The Ramsey Show - App - Where Do You Want to Spend 90,000 Hours of Work? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: February 24, 2020

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

Coming to you live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions and broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show, where America hangs out to have a conversation about your life and your money. Sitting in for Dave Ramsey this hour, I'm Ken Coleman, and joined by Rachel Cruz. We're both Ramsey personalities, both best-selling authors. Thanks to Dave.

Absolutely. You know, he's just been so good to us. And every once in a while, he lets us all hang out, play in his sandbox. And so Rachel and I are together this hour taking your calls. It's your call, so what do you need an answer to? You got some money questions? Whether it's debt, budget, what do I do with investment, whatever you want, you can ask. Rachel's here.

Marriage and money. Marriage and money. Spouses. Boy, we both know that, right? Kids and money. Yeah. We get that. And also, I'm here to help you.

Hey, you're in a job where you just dread going in on Monday morning. The idea of getting in the car and heading in makes the anxiety spike. You feel like you're drowning the moment you get in the car. You want to make the move. You know what it is you want to do, but you don't know how to get there, or you don't know what it is what you want to do. That's what we're discussing. So it is your life, your money, your career, all coming to you this hour. 888-825-5225 is the number. 888-825-5225. But before we take your calls, very exciting because Rachel is back full time

from maternity leave. That's right. Little Charles. I know. She's doing fantastic. The girl's doing great and you're back. Yes.

How exciting is it? It's great. It's, you know, it's a little mixed emotion always. Has to be. You know, I mean, it is. And so, I mean, you moms out there, you know, it's just like, oh, it's your little baby. But I'm thankful for the work you do, Ken, because I get to be on the other side of the

tracks of people that dread Mondays that I actually was pulling into the parking lot here, even though, of course, it's so sad to leave for the first time. You're like, oh, but I'm like, I'm so thankful. I am driving to a place I love though I'm driving to work that I love work that I enjoy and what a huge gift and blessing that is it really really is and so I always think about you know the work you do Ken and I'm like man if everyone in America could do that right and go to work that they just love and are passionate about it helps it helps the hard times you know it really does it helps when you are off of maternity leave

because you're actually going to a job that you enjoy. Yeah, you're in a zone. You've got things you're doing today that you actually care deeply about. And so your head and heart get to shift for the moment. And then when you get in the car later today, it's total joy there as well. Yes, absolutely.

Going home to those babies. So question to you. Christy and I hosted last week, an hour, and so she was back. So she has three kids. I have three kids. You have three kids you have three kids right i want to know was the was that a harder transition for you and stacy to go from one to two or two to three oh my gosh two to three harder much harder yes i said that too christy disagrees well i just want another opinion she might be superwoman it wouldn't surprise me like i could see her saying that i think she's

legit and saying that i think she's legit and saying that i think that's her position but for me i've joked with with you and winston about this was daisy is like when it was two it was one-on-one all right so one of us could handle chase one with ty whatever now we need to go to three it's the power play the kids are in the power play they're ruling the house well i mean, they have the advantage. They've got the advantage. But the good thing is you've got the two little girls that are now older sisters to Charles. Yes. That's a game changer.

Yes. Like Amelia's already a little mama. Sure, sure. When I think about people that have the boys first, you're just like praying they're not in the hospital, like falling off of a bookshelf or something. Girls, a little less of that. Absolutely. It's good.

It's good to be back, Ken. It is good. Let's get to the phones. 888-825-5225. Let's go to Matt who joins us in Michigan. Matt, how can we help? Hey, guys. How are you?

We're living the dream. What's going on? Not a whole lot. I'm glad you guys are talking about kids because that kind of factors into my question. My wife and I are expecting our first child in June. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you.

I appreciate that. We're just trying to figure out if now is a good time to move, like from maybe two parents' perspective, if it would be a better idea to move after we've had a child or before. Okay, when, why the move? Our house is too small. Okay. So it's just size of home. And we were expecting the pregnancy to take longer.

Okay, so you're not moving because of job. You're not relocating to a different city. You're in the same city, same town, just moving to upgrade. Correct. What's your concern? You call this because you've got a concern and you want an opinion. So I have a two-part question. I want to know your concern or your wife's concern about moving before or after baby comes.

And then I want to know what your gut's telling you. So my concern is my wife loves the idea of a new house. So I don't think she would be honest with herself in telling me that, no, I don't think this is the right move right now. Or yes, it is. I think it's going to be yes all the way. And so my concern is, you know, from my perspective, I can make it work. But she's the one carrying the child. She's the one under all the extra stress. And I don't want to put that on her if she can't handle it.

Okay. Wait a second. What's the extra stress? Is it money stress? Because this is going to make things tight? Nope. Nope. Financially, it's the right move. We can make that work. Just the idea of moving and getting everything situated and set up and all that. So, Matt, it's just a logistical question. It's not. There's not a financial element to it for you guys. You guys are out of debt. You have your emergency funds.

I mean, all of that's set. You're good to go. It really is. Do you move before or after a baby? Basically, yep. It's that easy. Well, then I want to know what your gut is. Before you call us, I just want to know what you're thinking.

Then I'm going to tell you what I think. What's your gut? My gut is before. My gut is go now. Yeah, I agree. Because I think you make the transition now. Actually, I'm going to let Rachel take this because you just did this. Yeah, Matt.

I moved with a two-week-old. So I don't know how smart I am. But you have experience. I do, yes. What do you think? I think before. Yeah, oh, yeah. If you're able to do it before and you guys find the home, but I don't want it to be in a rush, right?

Like, I mean, a baby's a baby. You can move after. You can move before. I need you guys to make a wise decision. Are you finding the house? I don't want you to rush into a purchase because you're like, oh, okay, we only have a month. Oh, we just have to buy something. Like, take all the stress off the table and find something that you guys love.

If you find it before the baby and financially you're good, go. If you don't, I would say pause and wait. And then after the baby, then find something. So the home is the lasting impact, right? I mean, yeah, there could be a few weeks, months of like, oh, unpacking and like getting settled, but that's going to be here no matter what. So I would rather you have a smarter, that you find what you want. Don't be in a hurry because it's not a deal breaker. And here's the deal. At least, well, I don't know how

well she's sleeping. That's every, every woman handles that differently. But once baby comes, it's such a different routine. Yes. That I just, I just add to that to say, go ahead and do it now. And so that you're in and you're somewhat settled and you've got a routine change coming at your way anyway. So go ahead and absorb that routine change. Yes. Now I will say, well, I guess this would be true. I was going to say having a two week old, no one was expecting me to do anything.

So I sat on the couch with the baby. Well, you know what? I agree with that. Tell everyone where to go. By the way, I agree with that. But you'll do that nine months pregnant too, I guess. Yeah, you know, that's right. Here's the deal. I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm everyone where to go. By the way, I agree with that. But you'll do that nine months pregnant too, I guess. That's right. Here's the deal. I'll tell you what I'm doing.

I'm calling everybody I know. I'm going, listen, mama's going to have the new baby. We're moving in. Let's help us get in and just draw on that community of friends. It's not going to be as stressful as we make it out to be. No. Step into it. And congratulations. First baby coming. That's

so exciting and I'm so glad to hear Rachel that this is not a stretch for them financially. This is just change. I also sense that Matt, he's not real wild about change. So Matt, embrace it, man. Baby's coming and that's a lot of change. Alright folks, don't go anywhere.

Rachel Cruz, Ken Coleman, sitting in for Dave Ramsey this hour, taking your calls on money, career, and we're not going anywhere. You stay there. for Dave Ramsey this hour, taking your calls on money, career. We're not going anywhere. You stay there. More Dave Ramsey Show coming right up. If you do this one simple thing that we all do, you are literally at risk of being hacked and someone stealing what you've worked so hard for. Do you ever use public Wi-Fi?

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That's CyberGhost VPN. Download it today from your app store and be secure in seconds. Welcome back, America. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman, joined in studio by Rachel Cruz. Ramsey Personalities, we're part of Ramsey Solutions, and this hour, sitting in for Dave. So we're so excited to have you with us. A conversation that's open to you.

It is a free call, 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Rachel, the host of The Rachel Cruze Show. She's going to help you with your money questions. She's got it covered. Dad taught her well. I'm going to help you as host of The Ken Coleman Show on what is that work that you were created to do. See, we don't believe at Ramsey Solutions that you work to live, to get those four walls, as Dave talks about.

That's not what a job is about. You know, well, I've got to have a house. I've got to have food. I've got to have transportation. I've got to have some clothes. And if there's anything left over, well, then maybe we make a memory or two. That's not meaning. We believe that you live to work, to create, to contribute to this world.

And so you can do that through your work. The average American, Rachel, will spend 90,000 plus hours at work in their lifetime. You take that amount of time plus sleep and you're looking at a big portion of your life. So you can figure it out. You have the answers. What do you do best?

What do you love to do most? What results matter most? You have those answers. It's my job to pull them out of you. So career, work, toxic environment, saving up, killing debt, it's all open. Here we go, 888-825-5225. We'll go to Texas where James joins us.

James, how can we help? It's an honor to speak to you all. Thank you so much for taking my call. Sure, what's going on? So I'm currently working Baby Step two. I started in December. I got two jobs, and I'm looking to knock out the rest of my debt by probably early next year. Nice. And I was considering changing careers, and I wanted to start laying the groundwork

right now so that when I have no debt, it's much easier to make the leap. Yeah. I love that. Absolutely. And again, let's talk about what that looks like, because I don't even want this to be a leap. I want you building a bridge between now and next year when you pay that debt off, so that when you feel comfortable, you're just walking right out of this day job going, I'm out, deuces, and I'm debt free. So what does that look like for you? What is the role you want to step into? What career? So I've always been told that I have a radio voice by a lot of people, and I have never had a problem with public speaking. And so I was looking to transition into becoming a motivational

speaker. Okay. All right. What do you want to speak about and who do you want to speak to? Very important that you have answers to this. If you don't today, that's okay, but I'm curious to know what the answers are. Well, I wanted to speak—it's good that you don't need the details just yet, but about giving people hope, because so many problems that we encounter in our day-to-day lives, our first response is to just panic. But everyone, you, me, everyone has God's greatest gift, a brain capable of thinking its way out of almost any problem. James, what do you do now?

Right now I do billing for a logistics company during the day, and I cashier for Walgreens at night. Okay. So you would drop the cashier once we get out of debt, and then you're trying to figure out how to speak. So I'm going to be really, really straightforward with you, James. You've got some homework to do on those questions that I asked, and here it is. Number one, who is it that you most want to help? Think of the people. If you're going to stand up and speak to an audience, you have got to know who are those people.

I understand what you're saying. I love it. Your heart's saying I want to give them hope. Love that. It's great. But welcome to the human race. We all want to help people. The question is, who is the audience?

What is the big challenge they're facing that you want to bring hope to? You bring in a solution that brings hope. So Dave is the perfect example. Dave wants to speak to people who are in financial ruin or on the early side of finances, and he helps them eliminate the possibility that they could have financial ruin. That's Dave's audience. Financial peace is what Dave is looking to provide. And so you've got to know your audience. Who is it? And then how do you want to help them? What's your message? What are you going to speak to? Now, here's the reality. It's going to take you time to develop that. And for you to make what you're currently making

as a full-time speaker, or I would call it content provider, that's going to take time. You can do it, but I'm telling you, it's going to take time. Rachel, you can speak to that as well. Right. Because jumping careers, obviously, if you're jumping from an established career to another established career, you're just going right into a company or something. And that's kind of a different story. But when you're starting from the ground up like this, then, yeah, it is going to take a long – it's a longer runway. And I think that you just have to be realistic about that. But being in Baby Step 2, which I appreciate him saying, I want to start building that runway now so that once I am out of debt, then I can go and do something, which is so great.

Because, again, Baby Step 2, when you're getting out of debt, it is a lifestyle sacrifice. You may not be very excited right now. Now, if you had the opportunity to jump from $55,000 here to $55,000 here for a better job, then that's, again, different problem. But the thing here is that just remember the sacrifice is short term, but once you are out of debt, then that's when you're able to make a jump. You're making a good point here. He's not moving from, let's say, he's in accounting and he wants to move to engineering. That's a set list of qualifications he has to have.

Right. To be a public speaker and make money on it, to make a living or at least good side money, your only qualification is you have something to say and people want to listen to it. So it's getting up every day. So here's my challenge. The questions that I ask you to answer, answer them. But then once you get the answer, begin sharing content, whether it be a Facebook page or Instagram post or speaking to a local group of young men or at your church.

You have got to start communicating now and keep communicating and don't stop communicating. Don't stop writing and you will crystallize the message and get the experience. This is going to take time. So this is a straight side hustle. Think of it an entrepreneurial adventure because that's what this is. Absolutely. It's a side job for a long time until it makes you enough money that you can step right from what you're doing now into that role. And James, I would encourage you to starting small, especially in that world. That's a blessing and a gift. It can be frustrating at times, but you get to make many mistakes, tell really bad jokes that don't work. I mean, you get to test out all these things on a smaller

audience. That way, if your audience starts to grow, then you have some good content in place. But starting small, don't despise small beginnings is what we say around here, but it's true. We both did it. Painfully small. Lots of stuff. Let me remind you, I introduced a mime on a stage one time. So there you go. Let's go to Jeremy, who joins us next in New York.

Jeremy, how can we help? Hey, guys. I appreciate you taking my call today. My question is, my wife and I are in Baby Step 2, and we started this journey last June, and we've paid off $30,000 so far, $15,000 on credit cards, another $15,000 on my car. My wife has about $38,000 in debt on student loan left, and, um, I have about nine grand in on my vehicle and she's got 23 on hers. Um, I should have my vehicle paid off, uh, by next month and hers should be paid off by August of this year. Um, our lease is we're renting. We have two small kids,

uh, three and six. Our lease is up in, uh, in may, May of this year. And we originally planned on renting out a house just because the apartment is just a little cramped. So I wanted to follow the steps and not buy a house and just rent a house in the meantime, while we tackle the rest of the debt. But my um, really giving me a hard time, uh, about renting. She thinks, you know, we're not getting any equity, this and that, and that we should, you know, live with her mom for six months, you know, uh, save up as much as you can pay up, still pay off the cards, cars within six months, but have money for a down payment. Um, however, with that that we'll still owe a

school we'll still owe her uh her school loan and we won't have six months uh as emergency funds saved up which right now we have a thousand dollars and uh so jeremy you and the wife so you and the wife need to get on the same page and rachel can tell you how to do that yeah well for sure. You guys kind of are running on two different courses. There's one adjective I'm hearing over and over again that you're using, and it's hers, mine. And you hear that, and I'm like, okay, you guys have to be unified even on the debt. It's our debt together, not separating it.

And so that you guys really are, on an emotional standpoint, more unified. But she's wrong in the situation. I'll just say that. Jeremy, follow the baby steps. Get out of debt. Get that three to six months of expenses. And then save up for a down payment on a house. I know it's discouraging, but in the long run, it's going to save you so much money by doing it that way.

Jeremy, you've got to just tell her there's a reason for the renting right now. It is a solution that is absolutely best for us. Help her see why and then big picture. So tie the short term to the long term. That's how you cast vision to your wife or to anybody. I think if you do that, you just got to lead and Rachel's right. Work the baby steps. Don't move. More Dave Ramsey show coming right up. We've been voted one of the best places to work in Nashville 11 times. You want to know how we do it? Well, our team has been using LinkedIn jobs for years to find the best people from all over the country to come and help us change lives. Think about it.

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Post a job today at linkedin.com slash Ramsey and get $50 off your first job post. That's linkedin.com slash Ramsey. and get $50 off your first job post. That's linkedin.com. Terms and conditions apply. It's the Dave Ramsey Show, a beacon of hope for millions and millions all around the world. So thrilled to have you with us. I'm Ken Coleman, joined in studio by Rachel Cruz as we sit in for Dave Ramsey this hour,

taking your calls about money, life, and work. It's all open for you. What are your challenges? Where do you need some hope? You need some practical guidance. We're here for you this hour. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. She hosts the Rachel Cruz Show. She's a multi-best-selling author. I host the Ken Coleman Show, and I'm a best-selling

author. We're part of the Ramsey Network. So if we're new to you, you can learn about us, DaveRamsey.com. We are part of Dave's network, and we're thrilled to be with you today. 888-825-5225. 888-825-5225. Let me tell you what I almost did. What? I almost went into the Ken Coleman Show number because it's so ingrained in my head. And I just pulled it back.

You know what I mean? It can happen. That would be hard to have two caller driven shows. You got to be careful. You got those numbers in your head. They're in my head. But let me tell you who's in our ears next. It's Liz. She joins us in Kentucky.

Liz, how can we help? Hi, thank you for taking my call. Sure, what's up? So I just started Baby Steps to get that $1,000. I did not know what would consider as an emergency because I just got a letter in the mail stating that there was a shortage in my escrow of $503. I didn't know if I should just take it out because I was just going to take that $1,000 straight out of my tax refund, but I didn't know if I could,

if I should pay this or just divide over 12 months and add $42 to my mortgage. Yes. Well, how much debt do you have since you're on Baby Step 2 now? $14,000. $14,000. How much do you make? $43,000 a year. Yeah, that's great.

Are you married, kids? One daughter. Okay. I'm single. Yeah, that's great. Are you married, kids? One daughter. I'm single. Okay, perfect. I'm hoping to be paid, everything paid off by next summer. By next summer is your goal, a little over 12 months. Yeah, that's great. Yeah, so with the escrow, you can divide it over 12 months if you'd like.

But if you want to just get it out, you could. The way I always frame an emergency is, is it unexpected and is it urgent? So has something come up that you weren't expecting, which is this, and is it urgent to have to pay? And so I would say, yeah, you can do it over 12 months or you can write the check out of your emergency fund and then rebuild it. But working your way through that and then getting on to baby step two as quickly as possible is going to be your goal. I like her knocking it out now, even though it's going to hurt. Chris Hogan and I were talking about this the other day. Yeah. Both of us had recently had to go into our emergency fund just for a car thing. You know,

it was unexpected car thing. It just happens. And it always feels good, yet it stinks, right? It feels good that you have it, but you're like, oh, I worked so hard to get it here. And I think that that's the emotion she's going to face. But I like the idea of her paying it now. And I'll tell you why. Liz, you're going to feel a real sense of accomplishment and kind of a positive emotion, even though it stinks to write the check. After the fact, you're going to go, I had it and I knocked that out and I'm not taking $500 and spreading it out. I'm just going to knock it out and I'm going to build that thing right back up. Because, you know, it's $400-some-odd to get it right back to $1,000.

And I think that's what it's for. I think that's the genius in what Dave has done is it gives you a sense of, wait a second, this system actually works, and I can work it. Yes, and usually when you make decisions like that, feeling like you're going backwards, what it does is it motivates you to get it faster. So you may even find that you get the next $500 after the case even faster than when you built it up in the first place because you hate the feeling of seeing just $500 at that point. It's like a Band-Aid, Liz. Rip it off, write the check, get it done, and then get right back on the plan, build it back up. I think you're going to come out ahead there. 888-825-5225, the number. Now we go to Illinois where Nicholas joins us.

Nicholas, how can we help? Hey, so just to give you a little bit of a back story, my wife and I got married July of 2017, and then I was making about $50,000. She was making $36,000. Then thereafter, we started being the youth pastors at her church. That was paying us about $50,000. She was making $36,000. And then thereafter, we started being the youth pastors at her church. That was paying us about $10,000 a year. So we were at about $96,000.

Fast forward to today, we paid off about $30,000 in debt, saved up our three-month emergency fund. Wow. Saved up our Baby Step 3B, the down payment for our house. We just closed on it and also found out that we were pregnant at the same time. Hey! Oh, wow. Yeah, okay, here's what I'm calling. I got laid off in May.

I started a business. My business was doubling, you know, every month. It felt amazing. My wife had complications in the pregnancy, and she's practically on bed rest. Our emergency fund is slowly dropping every month because I'm not making enough in the business to cover all her bills. She got a raise. She was up to $50K before she had to leave her job. And I'm just at a place where I really want to keep going in the business, but it's just going down every month, and it's almost more depressing.

All right, so let me ask you this. You got laid off from the church. Am I understanding that correctly? Then you started this business. No. We left the church because we were too busy. Oh, okay. Both our full-time jobs and doing ministry.

Okay. And I got laid off from the car manufacturing plant. Oh, I got you. That was my job. So how much are you making with your side business, which is now your full-time thing? Yeah, if I'm lucky, probably $36,000 a year. Yeah, so that's a huge hit because that's $14,000 less than your salary, plus her $36,000 is gone, plus the $10,000 from the church. So it's a massive hit. So is this a

full-time thing? Do you have to be full-time on this business of yours to be able to generate the 36? No, I make good money hourly for the work that I do. I'm sorry, I started a cleaning business and I charge $30 an hour. And so, I mean, I'm working maybe 10 to 25 hours per week. So, Nicholas, here's the deal. Get back into the workforce. This is a day job right now, and I'm okay with day jobs because we know what the dream job is. You've got it, and you're actually working it, and congrats to you. $36K is no joke, and you're doing that on basically part-time hours. So, here's the deal. I want you back in the workforce trying to get as close to $50 as you can, and then you're working like crazy right now, but it's for a season

until she has the baby and then we decide, is she going back to work? You guys got some things you got to figure out. But right now in this job economy, 3.5% unemployment, Nicholas, and more jobs available than people who are unemployed. This is the time. So keep the side thing going, your business. Now it becomes a side gig again, and you get back to the workforce to see if we can get close to 50. Now you're at 86

and you're 10 off of where you both were together. That's the play right now, and you're motivated to do it. She's at home resting, baby's coming, you're in great shape, and that allows you to stop touching the emergency fund, build that emergency fund back up. That's right. And I was going to say the intensity level could be a little bit different, but you guys have a baby coming and a medical issue. So now it's just like all hands on deck. Like we're going to just make money however we can just to get some money in the door until all of this passes.

And then, again, once baby's here, mom's good, healthy, all of that, then you can start looking, okay, can I start shifting hours back to my other job that I was doing that I love and continuing that. But the urgency here is, the short-term urgency is because baby's coming and there's a health crisis. And let's play this out just a little bit further, Nicholas, so you can see a clear path going forward. Let's say a baby comes and your wife goes, you know what, I want to stay home, right? So what do you do? I'd stay in the day job, keep building your business and save as much of that as you can. So live off, if you've got to live off a good portion of it, but if you can keep building it and save, save, save, save, save to where you get essentially six months, maybe even a year's

worth of salary in the side business, then I would look to leave the day job. So just keep on going a little bit longer because it's going to set you up because you don't know how things are going to change when baby comes. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Let's go to a question for Rachel from Krista on Instagram. She says, what are your thoughts on getting a credit card consolidation loan? Should I go for it or stick to big? Why do I even read this? I know. Listen, consolidation, it's a mind game. You're moving money around and you're trying to play the math game.

But she's in baby step too. So she's trying to move stuff around. That's right. So listen, stick to the debt snowball. When you have these small debts, you get to knock off. The motivation is there. So much of this is behavior. And when you know I can do it, you have hope again. So the only debt consolidation, we even consider a student

loan debt because you're usually not going to go back into that. But debt consolidation, they act like it's going to fix everything, and it's not. Just pay off the debt. And here's the deal, folks. Let's just beat the drum. Dave Ramsey's baby steps work. There's lots of temptations out there. It's why Dave's seven baby steps are so very clear. Follow them. It takes into account all of those mind games and temptations that are coming your way. Stick to it. Hey, stay with us. More Dave Ramsey show coming right up. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Welcome, America. I'm Ken Coleman, joined by Rachel Cruz as we sit in for Dave Ramsey this hour.

Thrilled to have you with us. You know, one of the things that we take very, very serious around Ramsey Solutions is the idea of creating practical tools that could help you in your journey to get financial peace, or whether it be step into a job you love, the practical tools that walk alongside of you and allow you to walk out the things that we teach. And I can't think of a better tool that we've created at Ramsey Solutions than EveryDollar. The idea of a budget that goes with you on your phone, it's just unbelievable. There's nothing like it, Rachel. Yeah, I mean, it's one of the most horrible feelings when you feel helpless and out of control with your money. And you have no clue what's going on.

And that's like so many Americans. Their money just happens to them constantly, month in and month out. And there is no control. You are not controlling your money. Your money is literally controlling you and your decisions. And 78% of Americans, they're living paycheck to paycheck. And so when you get to that point when you're, you know, checking out the grocery store to get groceries or you're buying kids clothes or wherever it is and you're thinking, oh, gosh, is this okay? Am I not going to have the money to do X, Y, and Z that I want? You know, can bills be paid? You know, and all these questions swirl and then the

stress of money is upon you. Like so many people take it out. You can truly live a stress free life if you tell your money where to go. And every dollar does that. It is, it's a budgeting tool. There's an app on your phone. It makes it budgeting. I don't like to say it makes it easy because it still takes work and intentionality. You have to learn the process, but it makes it so efficient and you see everything clearly. I mean, it walks you through and people that finally live without debt, no more credit cards. They use their debit card. They're using every dollar and they're tracking their transactions. It feels like they got a race. They thought, where did all my money go? You know what I mean? Like that's how people feel. use their debit card, they're using EveryDollar, and they're tracking their transactions, it feels like they got a raise. They thought, where did all my money go?

You know what I mean? Like, that's how some people feel. But when you are in control of your money, that is so key. So make sure you download EveryDollar today and make the most of your money. Take control of it. EveryDollar.com to get started. Winston, Cruz, and myself, Winston and I, we use it every single month. Well, to your point, the app itself is so simple. Now, the hard work is in the discipline to say, okay, I'm going to live up to this.

But here's something else that you touched on I think is huge. I want to encourage folks really quick. The mindset change. When I have new knowledge, when I change the way I think, then I can change the way I act. But you can't feel your way into change. Right. But you can think your way into change. And thinking about this all the

time and looking at where your money's going, it's a game changer. All of a sudden you go, whoa. And so your behavior will change quicker and it will stay in a sustainable habit because of the fact that you see where your money is and where you're spending it. And budgeting, it can be hard. I mean, I'm a natural spender. I'm a free spirit. So budgeting really was the hardest part financially for me to get down because I was like, oh, my gosh, there's just so many details I have to keep up with so much. So many good sales. Yeah, I hated the idea of it. I really did because I just thought, man, it's going. Every time I heard the word budget, it was, oh, we can't go out to eat.

We're on a budget. We can't go shopping. We're on a budget. And I'm like, people on budgets are not fun people. That's how life is. But really, learning how to budget and living in it month in and month out, it has saved us money fights. It saved us money problems. It has gotten us on the same page. And we have truly gotten in control.

And it really is. It is the budget. And I now see it as permission to spend. Well, this is a good point. Because now you have fun budget meetings. Because you go, hey, we want to go here. We want to spend this. We this is a good point because now you have fun budget meetings because you go, hey, we want to go here. We want to spend this.

We still are going to do a budget, but now we're budgeting really fun things. Yes. Well, that and we've been doing it for nine years together now. We've been married 10. Congratulations. Well, you can do the math. We've been budgeting for nine. We've been married for 10.

That's right. Winston and Rachel Cruz. We didn't consistently budget the very first year of our marriage. Say it's not so. I know. Winston was the one that had to get me on board i thought oh man what is happening what is happening no but really we now our budget meetings when we had to do february's budget we're about to do marches yeah i mean they're 10 minutes long ken like it's not a big deal like it's not so once you make it a habit it becomes normal i just want to get ahead of things my birthday's in july so oh good we'll make a line i don't don't colman's birthday what are you 35 thank you we're gonna move on

triple eight eight two five five two two five up next is kiara in texas i hope i said that right how can we help hi yes um just call me kia and thank you for taking my call. So I go to a community college in Denton, Texas, and I had a question about how to do the debt snowball while struggling to find a job. I had to quit my last job because I have multiple sclerosis and I have no immune system. So that was a real hit on my income completely. I'm only 19, but still it really, really hurts me financially. And earlier, um, last semester I had gotten financial aid money and I stupidly bought some things like a really expensive laptop and I bought it on credit and I didn't pay it off right then and there. And now my interest has doubled. Um, interest is really kicking my butt and I was hoping that y'all can help me, um, try and get back on track

because finding a job is really hard right now. And Kim, I'm so sorry. No, it's fine. It's a hard, it is, it's a hard place to be though. And especially when you start to feel hopeless and you're just like, man, nothing, nothing, it seems to be working. And so I'm really, I'm really sorry about that. So my question to you is, do you, are you making any money right now? Not really. I mean, I do art commissions, but that doesn't pay anything. How are you living?

How are you eating? I live with my parents right now. Okay. They're willing to help me. For sure. In regards to getting me through college because I want to be an ultrasound tech. Okay. That's great. It's a lot of college. Sure, sure. No, but I mean, that be a ultrasound tech. Okay. So that's great. Yeah. It's a lot of college.

Sure. Sure. No, but, but I mean, that's a great situation. And some people, you know, we always say to move home to save money while in college, that is not a bad option because your goal here is to get the degree. So I think that's really smart of you, especially now. So I would say your goal right now is to cashflow college. And so staying current with all of your debt, but I want you, this is your first step. So we say this to people in college is to make sure you're not going deeper in debt. Okay. So I want you to be able to pay the bills that you need to pay, stay current and then save up money for next semester and so forth to be sure that you are cash flowing and not going deeper in the hole. Yeah, I like that. And I, you know, I would look

at things like, it's like she needs a budget of her time as that. And I, you know, I would look at things like, it's like she needs a budget of her time as well. And one of the things that gets very overwhelming for people is like, okay, I'm a student, I've got to work. And it just feels like, ah, how do I do it? As opposed to going, okay, if I could make money, what would be the window that I could make money in? What, how many hours could I legitimately give? And all of a sudden you just begin to kind of make that monster not so big. You break it down and go, okay, I could do this. This will bring in this amount of money. Then you just stick that right in the snowball. And what you'll sense is, is a lot of momentum. And this, this idea that you can't get out of it and it's really hard to get a job. It's just, that's all a fear-based thing. It's all fear.

And people start to go, well, I'm afraid of this and I'm afraid of that. And here's what happens. All the things you're afraid of and all the things you doubt, that becomes your focus. And so you see that everywhere. You just have all this evidence that just keeps mounting up as opposed to going, wait a second, I can do this. It is going to take a while. It stinks, but I can make progress. That mindset, you have to shift to that. And I would say Kia too, maybe it's working at home because of your health situation. That's right. But the great thing is now, because of the internet, because of all the technology we have,

you're able to freelance. You're able to do so many things from home. And so maybe that's what you choose to do for the next couple of years just to make an income. So there are creative ways still to make money. That's right. Again, it's harder. There is a stumbling block there, but it is still possible. And by the way, hopefully you can overcome that, right? So there are temporary seasons where you can't, but get the mindset that I can dig my way out of this. All right, let's take a question

from Sean on the official Ken Coleman community on Facebook. Are you a part of that? So official. I know. I don't know why they call it official. Maybe there's a, maybe there's a non-official. Who knows? Sean writes in, I have the opportunity to sell insurance with a well-known company, but I'll be required to sell products I don't agree with. Whole life insurance, for example, is my ethical dilemma just in my head, or is it genuinely legitimate? It is genuine. And this is the thing you've got to understand, Sean. If you compromise and go, well, I need a job. It's a decent company. They're not bad people, but they sell a product that is not necessarily unethical in this situation. It's

just bad. Dave's talked many, many hours about whole life insurance. Is it unethical? But is it a good product that you believe in? The answer is no. So here's the deal. If you do this, it will gnaw away at you. It will continue to eat away at you to where you get to the point where you feel terrible about yourself. So there's other great gigs out there that sell great products. Pass. Hard pass. Rachel Cruz, thanks for being with me. Yeah, thanks, Ken.

Always fun. Thanks for having me. I want to thank our producer, James Childs. Sitting in for Kelly today is Madison Browder. We want to thank you, America. Thanks for being with us. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. This is James Child, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show.

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