that happened overnight this wasn't something that happened in just 19 months you know this is you know it's not overnight success we've been working a lot of your plan for like the last 10 years. We went through FPU. Before we got married, we've both been paying off our cars and just working the baby steps up since we were young,
Starting point is 00:24:32 and this was just the final baby step seven. Wow. We finally got to make the call and call you, so we're pretty pumped up about it. So what's the house worth? The house is worth about $880,80 875 that that range okay very nice very cool so that's a big chunk of the over a million that you've got obviously and that last 293 you did in 19 months and the picture i'm seeing again on youtube popping up it's got a couple of little boys there uh and so they survived their
Starting point is 00:25:03 dad working 56 days straight but now they're millionaires yeah believe it or not yeah and he even survived uh not being able to hunt every day so he can do it it can be done well i guess you've lived like no one else and now you can live and give like no one else right right? That is true, and we're excited about the giving part. That last verse you always say, be able to live and give like no one else. We've enjoyed giving during this process. You know, we like to see older veterans whenever in the restaurants they have their hat on, we like to pay for their meals.
Starting point is 00:25:43 But now that we're debt-free, we always said one day we'll be able to start giving more. And we actually made the arrangement today. We mailed a $1,000 check to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Very good. We're going to start doing that on this day every year. Hey, I like it. We're going to go from our debt-free scream to a debt-free dream. An anniversary. May 1st every year we're going to do from our debt-free scream to a debt-free dream. Oh, an anniversary.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Every year we're going to do that. Great foundation for Gold Star families. Yeah, well, that's pretty amazing. So I'm curious, why, while you're working on Baby Step 6, did you decide to get as intense as you got? Because, man, you went ears laid back and went after it yeah well i mean there was no reason not to um when we started yeah there was hunting and little boys and lots of reasons not to everybody's got excuses but you just decided not you work 56 days
Starting point is 00:26:36 straight yeah why yeah well i mean i put my head down and go after it and my wife she's a nurse you know and she's uh she's been maxing out her hours when she has a chance to but we we decided that after we got done building this we just got done self-contracting the house myself uh we've been in about two years and we got the started getting the house notes in and started seeing the interest that they're charging us every month how much of that money was going to waste and i knew we were three hundred thousand dollars in debt but we had a big shovel to get out of it with like you said so at first the plan was to just oh we'll just double our house note and we'll pay it off in seven or eight years well that lasted about a day or two and i went back to my wife and said there ain't no reason why we can't get on this
Starting point is 00:27:17 horse and ride it hard you know to start putting our head down start throwing everything we have at the principal and we kind of made a timeline. We actually beat our own timeline doing this. So once we started, we had incentive to keep going. We really wanted to push through it. So, Jackie, did you think he's a little crazy? Sir, this was something I've always wanted to do as well. And I totally trust my husband.
Starting point is 00:27:47 You two are made for each other. Yeah, I saw the drive in him, and it just pushed me to want to work as hard as he has worked for us. That's a sweet way of saying yes, but I'm crazy too. Derek and Jack, I've got to ask you real quick. What would you say to folks who they hear 56 straight days, they hear that she was working every overtime shift she could get. You were working really, really hard, and there had to be some times you're going, I really don't have to do this, but it was not I could do this, I should do this, I must do this.
Starting point is 00:28:20 What was the shared goal? What was the role in keeping you all going in that incredibly difficult schedule um just knowing that we could do it and no wasn't going to be an answer we had a list on our freezer in our pantry that started off at 293 and then when we started paying it down we each month we write down we had a goal um to pay it off as fast as we can and no matter no matter what i was going to find a way to get some money to pay that principal off. So a trim carpenter and a nurse at 32 years old are now millionaires.
Starting point is 00:28:51 That's what happens. So, yeah, that whole, wow. Way to go, guys. So very proud of you. Who were your biggest cheerleaders? Probably each other. Yeah. Just pushing each other and just freaking out whenever we mailed that principal check
Starting point is 00:29:08 and just being pumped up about it. And probably everybody on social media thinking that we're crazy. And weird. For giving away all our money to a house, you know what I mean? I love it. I love it. But you got no house payment when COVID comes, right? Yeah, we have no house payment.
Starting point is 00:29:23 We're able to start giving money away, which is going to be a lot of fun. Yeah. I mean, when COVID comes, and you don't even have to blink, right? Oh, well, look, we paid off that house, I think, eight days before COVID hit the states. Wow. Amazing. Yeah, that was a big relief. Well done, guys.
Starting point is 00:29:39 Well done. Well, we've got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you because you should be in it. It's called Everyday Millionaires. You are definitely one of them. And such an impressive young couple. The things you can do now with your lives, you'll be able to do anything you want to do. And you have lived like no one else. And you are truly in a position to live and give like no one else.
Starting point is 00:30:02 Way to go. Derek and Jackie, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. $293,000 paid off in 19 months, making $300,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream. Go Tigers. Three, two, one. We're debt-free!
Starting point is 00:30:18 We're debt-free! And that's how it's done in Baton Rouge. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Folks, since you're spending more time at home these days, why not make the most of it? Now, I know not everyone has the means to do a full renovation, but thanks to our friends at Blinds.com, there are some small changes you can make to help improve your home. Blinds.com makes it incredibly simple to shop top quality blinds, shades, and interior shutters from home with easy online ordering and free shipping right to your door.
Starting point is 00:31:07 Listen, window treatments are a simple project that you can do that really benefits the look and feel of your home. And if you're nervous about doing it yourself, well, don't be. Blinds.com has helped millions of homeowners through the process with free design help by phone or online. Plus, they guarantee the perfect fit for your windows. Go ahead and get started today. Go to blinds.com to take advantage of this week's special offer. Rules and restrictions apply. ken coleman joins me this hour ramsey personality number one best-selling author of the book the proximity principle michael is on the line in pennsylvania. Michael's got a question for Ken.
Starting point is 00:32:06 Michael, how can we help? Hi, thank you for taking my call. I have a question about college. I am 17 years old, a junior in high school right now, and I don't know what I would like to do in college. I'm completely undecided. So I'm just wondering what's a good idea for thinking about majors. Well, I don't think you have to be worried right now as a junior in high school about your major.
Starting point is 00:32:38 I mean, you don't pick a major your freshman year necessarily anyway. You can go in there. In most of your first two years, you're getting your basics. You're getting the fundamentals of the requirement. Then you pick the major, and then you go into specialization as you get into your junior, senior year. And I think between now and your senior year, you need to just be focusing on exploring ideas, talking to adults that are in your community, whether it be your friends or family members, getting an idea of some of the things you might be interested in.
Starting point is 00:33:06 You're not committing to this at 17 or a junior. So I just don't think you need to be worried or even thinking about a major. It's really about, okay, what's a good school option for me? How are we paying for school? Anthony O'Neill, my colleague, best-selling author of Debt-Free Degree, that needs to be a book that you're digesting. And picking a good school that has options for you, I think, is the only thing you need to be a book that you're digesting and and and picking a good school that has options for you i think is the only thing you need to be thinking about the major and that decision will come but i think that i would be focusing on what are you dreaming about what do you wonder about even when
Starting point is 00:33:36 you're 11 12 13 14 even now and and begin to explore and and shadow people that are in those fields and as you begin to see things that you're interested in and you explore more into those fields, you'll get more clarity. And then you're picking the major that best suits you for a future in that field. But I wouldn't be worried, Dave, about picking a major at 17 as a junior. No, I agree. I don't think you have to. A couple of principles as you get ready to do it.
Starting point is 00:34:06 One is try to shadow somebody that's doing it. Try to go to their workplace and actually watch them doing this. The second principle is do not pick a major because you think it pays well only. I've got a friend that became an engineer, which is a highly detailed thing. He's not a highly detailed person, and he was miserable for the first many years of his work life because his mom told him he should be an engineer because he was good with math,
Starting point is 00:34:38 but he's not a detail guy. And so engineers and accountants are largely, the successful ones are largely detail-oriented people. So you don't pick it just because it's quote-unquote a good job. The third thing is you don't pick it just because it's your passion. If you get a degree in left-handed puppetry and that's your passion, you're going to starve to death. Sure. So you have to balance out the idea that I need to make some money with this degree to justify paying for it. On the one hand.
Starting point is 00:35:11 On the other hand, it's not just about making money. It needs to fit your passions and your personality style and make money. And then just go find some people that are actually doing it. Walk around them. You're not listening to someone who's never been a dentist telling you to be a dentist, and you've never been in a dental practice and spent the day, other than as a patient. And that would be a horrible idea, to spend that much time and effort to become a fill-in-the-blank, whatever it is, and have never visited the location where that is actually done.
Starting point is 00:35:52 And so, you know, but there are, even then, there are degree fields that are general enough that are very useful, that are worth the money, that you can move towards without even feeling like you have to have picked the nuanced, very thin, exact career choice. For instance, Rachel Cruz got a degree in communication, which gave her a lot of speaking and media and writing. She thought she was going to end up doing what she is doing today, so that served her well. Daniel Ramsey got a degree in business with a specialization in marketing. He didn't know if he was going to come on this team or not at that time, but he knew he loved business in general and could. That allows you to do almost anything out in the business world with that degree.
Starting point is 00:36:32 It's a general degree. It's very, very usable. So you can go that route. The problem people get into is they pick nuanced degrees that have no marketplace use. Well, and then the other thing, I get this call daily on the Ken Coleman Show as well. I got this degree, so I fell into this career because I felt like I had to use the degree, and everybody gets locked into all this degree stuff. You know, Michael, there's three questions over the next two to three years you're going to need to answer,
Starting point is 00:36:59 and that is what do you do best? These are hard skills and soft skills. Think talents in the form of an ability, which is a hard skill, and a quality is a personality trait, a character trait. Those become the tools by which you do work in the marketplace. So then you begin to ask, well, what's the work that I love to do? This is passion. This is the work that you look forward to. High emotion when you think about it and high emotion when you're in it.
Starting point is 00:37:25 And time seems to disappear when you're involved in it. That's high devotion. And the third question is, what are the results of the work that I want to produce? So everybody does work. And when you do work,
Starting point is 00:37:35 you produce a result. What are the results? And you're looking at the people that you want to help, the problem they have and the solution to their problem. And that is mission. Those are the three questions that will serve you as you get older and begin to see the
Starting point is 00:37:48 marketplace. Elazar is with us in New Jersey. Hi, Elazar. How are you? Hey, Dave. How's it going? Great. How can we help?
Starting point is 00:37:58 Yeah, I called because I recently used a relief check to purchase the SPMT program. And right now I'm in lesson eight, and I want to know what can I do meanwhile to shape my practice. Okay. So you're going through the financial coach master training program that we have and uh some of the training that is in that talks about how to start your business and how to run your coaching business um it's part of the training so go back sure make sure you get those modules in that and that you're you know you're getting that information jump on the phone with those guys and
Starting point is 00:38:43 they could tell you a lot of what's happening there. A lot of coaches, Ken, I started, and I think you did too, a lot of it was we didn't start for money. I started doing financial coaching as a ministry at my church where I first started. I honed my skills, developed a reputation, people knew me, and then people were willing to pay me for coaching at that point. I didn't have to do it long because I could solve their problems, and you do the same thing with careers, right? Yeah, you start with one. So the answer, Eliezer, is starting with one, and not just starting with one. As you are in this course and you're training, you already have great content from our team to
Starting point is 00:39:25 be able to describe what it is you're being trained to do. I'd start telling everybody. I mean everybody. I mean the person at the grocery store, the clerk. I would tell all your friends and family. I would tell everybody on Facebook or social media, whatever social media platform you use. I would say, hey, listen, I'm super excited.
Starting point is 00:39:41 I am doing some world-class training to be a financial coach, and here's what we teach. And talk about, Dave, I'm super excited. I am doing some world-class training to be a financial coach, and here's what we teach. And talk about, Dave, in the baby steps. I mean, tell people what you are being trained to do, and those people are going to be able to see, okay, wait a second. I need this help. I know him. I trust him. I like that.
Starting point is 00:39:56 I can see what he's doing. My friend at work is getting repossessed on their car. They start to spread the word for you, and that's how you find the first few is what I would call them. And the first few are the ones you help. And today's point, if you don't get paid on the first few, that's okay. It gets you that confidence. It gets you that opportunity to test out what you've been doing. You're going to be the worst the first time.
Starting point is 00:40:16 And then you get better the second time and the third time. And then you say, all right, no more freebies. I'm charging. And again, one customer at a time. That's how you start a business like coaching yeah and then you know you expand from there and start thinking about okay who can refer me marriage counselors pastors can refer me people that they're working with that they don't know how to help their money part i can help them with their money part marriage
Starting point is 00:40:39 counselor is coaching a young couple or old couple or whatever that's struggling, money could be part of the marriage problem. Career could be part of the marriage problem. It could be a career coach, and part of the career problem is money and vice versa. And so you can also send them referrals. You might be coaching somebody on money that needs marriage counseling, and you send them the other way. And so you start to develop a network of people in your area that support you and you support as well. And that's
Starting point is 00:41:08 what our coaches have done for decades around here and it has worked really, really well. Congratulations on completing Financial Coach Master Training. It's a very cool course. Very cool. That puts this hour of the Dave Ramsey Show and the Bucs. In the middle of these uncertain times, Ramsey Solutions wants to give you some hope.
Starting point is 00:41:44 For the very first time ever, we're giving you Financial Peace University free for 14 days. Go to DaveRamsey.com so you can watch from home.

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