The Ramsey Show - App - You Don't Know What the Future Holds, So Don't Hang On to Debt (Hour 3)

Episode Date: September 17, 2020

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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studio, this is the Dave Ramsey Show. It's where America's hanging out, having conversation about life, money, work, family, relationships. We talk about it here. It is real life. And I'm Ken Coleman. I'm host of The Ken Coleman Show, which is a part of the Ramsey Network, one of the Ramsey personalities and

author of the number one bestselling book, The Proximity Principle. And I'm here with you this hour. We are going to take your calls. And I'm excited about the conversation. 888-825-5225. That's the phone number to jump in. 888-825-5225. So we're going to start it off in Lima. I think it's Lima. Is it Lima or Lima? I think it's Lima. I knew that.

Okay. We're going to go with Lima, Ohio, and that's where Leah is. Leah, how can I help? Hello, Ken and Chris. How are you guys? Well, it's just Ken, but I'm doing well. How can I help? Hello, Ken and Chris. How are you guys? Well, it's just Ken, but I'm doing well. How can I help? Oh, well, that's a good thing. I have a question about a job. Okay. My husband and I, we are currently on Baby Step number two. We owe about $5,000 left on Baby Step two. The current company that I'm working for, I drive semi-truck.

I've been there about seven months, but I've been working there for about a little over a year. I had to take off some time last year. Okay. But I'm making about $400 a week right now, working about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. And so that's about $400 a week, $17 an hour.

And my husband's an owner-operator truck driver, so he makes the majority of the money. I have the opportunity, and I'm not sure if I want to take it or should take it or what. I guess I need some convincing or some okay tell me what this go to it sure yeah i can i can i can feel the fear and doubt in your so we're gonna we're gonna expose that fear and doubt in a second but let's talk about this opportunity what is it that's before you it is with the company that my husband is leased on to. We live in a small town called Anna, but the closest city is Lima.

Okay. Oh, it is Lima, by the way. Thank you. Now I got that right. Okay. So what would you be doing for this company that your husband is also a part of? Driving for my truck as well. Okay.

So you're still going to be in a driving position. Tell me all the good things about this opportunity. They are very family-oriented. They are all Christians and have high values and good morals. They are a small family-run company. And I would be making about $1,100 a week opposed to $400. Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, Leah. All right. So what is the bad news or what is the uncertain news? What is causing you to call and ask, should I take this massive raise? What's going on?

Well, the company I've been with with i've been there for some time and so they know how i run and what loads i like to go to and what states i like to go to and all that they already know all that stuff and this new company i'm i really want to i just i guess i just need like a little kick or something to say just go. I don't know how to break the news to my current company that I want to leave. Okay, all right. So, Leah, here's what I'm hearing. You're asking me to say, should you do this?

And the answer is yes. But the reasons that you are having some doubt or you're nervous about this change is because number one you don't like change is that right this change just makes you feel a little unsettled they don't know me they don't know what routes i like to drive here's the deal you're driving a truck so there's no major difference there i think you're nervous about change which is okay a lot of people don't like change. It's a natural, natural thought process. It's okay, but it's going to be great. And I think the other thing you're worried about is what you consider to be a confrontation. In other words, it's an uncomfortable conversation

that you've got to have with these people you've been working with, and you're nervous about breaking up with them, aren't you? Very. Oh, it's the breakup conversation actually um i told my boss today that i needed off tomorrow and now they're still wanting me to work and i'm like well maybe but i took off work tomorrow to ride with my husband so i could figure out the new route that i would be doing there you go good. Good decision. That's going to help you get more comfortable with this change. But here's the deal. Leah, did you ever break up with a boy in your life? Have you ever broken up with somebody? Not really, no. That's what I thought. You never had to break up with somebody. And so I remember one of the worst breakups I ever had. I'll never forget it, James. It's college. And at the end of the date, the girl says to me, we need to talk. And by the way, in the history of the world, when somebody says we need to talk, has it ever been good? No, the studio audience out there like, no, it's never good when somebody goes,

we need to talk. And so she says to me, we need to talk. And I go, oh, great. And so she then starts to cry. She's crying. I mean, really breaking down, Kelly. I'm talking like something really bad happened. So I go from thinking that we need to talk is going to be bad news for me to, oh, it's not about me. Something bad has happened in her life. And guess what? It was all about me. She was breaking up with me, but she was destroyed. She was emotionally wrecked in breaking up with me. And so here's the point.

To me, I look back on it now and I go, you know what? The reason she was emotional, I believe 50% of it was her trying to manipulate the situation. But I really believe she had some really rough emotions because she was having a hard time just saying, I don't want to date you anymore. And so you're dealing with that right now. The idea of you going in there and looking at your leader and going, hey, listen, it's not you. It's me. I want to go over here.

And so it's just dealing with, are they going to think you here and so it's the it's it's just dealing with are they going to think you're a jerk because you've only been there a year are they going to think that you're a flake are they going to say something bad about you and you're all up in your head and you're worried instead of going this is a great opportunity you're focused on what they may think about you and what they may say about you instead of going, I'm getting a massive raise, $700 per week raise. That's $2,800 over a four-week month. So that's a massive, massive opportunity. And this is a no-brainer.

Leah, I'm having fun with you. I'm trying to help you see how silly that fear is. And fear will just get in our head and it will lie to us and say, oh, they're going to say bad things about you. And here's what I think. If they say bad things about you, taking a great opportunity to make more money, to further your vision, your husband's vision, your dreams, these aren't good people. Who wouldn't? Maybe you're sad a little bit that you're leaving if they really value you, but they're going to be happy for you.

So here's the deal. Take the day off tomorrow, get in the truck with the hubs, figure out the route, get comfortable, get over all that fear of change, and then walk in there, head up, eyes ahead. Hey, I got a great opportunity. Thank you so much for all you have done to give me the opportunity. This is a no-brainer. I got to go do this. But you've been great. How can I finish well?

That's all you got to do. All right, I'll tell you what else you got to do. You got to stay put. We got more calls coming your way. And an amazing debt-free screen coming up. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. I get asked all the time about what people need to do to improve their family's money situation. Two of the most overlooked things are term life insurance and disability insurance.

Both plans make sure that you have income to pay bills and take care of yourself and your family if something were to happen. For term life, you need to carry 10 to 12 times your income, and I recommend 15 or 20-year plans for most families. Stay away from cash value or return of premium plans. They're just a ripoff. Disability insurance is just as critical. How are you going to pay your bills if you're unable to work? Disability is the leading cause of bankruptcies and foreclosures, and that's why I send you to Zander Insurance. They've been helping my listeners find the right plans at the lowest cost for almost 20 years. Call 800-356-1780 or visit zander.com and compare online. That's 800-356-1780 or zander.com.

Welcome back, America. You're listening to The Dave Ramsey Show, where we talk about your life through the lens of money, your career, your relationships. And we are so excited you're here. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, host of The Ken Coleman Show, which is a part of the Ramsey Solutions Network. And I'm with you this hour as we take your calls. 888-825-5225, 888-825-5225. You need to find out for yourself why Blinds.com is the number one online retailer

of custom window covering. You get free samples, free shipping, and with the new promos they run every month, you save even more. If you use the promo code RAMSE ramsey you will get the best deal that's the promo code ramsey rules and restrictions do apply today's question comes from nick in new york he visited davramsey.com to ask i will graduate with a master's in school counseling in about a year and i hope to find a job asap upon graduation.

I am currently working at a nursing home but was offered a position working with kids at the Boys and Girls Club for about $5 less per hour. Do you think it is wise to take the loss in pay to build my resume? I worry that I have zero paid experience with that population. I do have two years of unpaid internship in schools, but often jobs do not accept that. Okay, in this situation, Nick, I would not take the $5 an hour cut to work with kids at the Boys and Girls Club for a couple of reasons. Number one, I think you can get experience when you say working with that population, you're talking about younger kids. I think you can get that experience paid by doing it part-time. So I would, in this situation, go to the Boys and

Girls Club since they want you there and go, hey, I need to be full-time for this reason. I'm a full-time student, but I do want to work. And so can I work with you part-time? And so instead of a full-time job making $5 an hour less, you're going to pick up maybe five to 10 extra hours a week. It's still going to look like experience. See on the resume, people aren't going to look at you and go, well, how many hours a week did you work with this age group? They're not going to ask you that. And so I think you can get the experience that you want and need without sacrificing your financial position. In fact, in this suggestion that I have made, you're going to actually make more money. So that's what I would prefer you do. 888-825-5225.

That's the number, 888-825-5225. Let's go to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Max joins us. Max, how can I help? Hi, Ken. Thank you very much for taking my call today. You bet. What's up, Max? So I was thinking of buying an expensive TV and gaming console in a couple of months, but I just had a little bit of a kind of predicament. So I lost my job earlier this year due to COVID, and I don't have any, like, reliable sort of income.

But I really wanted to buy this gaming console and TV, but I just didn't know if it was a smart idea. No, not right now it's not. But let's come up with a plan to when it becomes a smart idea. Max, tell me how old you are, what's your relationship situation, what kind of work were you doing, and what were you making? So I'm 19. I go to college at UNLV, and I worked as a PBX operator in a hospitality organization.

Okay, and what were you making per hour? I was making $13.37 an hour. Okay. And have you worked since then, since being laid off for COVID? No, I have not worked since then. How much does the gaming system, TV and the whole system, how much was that total expenditure? It would be around $2,000. Whoa!

$2,000? I! $2,000? I'm completely debt-free, though. Yeah, I know, but you're 19 and you're broke. So while I love the fact that you're debt-free, and I applaud you for that, you don't need a $2,000 gaming system right now. You need a job. Okay? And you are what year at UNLV sophomore uh yes okay

and what's the plan what's the dream right now and if you don't know what the dream is what are a couple of ideas you've got um well in the future I want to I'm studying hospitality management so I want to be uh somewhere in maybe finance or marketing or human resources and HR organization. But I'm trying to get a job as soon as possible. It's been very hard with COVID because a lot of people have way more experience than I do and they got laid off. I know. And Las Vegas is tough, but here's the deal. You're 19. So at 19, I'm not concerned if you have a industry specific job. I love that you're clear on what you i'm not concerned if you have a industry specific job i love that you're clear on what you want to do and where you want to do it in fact i'm really proud

of you but at this point 19 i'm delivering pizzas i'm delivering i'm driving uber i'm doing whatever because i need some money because i'm a full-time student are you living at home uh no um so i pay for my college education and my parents paid for my housing and food here in vegas i got a scholarship though for twenty five thousand dollars good for you so max i gotta tell you something man you know what you're a bright young dude you need to go get a job and this is not listen this is day job stuff man this is delivering pizza working at a home improvement store just get out there and get some money and you need to you need to save some money and you need to get to a much better place um i i'd like to see you what's your savings look like do you have any savings at all

have you been using that uh no i don't spend a lot of money. I have about $28,000 or $30,000 saved up. Okay, well, that's new information. $28,000 to $30,000, that's really good for a 19-year-old. Yeah, I started working when I was 16 years old. My mom, she introduced me to Dave Ramsey's whole program. She is completely debt-free. My mom and my dad, they're debt-free. And ever since then, I haven't taken out any student loans, any credit cards.

Okay, good for you. Okay, good for you. So you're actually not broke, not for 19. So I need to amend my statement. You didn't give me all the facts. That wasn't, you know. But here's the deal. Here's what I want. I want you working again. And then once you get back to working again, I want you to save up on a monthly basis for this gaming system. Uh, because now

you're, you're, you're a good student, I'm guessing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So here's the deal. I don't want you touching the savings account for this gaming system but once you get hired you save up the money and then you can buy the system i think that's okay i think that's a nice deal that's you're a diligent kid i think it's crazy expensive uh but if you if you save up a little bit each month and keep the discipline that you have shown to this point in your young life then i uh then i'm okay with that i think that's okay but yeah i didn't know the whole picture but uh wow two thousand dollars gee whiz here's my only issue uh so i've got three kids i got two boys one middle school one high school and and they love playing on their playstation so the playstation is like i don't

know 399 or something like that i think is what it was and then they got a i think i got them like a 32 inch tv which i i was i'll bet it was 200 bucks so i don't know what in the world is going into that two thousand dollar game system james is that like booming speakers and all of that it's plated in gold i think yeah yeah so uh i sure would like to see you do it for $750 and put the rest of that money away. But you are a diligent, sharp young man. And wow, $2,000. Okay, so here's the deal. So this young man, he's got this hobby. He's done a good job and he wants these great things. And it reminds me of a call that we took recently where a guy had been very diligent,

was debt-free, except the mortgage, and had done a great job of saving money, and yet he wanted to buy a $40,000 SUV, brand new. And so when you look at the ratios, folks, you've got to look at the big picture. When you've been sacrificing and you've been struggling in this debt-free journey and you get out of Baby Step 2 and you get Baby Step 3 fully funded and now you're starting to work through 4, 5, and 6 and you've got a little bit of breathing room, here's what happens. Because you've been struggling for so long and you've been focused for so long, what happens is you go, I want to splurge. And I think splurge is great. It's a wonderful reward. However, we've got to be careful that the splurge. And I think splurge is great. It's a wonderful reward.

However, we've got to be careful that the splurge isn't too big. What's the percentage of the splurge? You've got to be really, really careful that you don't slip out of all of that great discipline and splurge too much. A little splurge, good. A big splurge better be within the right percentages. It better make a lot of sense. All right, coming up next, a debt-free scream live from our lobby here at Ramsey Solutions. Don't move. This is the Dave Ramsey Show.

Hey, guys. At The Dave Ramsey Show, we really value your input. It helps us to know what's important to you so we can deliver relevant content to help you crush your money goals. We just launched a brand-new survey, and we'd love your feedback. It only takes a few minutes, and you'll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. No purchase necessary. Take the survey at DaveRamsey.com slash survey or text survey to 33789. Welcome back, America. welcome back america you're listening to the dave ramsey show i'm ramsey personality ken coleman sitting in this hour with you triple eight eight two five five two two five we're gonna have a conversation about your life that includes your money your career your relationships

and uh it is so exciting when we have people in the lobby. We've got a phenomenal group of people out in the lobby here today of Ramsey Solutions. And across the aisle here is Donna, who is standing on the debt-free stage. She's here for a debt-free scream. Donna, welcome. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I am living the dream and it looks like you are too. You bet. So good to have you with us. Where are you from?

Pensacola, Florida. I've been there for two years, originally from Oklahoma. Okay, great. And how much debt did you pay off? $120,000 total in 16 months. Whoa, in 16 months. And range of income during that time? Joe and I started with $100,000 for base pay total, and then with overtime, it got up to $160,000, and now it's down to $40,000. Okay, and i'm i'm gonna do some quick math here joe yes is not here joe's not here where is joe joe's with jesus oh my gosh and so you guys did this journey we did this together we got out of debt together yeah wow unbelievable what happened Yeah. Wow. Unbelievable. What happened? He was scuba diving, his favorite thing to do. And they don't really know what happened. Our friends that are in medicine that know him and know what he was experiencing said they think he had a blood clot in his leg that probably went to his lungs.

But the autopsy doesn't show anything definitive for that. Wow. Well, I'm so, so sorry for your loss. 49. 49 years of age. How long ago did this happen? Three months. Oh, my goodness. And so you did the debt-free journey together. So you get debt-free.

Yes. And what's the timeline between you guys get debt-free and then he passes away? Well, our goal was to get the end of the debt paid off before the cruise oh gosh which we have cruise shirts i see that yes that's right my daughter harmony had these made up she and her husband and joe and i were going on the cruise so we got it paid off before the cruise yeah and then my youngest, his wedding got postponed because of COVID and his wedding was the end of June. And one week exactly before the wedding was when Joe passed. And my debt free screen was supposed to be two days after the wedding.

And we moved it to today. Oh, my goodness. So and there's a hurricane on my house. I know. As soon as you said Pensacola, I saw pictures of it in the news yesterday. The downtown Pensacola was underwater. The streets were flooded. Bless your heart. Well, I'm not going to ask you how you're doing, because this has got to be one of the most confusing emotional times, because you and Joe go through this together.

Yes. An unbelievable journey, and then all of a sudden it hits. And I've just got to ask you, I mean, you're three months into this. Yes. An unbelievable journey. And then all of a sudden it hits. And I've just got to ask, I mean, you're three months into this. I'm just trying to figure out what life is like on the other side of this. How if i was having to um meet all the obligations of what people normally have to deal with on forty thousand dollars a year did you pay the house off as well we did oh my gosh oh that's incredible seven baby stuff seven and so you you're dealing with this pain and and yet you've got some peace. You do have true financial peace. What do you do for a living?

We both work for the U.S. Postal Service as mail handlers, working during the night. Okay, wow. And so what do you say to people about this journey that you all went through? Because you did this together, and I'm just curious. Well, let's go back. I'm trying to process what you're dealing with and I can't because it's unbelievable and your strength is just unbelievable. So inspired by you. What caused you and Joe to look at each other and go, hey, we got to get out of debt? So when we got engaged, he knew that I didn't have any debt. And he said, said well I've got 70,000 in debt

and so I said okay you know you have to get out of debt he's like yeah I know did you did you say I'd give you a conditional yes or did you say yes then we got to do it I said I will be your cheerleader while you get out of that debt interesting so you didn't say yes I know I said yes to getting married okay all right I didn't know know if you said, I'll say yes once you do this. But you went ahead and did it. And so he said, yes, ma'am. Yes. He says, I have no idea how to do that.

Okay. And I didn't believe him. So, ladies, listen to your husbands if they say they need your input. Because I really didn't think. I thought he was just being sweet. Yeah. He was being honest. He had no clue.

And I said, well, you've got to pay off that lowest card first. And he did. And after we got married, came back from the honeymoon, I get a bill in the mail a month later, and he had filled it up again. And I said, what happened? He goes, I told you I don't know how to do this. I need your help. I went, oh, he really meant it. Yeah, right.

He really needs my help. So I started researching, and that's when I found Dave Ramsey's podcast and then I started watching the YouTube show when I woke up because that's what time I woke up in the afternoon to go to work and I would watch it live and then I would go to work and then work eight hours and then I'd work overtime and listen to the podcast that I just watched that day during my overtime is my motivation to not go home, to stay there. Yeah. Wow. All right. So what would you say to people, if you could have everybody in the world who's struggling with debt and they're looking at this journey, they're going, can I actually get through the baby steps? What would you say the key is to get where you are now? I would say for someone that's our age, it was second marriages for us. And it's really,

really important to, as Dave says, put all the money on the table, put all income and all the debt on the table and fight it together. Because I had looked at, we were both doing the every dollar budget separately. And on his budget, it showed in the debt category, he was making minimum payments of $2,300 a month. I said, you realize what life would be if you didn't have those $2,300 of debt payments, if you could just do whatever you wanted for that. And he goes, well, I've always just worked enough overtime to make it happen. I said, but you're not getting anywhere. And so by us combining our finances, it wasn't just me cheerleading for him.

I had skin in the game now. Yeah, you did. And so nobody thinks on the outset of this debt-free journey that tragedy is somewhere on the other side. Yet we know it's all, we know it's possible, but we don't sit around thinking about that. But here you are debt-free and still healing after the tragic loss of your partner who walked through this journey with you. Why is this journey so important given the fact that you have faced the unexpected? Well, because you don't know what the future is going to hold.

There's no way you'd want to hang on to debt. Yeah. You don't know what could happen in your life. And it's not just the death of a spouse. It could be all sorts of things that could happen. And you can't, it's really, really hard to handle it if you have that over your shoulders. My daughter and her husband were an incredible resource for me once before in my life, and I lived with them for a year. So when this happened, they said, oh, please come live with us again. And I said, you know, last time I needed to be with you financially, but mentally I was okay. This time I don't need to be with you because of finances, but emotionally is where I need help. So it's a different situation here.

And in the lobby, we can see Harmony and her husband Malachi. That's two of my kids. Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood. So the two kids, I apologize. If they punch each other, you'll know they're not married. I get it. So we've got Harmony and Malachi, two of the kids.

And I know you're so proud of your mom and your dad. And I know you all are hurting as well. So I'm going to tell you something on behalf of everybody here. We're hurting for you. But we're so excited that you've got peace. So here it is, folks. Donna and Joe, watching from above, Donna and Joe, paid off $120,000 in 16 months. Including the house.

Including the house. Donna, take it away. Let's hear a debt-free scream for you and Joe. Joe, we did this together. Three, two, one. We're debt-free! Woo dead free! Holy moly. My goodness. That is so powerful. If you've ever wanted to know why you would watch this show on the YouTube channel, this is why. Wow. Unbelievable stuff. James and Kelly,'ve got to go to break or I'm going to completely snot all over the microphone.

Don't move. More of the Dave Ramsey Show. I'm Ramsey Personality. Ken Coleman with you this hour. 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. That's 888-825-5225. Our scripture verse of the day, 1 Peter 3.14, But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. And our quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. And boy, oh boy, is she right about that. In today's day and age, it doesn't matter how good you are and how right you are, somebody doesn't like it. And what a great reminder that you need to do what's right and let the rest take care of itself.

888-825-5225 is the number. Let's go to San Antonio, Texas. Desiree is there. How can I help? Hi, Ken. Thanks for taking my call. Sure. What's up? So I have been a school instructor for over seven years, and I decided to branch off and start my own swim school. We started this year, but in light of coronavirus, we made it really, like, low, like, paying-wise. But my question was, for next year, I'm not sure because it's a seasonal job right now because I can only travel to different pools. I wasn't sure what I would do during off-season when it comes to making money.

What is the, tell me what this off, excuse me, tell me what the regular season is. I want to say around like April, May when it starts getting warm, and then we're just ending it this year in September because the waters are getting cold. All right. So we'll say April to September. That's your season. And do you feel like if we have some sense of normalcy, I know this is a wacky question, everybody's afraid to answer this one, but if we didn't have COVID times,

do you feel like that income would be at a place where it would take pretty good care of you? Well, since I just started, I'm working at my clientele. But for us being in this time, I feel like we did pretty well. Okay, good. All right. So how much money would you want to make in that off season? So we'll say October to March. What would that monthly income need to be?

Oh, um, you see how important it is to know that? Because yeah, yeah, what, what, let me, let me put it this way. You've been a swim instructor for a long time. Now you're out on your own. When you were a swim instructor, it was still a seasonal job correct no um swim schools are indoor that's the ah okay i got you all right well so what did you make previous to this what was your yearly income the last time you think of your w-2 what was your income before you launched out on your own um i was probably making around 16 an hour hour maybe. Okay. All right. I don't know the yearly, to be honest. Okay.

I got it. I left at $20. Okay. Gotcha. All right. So your question for me is what do I do for work during the off-season? Is that what I'm hearing? Yeah, basically, yeah.

Okay. And this is the dream, right, to make the swim school your full-time gig? I mean, it obviously is now, but the goal is for this to be the thing, correct? Yeah. I do plan on trying to go year-round as well, but I'm at my starting point. Well, I wonder, can you get back into the swim industry? And here's where I'm going with this. So before you answer that question, I'm wondering, what can you do in the sport of swimming?

Let's just call it that, okay? Where someone else is paying you during this off-season. So from October to March, you're working for somebody else. And in that sector, if you will, you're making wonderful relationships and connections that it's not a conflict of interest, but you're rubbing shoulders with the right people or potential clients for your actual swim school. Have you thought through that idea? Yes, but at the same time, a lot of them make you sign non-compete disclosures.

Okay, that's all I needed to know. So you answered that question for me. All right, so at this point, I would look at this as day job and dream job. When you're in the, from the months of April to September, you're operating that swim school and that's your dream job. And then when September's done, you move back into the day job idea. And so you can basically do whatever you want is the answer, but I think it's hourly type work or maybe even another type of seasonal work that is that this would be ideal if you found work for somebody. And they went, oh, this is great because your off season is our on season and we need workers.

And so you jump into that and then you don't have as much turmoil and turnover every time that your swim school season is done. That's what we want to get to. And I'm saying this in light of the fact it may take you two or three years to build your swim school revenue up to where it really can take care of your needs. Are you following me? Yes. So I think that's ideal. But we don't need ideal. Look for ideal. But ultimately, it's whether you're delivering pizzas or you're working retail or you're waiting tables or whatever the situation is. You just need to put a target out there.

Let's call it $16 an hour because that was the last known check that you were getting when you worked for somebody else. So let's come up with a number, $16 to $20 an hour, whatever it is. And that's your target. We go get that. And we know it's seasonal and there's high turnover in these type of things so waiting tables whatever there's high turnover if you do a great job and i'm going to use the wait wait your scene as an idea i'm not telling you you've got to do this but let's say you go to one of these uh hourly type jobs and you do a really good job

and they they really love you because of how great you are as a team member. And you say to them, hey, this is after two or three months maybe of establishing rapport. You go, listen, I love it here. This is great. I operate a swim school during the months of April to September. And so I will have to leave, but I would love to come back if there's ever a spot for me. And you just begin to build those relationships. And as you're even looking for work, you tell people what your situation is, and there may be people that are looking for that, and they go, man, this gal, Desiree, she's a go-getter. She's an entrepreneur.

She's going to be providing jobs one day. I think you just build the relationships in your community where they realize what you need in this season of building. And so I think you do whatever you want to do. Make sense? Yes. All right, Desiree, go do it. I'm proud of you. Really proud of building. And so I think you do whatever you want to do. Make sense? Yes. All right, Desiree, go do it. I'm proud of you.

Really proud of you for pursuing the dream. And here's the encouragement for other people who may be in Desiree's shoes. You've just launched something on the side, or you're thinking about launching it. And I really want to talk to those of you right now that you've got this idea, and it's just welling up inside of you. You go. I want to start this. I want to do this thing. But you're scared. Let's talk about the fear and the doubt because fear's got this ugly cousin called doubt and they love to hang out together and they love to feed off of each other and they whisper things in your ear like you can't do this or you will fail and what you've got to do is is you've got to do what Desiree did and at some

point she took that expertise the things that she's good at that's talent she then she took that passion the idea of teaching and instructing swimming and she said you know what I'm going to marry that with the mission and I want to create a school that I can run, and I'm self-employed, and I'm teaching young people or people of all ages how to swim. She put it all together, and she said, I'm going to go do this. What you've got to do is come up with a plan. See, it's very scary when there's a lot of unknowns. What you've got to do is, whether it's a swim school or whatever your idea is,

you've got to use the proximity principle. Get around people that are doing it successfully get in places where that work or that type of business is happening that you want to do and here's what happens you get around the right people and get around the right places you begin to clarify what's involved what will it really take and then your heart gets connected to the head. Once the head gets the info, your heart comes alongside and goes, boy, this is exciting. Now that I know what it takes, and it's not so scary, I get excited about this future. We call it a desired future here at Ramsey Solutions. And when you can get the head and the heart connected through information, you've clarified and verified it. Oh, listen, now it's just about the steps.

What do I need to learn? What do I need to do? How much will it cost? Based on my financial reality, how long will it take? Folks, that's how you put a plan together. Once you have a plan, it's not so scary. And then you'll find that that clarity I just walked you through turns into confidence, the confidence to step out. And then confidence breeds courage when you get really scared to stay on course. Hey, I want to thank our producer, James Childs, our associate producer, Kelly Daniel. I want to thank Dave for allowing me to sit in and host the show. So much fun. I want to thank you, America. This is about you and your life, and you make it possible.

You are why we do what we do. Thank you so much for listening. This is The Dave Ramsey Show. Dave here. We just launched a brand new survey, and we'd love your feedback. You'll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. No purchase necessary. Take the survey at DaveRamsey.com slash survey or text survey to 33789.