The Ramsey Show - App - Trying Again after a Failed Small Business Attempt (Hour 1)

Episode Date: May 1, 2019

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show, where America learns to take control of their money and create a life they love. And sitting in for Dave Ramsey, I am Ramsey. Personality, Rachel Cruz, taking your calls and questions this hour. And it is a free call anywhere in the country at 888-825- 5225. So call in and we can chat

because we have another person here in the studio which I'm so excited about. To my left is Ramsey personality and creator of Business Boutique and author of the Business Boutique book, Christy Wright. Yes, this is our first time doing this. This is big.

This is a big deal. Christy and I are taking over the Dave Ramsey show for an hour. Do they know what they've done? I don't think so. This is a lot of trust. It is. So Christy and I work together, obviously, as Ramsey personalities, and we're actually real-life friends.

That's right. Which is great. So I feel like it's like a ladies theme hour. I mean, we can just decide that it is. We can. I think we should. We have the microphone. We'll take any call.

But ladies, you get priority. We'll just tell James that. Just bump the ladies to the top of the list and we'll make it a ladies theme hour. This will be fun. No, but for real, guys, any question you have around money, personal finance,

and Christy takes all calls around starting businesses. That's the business boutique is helping women create money doing what they love. That's right. Did I get that right? Yeah, we did a full female yesterday business boutique. It's our first one equipping women to make money doing what they love. And it's fun because it

doesn't matter if you're just getting started or you've been in business for years and you're feeling burnout or maybe you just have an idea and you're trying to pay off your debt snowball and you're going, hey, I need some extra income to put towards this debt. Dave always says you can start a side gig. We live in this side hustle economy, so it's a great time to do it, but I don't know how to do it. Well, call in. We'll help you. We'll show you how to get started. Absolutely. All right. We're going to go right to the phones. Anna from Louisville is on.

Hey, Anna, welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hey, guys. Thanks for calling in. How can we help? So my husband and I want to start a business, and we want to make wooden toys that are research-based and make learning fun. And we really believe in this business, and we're excited.

But we had a previous business that did not succeed, and we realized it's because we ran it like a hobby, and we're okay with that. But we have friends and family that knew about this old business. We have people on social media who followed our old business. How do we go about asking people to trust us with this new business and promoting the new business when they knew, no, the old one did not succeed? Yeah. Okay. So Anna, I've got a question first to start off to find out when you have this idea in your head that people might not be supportive or might not trust you do you have actual proof of that like have people been

concerned or said something or is it just something that you personally feel embarrassed like man i don't know how to go back to these people because i'm embarrassed because i know it didn't work last time that was the latter yeah that's what i was sensing. And I'll tell you, Anna, that's really, really normal. But here's the thing. Most, if not all of that is in your head. And that's the only place that it is. I would be willing to bet that those family and friends would jump at the opportunity to support you, to champion you, to rekindle a fire in you and belief in you. Think about your friends.

If you had a friend that, you know, made a mistake or fell on their face or had a hard time, you wouldn't shame them. You'd be like, hey, we can do this again. Let me help you get back at it. Think of how you would treat your friends and expect that your friends would treat you the same way. I think even, Rachel, you and I, if we have a bad speaking event, one of us is going to say, hey, you can get back on the horse.

Here's how we can do it again. Right. So I would just encourage you to, as much as you can, completely cut out those thoughts. And also keep in mind, one of the things that helps me, Anna, when I have those thoughts spiral like, and you're a bad mom, and you screwed up, and, and, and, just remember, that's not how God talks to you. And that's not what God says about you. And so if I ask myself that question, well, what does God say about this?

That's not how God talks to me. And so you can immediately identify that those voices are not true and they're not from God. And you can push those out of your mind and move forward with your dream with a new level of hope and expectation and newness. We all deserve a fresh start. And you do, too. So I think a lot of that lives in our head. What do you think, Rachel? Yeah, absolutely.

Well, and I was going to say, you know, it's amazing if someone does come at you with the questions and they do say so what happened right honesty is refreshing absolutely just step into it yes and just say you know what we like made so many business mistakes here and we learned so much and wow this other passion has come up and we've learned how to navigate from a business perspective and how to do it better and so i always think that you you know, when people do fail, it takes a little bit for personally for you, Anna, to be able to own that part of your story. And sometimes a little bit of success on the new business is going to help that confidence.

But even like I think about, I think about dad's story of bankruptcy, right? I mean, like the Dave Ramsey show was built on a life of mistakes and pain of the bankruptcy and so people find it refreshing and they want to know that you're human and so i would say make it a part of your story but i totally get you need the confidence boost to get this other business off the ground do you find that uh a lot of people that start businesses and it fails that they still want to go do another thing because i always see the entrepreneur spirit is so ingrained in something. You heard her. She was like wooden toys and she like right on her on her on her thing.

And I was like, man, it's in her. So it's like you can't you can't escape it when you're an entrepreneur. Well, not only that, but I would just say you're in good company. And there's not a single entrepreneur. There's not a single successful person in the world that has not failed. I love the quote by Michael Jordan, who is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. And he has this great quote where he says, in my career, I have missed 3000 shots.

I have lost 300 games, 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. So Anna, just know you're in good company. Failure is not a setback from your path to success. It's actually a stepping stone on the journey. It's a necessary part of the equation.

So you are on the right path. I love that you have your idea. I love that you're willing to go for it. I would just encourage you to get those thoughts out of your head. And like you said, Rachel, just be honest with me. Like, man, that was embarrassing. But we learned we're getting back on the horse. We're going to try again. You know, come with us and help us. Well, perseverance

is a huge character quality of not just people that win in business, but even with your money. Like I've talked to so many families that have been on baby step two and they've gone backwards, like something big came up and like, we went back into debt and like, I don't know if we can keep going. I'm like, yes, you can. You, even though you've made mistakes in the past, keep going. So those of you out there that maybe you're in that position, maybe, you know, or maybe you've gotten out of debt, you've done the debt snowball, you find yourself back into debt. There's some people, you know, a small percentage of people that that's their story. It's like you have to keep going, you have to get back on the horse. Rachel, how many parents have you talked to? I could I could think of a handful of people right now that they are scared to teach their kids

about money because of their mistakes. Yes. So that again, it goes back to what's in your head, this fear of I'm unqualified or I haven't done it perfectly. So, you know, I don't have a right to say something. It's like, oh, my gosh, use that to teach your children. Use that to create a different legacy. Use that as a learning, you know, for them.

Yeah. If you define yourself by the mistakes you've made, you said, okay, I can't possibly help someone or start a business or teach my kids about money or myself, get myself back on the personal finance track to win. Who am I? Who

are you? You're you. You get to make that decision and decide, but that perseverance is what is key. Alright, we are taking your calls anywhere in the country, 888-825-5225. Again, Ramsey Personality, Christy Wright, and myself, Rachel Cruz, we are here hosting this hour. We joked it was ladies' theme hour. Guys, you're welcome to call in, but ladies, it'd be fun.

It'd be fun to take calls from all women this hour. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. This is big news, guys. You need to stop and listen. The Fed decided not to raise interest rates. That means you've got a small window of time before rates rise again. Here's the deal. Most people are paying too much interest on their largest expense, their home. So you're freaking crazy if you don't take 10 minutes to call Churchill Mortgage right

now and see if they can save you money before rates rise again. A mortgage through Churchill could save you thousands or better yet, reduce the time until you're debt free. Can you imagine how it would feel to no longer have that payment looming over your head every month? Just go to ChurchillMortgage.com or call 888-LOAN-200. Their team of experts will give you more clarity about your options and more peace knowing you're saving significant money in the long run. Call 888-LOAN-200. That's 888-562-6200 or churchillmortgage.com. Welcome back, America. This is the Dave Ram ramsey show and i am ramsey personality

rachel cruz filling in for dave this hour taking your calls all about money and your business as well because i have fellow ramsey personality christy wright with me that's right this is fun this hour we're hosting and it's been fun. They trust us. They left the office and trusted us with the microphone, which is frightening, but we're doing great. And the scary thing is we're in Nashville and they are, I mean, I say they, Dave. That's right. He's on the other side of the country. They're in San Diego. Chris Hogan and him and George Camel and all the familiar voices you hear. Ken Coleman.

Ken Coleman, yes, here on the Dave Ramsey Show. They are there for our Entree Leadership Summit. Yes. Which is one of our huge events, high ticket event that we do for business leaders all across the country. People that have their businesses that own it and that work within it. They come and there's 3000 people in San Diego right now. It gets bigger every year.

I know it's massive. And so this year the lineup was just impressive. Peyton Manning. That's right. Who's my personal favorite. He's a really good speaker. I've, it's massive. And so this year, the lineup was just impressive. Peyton Manning, who's my personal favorite. He's a really good speaker. I've heard of Catalyst. Oh my gosh, he's so good. So good, and just so tall. But he's a velo fall.

We claim him. In the late 90s, he was a vol, but we still claim him. Sarah Blakely, who invented Spanx. Everyone in America says thank you, Sarah. Patrick Lencioni, Marcus Buckingham, Henry Cloud, Simon Sinek, Chris Hogan, Dave Ramsey himself, some other speakers as well. I mean, just a crazy great lineup there in San Diego. And it's just, it's rocking.

I've been watching some Instagram stories and seeing all. And you've been to Entree Summits. I have had so so much fomo this year because i've spoken at it every year until this year but sitting this one out because of baby on the way so trying to take it a little easy if i can i'm not good at that but man it's been fun to watch and it's amazing how not only the attendees and the audience has grown but even the caliber of speakers like every year they tend to raise the bar it's the best speakers on every aspect of leadership to help you in your business. And it really is transformative for these business leaders. And you think of the ripple effect, Rachel, when you equip these leaders that then go

back and change their businesses, that change their team members' lives and their customers' lives, the ripple effect is something we can't possibly measure when you have something like that. And I think one of the most amazing things about the work that we get to do with our organization is put on events because events can be this lightning bolt, this kickstart that truly changes the trajectory of someone's life. And it's really fun to watch that and see how they go home and their lives and businesses are changed because of that specific moment.

Absolutely. Yes. So if you guys out there have not intersected our Entree Leadership brand, you can do that at every point from the podcast to the book to the event. So make sure to check that out, especially if you're a business leader or working within a business. Something that for sure is so life-giving and so much tactical transformational content right there.

And so they're suffering in San Diego right now. I know. Well, and business can be lonely. We talk about this. and business can be lonely. We talk about this. Business can be lonely and hard as an entrepreneur, as a business leader. You just feel like you're out there on the front lines and no one gets it and you're struggling and you're up early, staying awake late and it cuts into your family time. And so, man, to be in a room of thousands of other people that get that struggle and

then you also get to be invested and poured into for once where you're the consumer you're not always the producer and the leader uh is really really special and it's fun because we've created something similar with business boutique but it's all women and so it's the same type of time it's the heart behind it of like you don't have to do this alone it's the same heart behind that and that event for you is in november october october 24th yes october well it normally is november okay i was like why did i feel like okay okay i was like am i crazy no we moved it up this year because it was competing with halloween we don't want moms to be having to leave their kids on halloween we know that's a special time uh all the costumes and so yeah so october october 24th to the 26th and we have an amazing lineup of speakers like always 3 000 women for three days where we give you the inspiration you need to go do the thing

and also the information, the steps, the tools. And so it's gonna be a lot of fun. It sells out every year. And this year, Rachel, I don't know if you know this, but we've only been launched

for maybe two weeks and it's half sold out. Okay. Well, I knew out of the gate, like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of tickets. So where can people buy tickets? Businessboutique.com.

Perfect. Yeah. And then I'll be hitting the road as well. I'll be in Dallas May 16th for our Money and Marriage event with Dr. Les Parrott. And we have taken two difficult subjects that people have in their life, their money and their marriage. And we kept seeing this rub with couples where they're like, man, I just cannot get on the same page. And so we said, well, there's a problem.

So here at Ramsey Solutions, we create a solution. That's right. We created an event. And Dr. Les Perra is a marriage expert. And he is just phenomenal. He is hilarious. I was about to say, he is so funny. So funny.

So you feel like you're at a comedy show. You really do. And so you get really two and a half hours of great content, everything around marriage and helping you learn how to communicate your talk styles, all of that. And then I speak to you on the money portion and how to have those conversations around money. There's some tough ones, there's some fun ones, some easy ones, some hard ones, but all around the idea of getting on the same page, because especially with money and marriage, I'm like, man, there's so much here.

There's so much we can unpack about this subject. And one of the biggest things I keep seeing over and over is opposites attract. That's so true. So if you're listening to this and you are married, male or female, whoever you are, one of you is a spender, more than likely. One of you is a saver.

One of you is a nerd. You love doing all this. One of you is a free spirit. It's just like, it's opposite. That's how it is in my marriage.ston's actually the saver and the nerd most people assume because i'm dave ramsey's daughter and i do this as a career that i must be the nerd i'm actually not i'm the spender in the free spirit i would never think you were the nerd let's just start with that that's right i know you too well yeah details not quite my thing yeah

uh and so man i i get how a fight can happen and you just can miss each other. Absolutely miss each other. And I think we think of these areas of our lives as separate. Like, oh, I have my marriage and that's one little piece of my life. And I have my money and that's a separate piece. These affect each other. We were talking about this just the other day when we were hanging out when you were at my house. And we were talking about some of these conversations.

And gosh, like Matt is very similar to Winston. Your husband, my husband is. And so the personality styles and even how you were raised affects the decisions you want to make with your money. And so when you're having a conversation, there's so many different variables at play. There's layers and layers to this from your personality to your background, how you're raised, your values, you know? And so I think it's so great that you guys combine these things and hit them head on to help people pull these together and show them how they affect each other absolutely so you can buy tickets on that at rachelcruz.com or davramsey.com again the money and marriage event in Dallas May 16th coming up here in about two weeks I guess it is it's first of May so here we go all

right we're gonna go to Twitter and there's been some there's a great question for you Christy from Courtney yes so here's what Courtney asked on Twitter. She said, What would you recommend for someone who wants to start a small side gig to help bring in extra income, but doesn't know what to do? I've always been interested in small business and entrepreneurs, but I just don't know what to start up. So here's what I'm going to tell you to do. And this would be for any of you listening right now. And you want to do something maybe Maybe you want to pay off your debt snowball faster. You want to send your kids to a certain school. You just need a little extra income.

Well, we live in a world where it is easier than ever before to start a business. The risk is low. The cost is low. The barrier to entry into the marketplace is low. Now is a great time. You can do it. But let me give you three things to start with just to make it easy on you. I want you to start with your skills, your strengths, and your stuff.

And here's what I mean by that. What are your skills? Your education, your degree, certifications, training, background. So then you're starting with what you have because you already know this stuff. You don't have to go learn a whole new skill or industry. Your strengths. What are you naturally good at? Like, oh, man, I'm so great at being a singer.

I'm a natural artist. I'm a natural organizer. I am good at details, unlike Rachel and I, for example. What are those things that you're naturally just gifted at, even if you don't have any formal training in that area? And then third, your stuff. Look around you. Do you have a swimming pool? You could teach some lessons. Do you have a sewing machine? You could sew. Do you have a computer? You could write, blog, do videos. So when you look around you and you start with what you have your skills your strengths and your stuff you're making it so easy on yourself to win you're not saying i have to go learn a whole new thing and buy a bunch of stuff and spend a bunch of money that makes the the on-ramp into business

and the the time frame to profitability so much longer instead and riskier. Yes, totally. Start with what you have. You're going to have confidence in those areas. You have the tools and supplies and equipment you need in those areas. And you make it so easy on yourself to win and turn a profit quicker. So look around you for inspiration, Courtney, and anyone else in Courtney's shoes. Look at your skills, your strengths, and your stuff. When you start with what you have, you're going to make it easy on yourself to win. So good, Christy. So great. All right, America america again taking your calls at 888-825-5225 there's a couple here on hold that we'll be taking in the next segment so make sure you call in if

you have a question about your business or your money i am rachel cruz hosting alongside christy writes this is the dave ramsey show who's hosting alongside Christy Wright. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. I am Ramsey person. I, Rachel Cruz, along here with Christy Wright. Hello. And we are taking your calls this hour anywhere in the country, 888-825-5225. We kind of joked earlier, we'll take anyone's calls, but we kind of wanted to make it a ladies theme hour.

And according to the call lineup and who's out in the lobby right now, it's coming true. It's working. It's working. All right. We're actually going to go to the lobby, which is why we don't always take calls from the lobby. But Juanita from Rockford, Illinois is here. Hey, Juanita, welcome to the show. Hi, ladies. Thank you for having me. Yes. What's your question? I had a question. So my husband and I, we are going to be going on a trip next year in April.

It's been a trip that we've been planning for years, actually. I would love to become a financial coach. It's something that I truly have such a passion for. I love helping people. And I, it is just amazing what all of you guys have been doing. And so I was wondering, because I'd like to do a business out of it, would it be wise to start that now, knowing that my husband and I are leaving in less than a year? And how long is the trip for? Six months. Okay. So it's not like you're going on vacation for two weeks.

Right. Yes. Yeah. I mean, I would say it's, I mean, it's, you still have a full year pretty much. I mean, you know, you're going to have 11 months under your belt. Is there training or anything you need to be doing in the meantime in order? There is. There's a lot of research, a lot of training that we will be doing leading up to leaving.

And I know with just doing the coaching online and then once you get into it and everything, I know it's going to take a bit. And so that's why I was just curious, like, would it be wiser to do it once we came back home or do it now? Yeah, I would say for sure my knee jerk reaction is to go ahead and lay the groundwork. Like you have a lot you can be doing that's not necessarily public-facing, you know, where you're going out yet and saying, hey, I'm doing this. But you're doing your training. You're getting that foundation laid under you.

And then you guys go, take the trip, the six-month trip. And then when you come back, then I would turn on the public-facing side and say, okay, here I am. I'm available for coaching. But you've done all the work. Because I'd hate for you to lose 11 months considering you have this in you and you're like, I know this is what I want to do. I think 11 months is a, is a huge timeframe to start something. Yeah. It's interesting because whenever I was hosting yesterday, we got a very similar question about financial coach master training. And one of the things that I reminded her that I would remind you as well, just like

you're saying, Rachel, there's a lot more than just, I'm going to market my business. There's the plan, there's the prep work, there's a lot more than just I'm going to market my business. There's the plan. There's the prep work. There's the education. Also, I would do some digging and research, not just for the business side of interning and kind of understanding people that are currently doing it. Pick their brain. Say, hey, you know, what do you love about it? What do you hate about it?

What would you do differently? How would you structure your payment? How would you structure your schedule? What are some policies you would put in place? As you're doing that homework, you can do all that now before you leave and put that groundwork in place, just like Rachel saying. But you can also do research on who you want to help. So your target market, who's your ideal customer?

Even within the financial coaching business, there's going to be a specific target market that you're going to want to go after and focus on. And so you can start to explore that. And then what's amazing is you lay that groundwork, you get all of your homework, ducks in a row, cover your bases, and then you go off on your trip, have a great time. You'll probably have some new revelations and ideas. Capture those on your phone or on a restaurant napkin.

Capture them. Come home, make some edits, and then you're ready to press go and really start to build your market and let people know that you're doing this thing. But I agree. You can do so much groundwork right now that when you come back, you are ready to run. And I'd love to know, does it come from your story? Did you yourself learn to budget and to get out of debt?

Have you done a huge progress yourself personally with money? And you're like, man, this works. Yes. My husband and I were both debt free. We have our emergency fund. We have our fund for our trip because it's going to be a very long time with both of us taking off of work. Cash flowing. And then once we finish that, which we're going to do in the next month or so, we're going to be then saving money for a down payment for a house and then save as much as we can and then go on our trip and come back and keep saving and stuff. I love it. Hopefully before kids come. That and keep saving and and stuff so i love it hopefully

before kids come that's right that's right oh i love it well thanks for stopping by thank you so much ladies for having me absolutely it's so fun to hear people's i love hearing people's background story right like where their passion comes out of it comes from a place yes so knowing that place i think is is huge and it's contagious to other people we're like man what's in my story yes that i can use i know and those are. And those are the best sales. People ask me all the time, how do I sell without being pushy? I'm like, share your heart. Share your story.

Before you leave, be sure to get a business boutique book. I'll sign it for you. That is your plan, cover to cover. And then when you get back, you're ready to follow the plan and build your business. Yeah, it's just you share your heart, share your story, and the sale naturally follows. You don't have to be salesy and pushy. That's right. Just share your story of what God's doing in your life and help other people do that. I love it.

All right, we're going to go to the phones. Anne-Marie from New York City is on the line. Hey, Anne-Marie, welcome to the show. How are you? Doing well. Thank you. Thanks for calling in. How can we help? So I'm a full-time tax accountant. I have a full-time job. I work approximately $60 a week during tax season. I've always had a little side hustle, I guess, doing taxes on the side. But over the past four years, I've quadrupled my client base and tripled my revenue. So I'm kind of sitting up and taking notice of something that really could be a real business for me. I added an admin person about three years ago to help me with behind the scenes,

doing photocopying, things like that, 25 hours over the course of the season, nothing big. I work out of my home three evenings plus weekends, but I'm maxed on my hours. So I can't really add anything more because my time is completely booked up with what I've done so far. So my question is, how do I scale this business without losing the personal touch that I currently have with these clients? I meet with them, I take their info, I get the returns back.

To substitute someone in my place to do that, how do you not lose that personal touch? And then how do I know when to make the jump to full-time if I'd have to really quadruple this client base in order to match my full-time salary now. Well, that's a great question, Anne-Marie. I want to go ahead and point something out, though, because when you're transitioning from working on your side business on the side,

in addition to your full-time job, full-time salary benefits, all that stuff, and you're wanting to work on your side business full-time, the side business just needs to support you financially. It does not have to match your current full-time job. If you're willing to make some cuts and live on less than you make for a season, it might be two months, three months, six months until you get that business up. But that's what's so great is because you would not be able to get that side business. I would guess with how busy and far ahead you are in your career, get that business to match that without never sleeping and not having a life at all. So instead, what I want you to do is I want you, just like Rachel Cruz teaches, I want

you to create a budget. What do you need to actually live on realistically, expenses wise? And when can the side business support that? Where whenever the money is there, not you hope it will be there, you think it could be there, you're guessing and hoping, fingers crossed it's going to be there. The money is actually there. Then when that money is there, you're actually ready to quit your full-time job and work on your side business full-time. But then, because you've given up this big salary, you now have this light, this fire under you to get that

side business growing. But the great news is it doesn't come from this place of desperation of, I can't pay my bills. You didn't make the jump too early. We want it to be the next logical step. So let me give you an example. I tell people all the time, let's say that you're making $100,000 in your full-time business right now and you're making $20,000 in your side hustle, but you can live on 40.

Well, then you just need to get the side business to 40. You just need to get the side business to the amount of money that you can live on realistically before you make that step. But as far as scaling, you are ready to scale when you're maxed out. It sounds like you are. You just want to make sure that any hires that you make, you have a KRA, which is a key results area or job description. Because what you want to make sure is you want to make sure that this team member will create a return on your investment.

They will create ROI for you. And so often in business, gosh, like, Rachel, I felt this myself. You just get so overwhelmed. You're like, I just need help. What do you want them to do? I don't know. I just need help. I need anyone with a pulse to come in here and help me.

But what happens is you get the wrong people in the door or they don't know what they're doing. They don't know what winning looks like. And they're not making money for you. And payroll will always be your largest expense in your business as you have a team. So you want to know. You know numbers, Anne-Marie, so you know this. You want it to create an ROI for you. And so before you continue to hire more people, just make sure you have a plan for how they're going to bring in more money than they cost you.

And then if you do those two things, I think you'll be ready. But it does feel like for a season you're working two full-time jobs because you are. But it's a season. That's right. And eventually, when you take that step to working on your business full-time, then you're living the dream and it was all worth it. But you just got to get through that season. Yeah. And the team member portion, you said, I don't want to lose the personal touch.

You can find people that are passionate, that are equipped, that are qualified in order to be an extension of you. They're out there. But take the time, like you said, don't hire the wrong people. Take the time to find the right person because it's going to be huge, not just for your business, but also what you're going to make off of them, like you're saying, the ROI on that team member.

So great question, Anne-Marie. We have a few more calls to get to next segment. Again, all from ladies. I like it. I like to push it. I think it's so fun. So fun. So come back, America.

Next segment, we'll be answering again your calls. And you can call in at 888-825-5225. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. I am Rachel Cruz, filling in this hour with Ramsey personality Christy Wright. Hello. Glad to be here. Dave's out of the state. I was going to say out of the country.

He's not out of the country. He's in San Diego. He's across the country. We's not out of the country. He's in San Diego. He's across the country. We're holding the fort down. We're holding the fort down. Answering your calls. And we've had some fun stuff. I had a new show of the Rachel Cruze Show launch on Monday.

And so you can check that out on Facebook and YouTube and also podcasts. We do take the audio from the show with some other commentary and teaching and put it on the podcast and just sprinkle some other fun stuff in there because I told them I like to talk and I was like, well, you can be a little recorder. So whenever I travel or I think of something, I can just record one. As long as you record it separately, right? Like as long as your video and your audio are separate. That's right. We learned this.

I don't like to confuse them. But yeah, and your podcast, Business Boutique. Yeah, it's just, it's amazing how I guess in a couple years or over 3 million downloads and it's just, this is a constant source of encouragement for women that are trying to pursue their dream. But we also have tactical steps of how to do it. So it's a lot of fun. Yes. So check those out if you're podcast listeners. And we will go to the phones.

We have Miranda in Des Moines. Hey, Miranda, welcome to the show. Hi, thank you for taking my call. I love following you guys on Instagram. Oh, thanks. the show. Hi, thank you for taking my call. I love following you guys on Instagram. My question is, I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past four years, and I have two of my children about ready to enter the school system. My husband and I are really discerning whether or not we should go the private Christian education route. It would be about $700 a month if we don't receive financial aid, but we are currently in baby step number two and trying

to, you know, snowball that debt and get it out of our life. So how would you advise kind of weighing this type of a decision? Sure. How much debt do you guys have left? I have about $20,000 in student loans and then we have some credit card debt of about $10,000. About $10,000. $30,000. How much do you guys make a year? I stay home from my husband making $60,000. $60,000. Okay. And you guys make a year? I stay home from my husband making $60,000. $60,000. Okay. And you guys make it together, Miranda. I always tell those people. Yeah.

It's your money together. I do have a side business. I do have a side business that I try to make extra income with, but it's not reliable. Yeah, very cool. So it's not consistent. So we don't count it in our budget because it fluctuates so much. We use it strictly to pay off the debt.

Sure, absolutely. Okay, so my question for the private school, what's the reasoning behind choosing private school for you guys? Is there a safety issue? Is there an issue because of the curriculum? Like, what's the big push? Sure, I think the drivers, it's at such a young age, we feel it's very impressionable that they're raised with with god at the center you know kind of of their of their education and i was raised in the christian school system my husband was not so we do see you know um both sides of that in our dialogue which is very healthy um it's a safe town safe environment and quite honestly good public

schools as well we just have loved our preschool experience thus far. I kind of feel like maybe that's the route we should go for full time. Sure. Well, I always tell people the number one rule of thumb when you're getting out of debt is the deeper you sacrifice your lifestyle, which includes money going out. That's not a need, right? Not food, shelter, utilities. The deeper you sacrifice, the faster you're going to get out. And I'll just speak from my experience because again, I think this is a very personal decision for people. Because if you choose to do this, it's going to put you behind on the debt snowball, it's gonna take you a little bit longer because of this expense going out monthly. And I grew up in the public school system, mom and dad, they not to

sound tacky, but it's true, they had the funds to send us wherever, whatever great private school there is, and they chose public school. And I went to a public university in college and I still love Jesus so I'll tell you there is hope absolutely it's not gonna 100 percent you know damage them but I understand the value system argument I mean my I'm in the season of life like where my friends their kindergarten year is approaching like this is a constant conversation within even my own friend group so I totally understand the pull but but my what I would say to you is again the deeper you sacrifice the faster you can get out of debt and I think for public school for a few years I don't think it's going to kill them when you guys are on a solid ground financially and that $700 is not like a oh it hurts every month you can actually do it and it not put stress

on the family then I think it's going to be probably a more enjoyable experience if you choose to go that route later on for your kids and for you as a parent. But again, it's one of those things that is it's a personal choice. Well, and I think one of the things that's hard about this, too, is because both of them have sacrifices to it. You know, one of the things that I do whenever I'm trying to make a tough decision where it seems like, OK, it's not a clear path is which one could I potentially have the most peace about? So if you were to forecast right now and say, OK, Miranda, looking in the future, it's not a clear path, is which one could I potentially have the most peace about?

So if you were to forecast right now and say, okay, Miranda, looking in the future, let's imagine every single month we're sending our kids to private school and we're paying $700, knowing it could be going to the debt snowball. Does that make you feel angst of like, oh man, that was a mistake. We should be paying off the debt because we really value paying off the debt faster, like you're saying. Or is it something where you're going, gosh, not sending my kids to private school makes me feel angst because I really feel strongly they need to be in a private school environment. Now, I will give you a third alternative, Miranda,

and this is not going to be a surprise coming from me, but you can beef up your side business and make more money that would help this whole situation, whether it's private school or paying off your debt faster. Either way, increasing your income. We have tons of tools and resources that can help you do that. I see this all the time with women that say to me, Oh, I'm just a stay-at-home mom or I'm just a teacher. And they're turning this business into six figures, seven figures. So there really is some other options.

I think it's dangerous when we always think, oh, I only have one of two bad options. But I would encourage you to get creative and find more options where you feel relief in whatever path you choose. Yeah, that's good. All right. We're going to talk to Rachel in Columbus, Ohio. Hey, Rachel. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi.

Hi. How can we help? Are you there, Rachel? Yes, I am. Okay, perfect. How can we help? Are you there, Rachel? Yes, I am. Okay, perfect. How can we help? I was recently fired from my job yesterday, but I have a side business, and I was wondering if I should just focus on getting that off the ground

to where it's making money to support my family in order to help pay off debt, or should I look for another job? What's your side business? Calligraphy and artwork. Okay what are you bringing in right now from it? Right now nothing because I haven't focused on it. I ended up getting stressed out with running a business for the first time and this was before I found the book Business Boutique. Okay. And, you know, I ended up getting overwhelmed because I'm one of the creatives where I try to do everything at once. Sure.

Oh, I hear you. That's really, really common. And you said you're in Baby Step 2, so you are in debt. I assume you don't have any savings? Yeah, we need to get our emergency fund back up because we ended up having to use it too. Sure. Well, I'll tell you, definitely the safer route is for you to pursue another full-time job where you can have a steady paycheck.

And then what's so great is, Rachel, when you pursue this full-time job, it doesn't mean you can't also work on your side business, grow your side business, get it off the ground, get it profitable. That's even more income coming in to pay off your debt like we were just talking about. And then eventually over time, it would be a great plan to use the stability of your full time job to live on and get out of debt. But then also you build this side business up where eventually it can support you and that does become your full time job. But I will tell you, business can be a blessing, but nothing will turn it into a burden instead of a blessing

like chasing money. And if you're in a position right now where you have no money and that side business cannot support you because it's not bringing in money, it's going to be a while before it can support you entirely financially and you will build that business from a place of desperation, not strength. You won't enjoy it and your

customers will feel it. And so instead, I want you to pursue, I would recommend you pursue another full-time job, a steady paycheck, a good income, help you pay off that debt, help you have some freedom and breathing room where you can, as a creative and business owner, build this business from a place of strength and joy

and abundance where you're enjoying this thing that you're building in the process. And then that doesn't mean it can't be your full time thing in the future. It's just probably not right to knee jerk reaction, try to force it to be your full time thing right now. And there's no indication that that thing can support you right now. That's right. And Rachel, and you're in a scary place.

I mean, you lost your job yesterday. So like there's fear around that. I mean, like the legitimate emotions you. So like, there's fear around that. I mean, like the legitimate emotions you're feeling are real and it's scary. And especially if your income is the one that's supporting and helping support even just paying the bills. And so I 100% agree with Christy. You need to replace that income ASAP. Find that job. You guys need to get back on steady ground, start working the plan again, paying off the debt, building back up that emergency fund.

And then you can say, okay, now I want to start this side business. And you may look up in 24 months and you may be able to make the jump and do that full-time, which is awesome. But there's not a proven track record. And I want you guys to be able to literally pay your bills. And it sounded like in your voice,

the desperation is that that's not possible without you getting a full-time job. So I would 100 percent agree. You need to get that income replaced immediately. Thanks so much for calling. Well, Christy, this was fun. This was fun. Maybe they'll let us do it again.

No, baby. We'll see. We'll see. Well, thank you guys for listening. And again, this is The Dave Ramsey Show. Once again, you made The Dave Ramsey Show one of the top five most downloaded podcasts last year. To get your daily dose of motivation and inspiration,

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