Don’t Let Your Present Circumstances Define Your Future

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show Episode: Don’t Let Your Present Circumstances Define Your Future
Release Date: December 4, 2024
Host: Dave Ramsey
Co-Host: Ken Coleman
Description: In this episode, Dave Ramsey and Ken Coleman delve into various financial challenges faced by callers, offering actionable advice to help them build wealth, manage debt, and take control of their financial futures.

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1. Adeline from Youngstown, Ohio: Building Wealth at 21

Timestamp: [00:59] - [04:45]

Caller Background: Adeline, a 21-year-old working at her brother's apple orchard, has recently taken over her finances and saved about $6,000. She seeks guidance on building wealth without immediate plans for college.

Key Discussion Points:

• Budgeting: Dave emphasizes the importance of creating a budget using the "EveryDollar" app to allocate every dollar effectively.
• Career Planning: Ken suggests leveraging the Proximity Principle by connecting with professionals in the medical field to gain insights and mentorship.
• Income Stabilization: Addressing the seasonal nature of her job by finding supplementary income sources during off-peak seasons.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [02:30]: "Having a plan before the month begins of where every dollar is going to go. And that's called a budget."
• Ken Coleman [02:53]: "Identify people in your area who are in those fields. Take them to lunch, take them to coffee and be like a student doing a book report on their job."

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2. Amber from Dallas: Balancing Debt Repayment and Retirement

Timestamp: [10:09] - [16:37]

Caller Background: Amber and her husband, aged 34 and 35 respectively, have $49,600 in debt excluding their mortgage. While Amber wants to focus on eliminating debt, she's also concerned about their limited retirement savings.

Key Discussion Points:

• Debt Prioritization: Dave advises temporarily halting retirement contributions to channel funds toward debt repayment.
• Asset Liquidation: Recommending the sale of a high-interest vehicle to reduce overall debt.
• Financial Literacy: Emphasizing the importance of a detailed budget and disciplined spending to accelerate debt elimination.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [11:41]: "The best way to be able to retire with dignity is to get the debt cleared."
• Ken Coleman [14:14]: "Kick that debt down and you're going to pay it off very quickly."

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3. Rob from Tampa, Florida: IRA Inheritance and SECURE Act Implications

Timestamp: [17:53] - [20:15]

Caller Background: Rob, a retired individual with a substantial IRA and brokerage account, seeks advice on minimizing tax burdens for his son inheriting his IRA under the SECURE Act.

Key Discussion Points:

• Roth Conversions: Dave recommends gradually converting a portion of the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA to eliminate future Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and reduce tax liabilities for his son.
• Tax Strategy: Highlighting the benefits of paying taxes now to avoid higher taxes upon inheritance.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [18:45]: "Begin to move some of it towards Roth... there's zero tax on it because you will have already paid the tax."
• Ken Coleman [19:05]: "This is a deep dive in what I'm describing for you."

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4. Philip from Houston: Transitioning from Mobile Home to Homeownership

Timestamp: [32:57] - [38:02]

Caller Background: Philip, recently awarded sole custody of his children post-divorce, is living in a mobile home on his parents' land. Earning $86,000 a year, he aims to transition to homeownership but feels conflicted about his current living situation.

Key Discussion Points:

• Asset Valuation: Dave advises viewing the mobile home as a temporary solution and emphasizes investing in assets that appreciate, such as a permanent home.
• Debt Elimination: Suggesting the immediate payoff of his truck to free up finances for saving towards a down payment.
• Future Planning: Encouraging gratitude for the current support while planning for long-term stability.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [35:03]: "You want to buy something that goes up in value and you own the dirt."
• Ken Coleman [35:10]: "There's no reason to be ashamed... your kids don't care about the mobile home."

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5. Derek from Charlotte, North Carolina: Overcoming Identity Theft and Debt

Timestamp: [41:00] - [29:33]

Caller Background: Derek has faced identity theft, resulting in unauthorized credit card debts. Currently earning $55,000 a year, he struggles with paying off $10,000 in fraudulent debts alongside $7,000 in student loans.

Key Discussion Points:

• Debt Management: Dave advises selling the expensive car and consolidating efforts to pay off debts rapidly.
• Mental Resilience: Emphasizing the importance of overcoming victim mentality and taking proactive steps.
• Support Systems: Highlighting the availability of resources like the Get Clear Assessment and identity theft protection through Zander Insurance.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [22:42]: "You don't owe that money. That's called a criminal act."
• Ken Coleman [26:37]: "17 grand is very doable... you need to get a victory and put $1,000 down on this debt."

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6. James from San Diego, California: Assisting a Financially Illiterate Friend

Timestamp: [42:09] - [47:25]

Caller Background: James seeks advice on helping a friend drowning in debt, with high monthly obligations and minimal progress despite their combined household income of approximately $100,000.

Key Discussion Points:

• Boundary Setting: Dave emphasizes the importance of James not overextending himself while trying to help.
• Debt Repayment Strategy: Recommending a strict budgeting plan, selling high-interest assets, and increasing income where possible.
• Behavioral Insights: Addressing potential underlying issues such as addiction that may be contributing to poor financial decisions.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [44:05]: "You need somebody in your corner with identity theft protection like Zander Insurance."
• Ken Coleman [46:58]: "What are they the symptom of? They are the symptom of what's going on in their house."

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7. Ben from Dayton, Ohio: Evaluating Term Life Insurance Duration

Timestamp: [50:52] - [59:05]

Caller Background: Ben is considering purchasing a term life insurance policy through Zander Insurance, aiming for 10 times his income. He and his wife plan to have more children in the next decade and are debating the optimal term duration.

Key Discussion Points:

• Policy Duration: Dave and Ken recommend aligning the life insurance term with significant life stages rather than the number of children.
• Flexible Planning: Advising maintaining long-term policies and adjusting as income increases to cover evolving needs.
• Insurance Shopping: Highlighting the advantages of using independent brokers like Zander Insurance to secure the best rates and comprehensive coverage.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [51:22]: "The variable is your income... adjust your policy as your income grows."
• Ken Coleman [56:54]: "The variable is not the kids, it's the income."

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8. Damon from Des Moines, Iowa: Avoiding Minority Interests in Small Businesses

Timestamp: [67:21] - [78:43]

Caller Background: Damon, an electrician with a small company, is offered the opportunity to buy a 10% stake in his employer's business for $100,000. He is currently on Baby Step Two and seeks guidance on whether to invest in the company or continue focusing on debt repayment.

Key Discussion Points:

• Investment Caution: Dave warns against purchasing minority interests in small businesses due to lack of control and potential for significant financial loss.
• Debt Focus: Emphasizing the importance of prioritizing debt elimination over risky investments.
• Business Valuation: Questioning the valuation of the company and the feasibility of the investment offer.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [70:28]: "Do not buy minority interests in small businesses, period."
• Ken Coleman [77:43]: "You've done it the right way... you need to focus on getting out of debt."

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9. Brian from San Antonio, Texas: Considering an $80,000 New Car Purchase

Timestamp: [74:54] - [83:00]

Caller Background: Brian is contemplating purchasing a new Tesla Model S valued at $80,000. With an annual income of $360,000 and a net worth of $1.2 billion (excluding his house), he seeks validation on his decision.

Key Discussion Points:

• Asset Depreciation: Dave reiterates that new cars depreciate rapidly and advises against purchasing such high-value depreciating assets unless one's net worth justifies it.
• Affordability Metrics: Highlighting that the car's value should be less than half of Brian's annual income, which it comfortably is in this case.
• Lifestyle Alignment: Acknowledging personal preferences while reinforcing financial principles.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [75:11]: "You got to be able to choke that down. And you don't buy new unless you've got at least a million-dollar net worth."
• Ken Coleman [78:43]: "Age great heart, but you didn't buy one."

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10. Vanessa from Indiana: Securing an Entry-Level Job Post-Graduation

Timestamp: [63:12] - [67:51]

Caller Background: Vanessa, a 21-year-old about to graduate with a bachelor's degree, struggles to secure an entry-level job as employers require full-time experience, which her part-time jobs during college do not provide.

Key Discussion Points:

• Recalibrating Job Search: Ken advises Vanessa to aim for lower rungs on the job ladder where entry-level positions do not demand extensive experience.
• Transferable Skills: Encouraging the identification and articulation of skills gained during part-time jobs and extracurricular activities that are relevant to desired roles.
• Proximity Principle: Suggesting networking and connecting with professionals in her desired field to open employment opportunities.

Notable Quotes:

• Ken Coleman [63:27]: "The answer is it's not entry level if it's requiring a bunch of experience."
• Dave Ramsey [65:14]: "The proximity principle could help that."

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11. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Timestamp: [73:34] - [83:00]

Host Insights: Dave Ramsey and Ken Coleman wrap up the episode by emphasizing the importance of intentional financial planning, disciplined budgeting, and making informed career and investment decisions. They reinforce the value of leveraging resources like the EveryDollar app, Proximity Principle, and independent financial services to achieve financial freedom and stability.

Final Notable Quotes:

• Dave Ramsey [74:55]: "Over time, when you have things that go up in value, you look much better than those spending on depreciating assets."
• Ken Coleman [77:43]: "Focus on getting out of debt... that's what you should do."

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Key Takeaways:

• Budgeting is Fundamental: Creating and adhering to a budget is the cornerstone of financial management.
• Debt Elimination Before Retirement: Prioritize paying off high-interest debts before ramping up retirement contributions.
• Strategic Career Moves: Align career choices with long-term financial goals and seek mentorship in desired fields.
• Cautious Investing: Avoid high-risk investments that do not offer control or guaranteed returns, especially when dealing with minority stakes in businesses.
• Asset Management: Invest in appreciating assets and avoid depreciating ones unless financially justified.

This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for listeners navigating various financial hurdles, providing them with practical strategies to reshape their financial futures positively.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey you guys, Cyber Monday deals are here, so shop meaningful Christmas gifts that.

[Ken Coleman]

Won'T bust your budget.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right [e-mail] store. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey show where we help people build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. Ken Coleman, Ramsey, personality number one best selling author and host of the Ken Coleman show is my co host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225. You jump in, we'll talk. Adeline is with us in Youngstown, Ohio. Hi Adeline, how are you?

[Caller]

Hi. I'm doing good.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. What's up?

[Caller]

So I'm a 21 year old girl. I'm not planning to go to college anytime here soon and I recently started getting all my money. My dad would get my money before because, you know, take care of expenses and stuff. And I thought I knew how to manage money pretty good, but turns out I don't. So basically my question is what should I as a 21 year old BE doing to build wealth at this point? I have about $6,000 saved and. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you're working?

[Caller]

I have a car, yes. I work four days a week, 15 hour a day job.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you do?

[Caller]

I work for my brother at his apple orchard.

[Dave Ramsey]

Mm. So what do you make?

[Caller]

Yeah, $15 an hour. It's not steady income. Like in the wintertime I make maybe 1500amonth and then in the busier times a year I make maybe 2500amonth.

[Ken Coleman]

What specifically are you doing for him?

[Caller]

I run his market and I fork fruit and yeah. Do a bunch of random stuff. Prune trees. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Are you living on your own or with your mom and dad? I'm living at home with mom and dad.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, cool. So what's your plan? Where are you going to be and where you, where are you headed? What's the 31 year old version of you going to be doing?

[Caller]

Hard question to ask. At this point I would like to either be married and if I'm not married, be doing something in the medical field.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. Well, I'd start taking some steps towards that and figuring out what that looks like in terms of the medical field part. I'm not in charge of the marriage part, but the, it's not my department. But. But yeah, you know, I start saying, okay, what do I want to be four years from now? That's on my way to being another thing ten years from now. And what classes do I need to be taking or certifications? Do I need to get what experience do I need to move? Because usually you don't go from the apple orchard to the medical field. You usually go into the medical field at some kind of entry level thing. And so maybe you start talking about taking some early steps towards that because your career is part of managing your money, in other words.

[Caller]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's why we're asking you all about your income and then you moving out and having your own place, that's part of managing your money as you go with as far as managing your money goes. And I'll let Ken speak further to your career that you just want, you've got to just make the money that you have behaved and go where you want it to go. And you do that simply by having a plan before the month begins of where everydollar is going to go. And that's called a budget. And there's a budgeting app that we have called everydollar and I will give you the premium version of that to get you started on that. But basically you're going to sit down before the month goes, enter your numbers into this app and go, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell this money what to do instead of looking up at the end of every month and going, I have no idea what happened. And then that will lead you away from debt, towards savings, towards investing, towards investing into yourself in some possible education moves.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah. What I would add, Adeline, is the best thing you can do right now to move forward is to get as much knowledge as you can about the potential directions you could choose. The reason people don't move forward and they stay in the apple, the apple orchard, if you will, is because they're intimidated, they're scared. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to think about, I want you to write down tonight before you go to bed all the different medical professions that you might be interested in. Everything from a 10 level interest to a 1, just you could get visually what's out there. So that's a doctor, a surgeon, that's a nurse practitioner. It might be a nurse, it might be somebody who does radiology scans, pediatrician, pediatrician, it could be anything. So look at that. And so then I want you to begin to identify people in your area who are in those fields. And we call this the proximity principle. Get around those people, take them to lunch, take them to coffee and be like a student doing a book report on their job. And what's going to happen is you're going to begin to understand what it takes to get there. That's the education piece and the experience piece. As Dave said, what is the lowest rung of the ladder require and look like to move into the medical position that you want? And so hang on the line, I want to give you two things. I want to give you the get clear assessment. It's about a 20 minute assessment. It's going to give you real clarity on professional direction. And then I want to give you the book, the Proximity Principle, because this is a deep dive in what I'm describing for you. But if you do that, you're going to have real clear direction. One other thing I want to tell her, David, is for seasonal people, we get this call a lot. When you're in a seasonal job like this, you need to take that experience and skill set from the apple orchard to another job or two so that there's not this dip in income. There should not be a dip in the wintertime for you because you should be doing something else in a parking time capacity or two part time jobs or another seasonal job that is hot during the downtime of the orchard. That's the mindset to keep your income level at the same level or create increase for yourself.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's very important. And so Alan, don't miss that. The answer to your how do I manage money question for us was the income side. There's two sides to the equation, the income side and the outgo side. And immediately both of us honed in on the income side for you. So managing your career and your income is part of managing your money. And so when you're looking at picking up the extra jobs in the down season, when you're looking at making the first steps into the medical profession, all that's part of managing your money. In terms of the actual tactical what do I, how do I keep the money that we have and make it behave well? That's the budget. So we're going to give you all three things to help you the get clear assessment from Ken, his book the Proximity Principle. And we'll also give you the premium version of the app every dollar which will help everyone get dialed in on it here. So very good stuff. Good question. Thanks for joining us. Open phones here at 888-825-5225. Ken, it you know you coming on as a Ramsey personality several years ago and opening up the whole career side of things even further because we had noticed for the years that sometimes when people are looking at money situations, they just need to make more money that's exactly right. And we also realize that a lot of career problems cause money problems.

[Ken Coleman]

There's no question.

[Dave Ramsey]

And a lot of career awesomeness can cause money awesomeness. You know, it works the other way too. So all of these things do fit together, folks. And the number of times that we have a debt free scream and during their debt free journey they added income part time and or got promotions and better jobs. Almost 90% of them did one of the two or both. Happens all the time because once people start paying attention, they're paying attention. This is the Ramsey Show. One of the questions I get all the time is which life insurance company should I use for my term life policy? A valid question since there are hundreds of companies out there with rates all over the place and riders and add ons that are simply a waste of money. You need to get this done and make the right decision. That's why the only company I use and have recommended for over 25 years is Zander Insurance. Zander is a broker who shops the top term life companies for you and finds the best rates available from the only plans I recommend. They also save you time. Whether you want to work online over the phone or via text, their team will cater to your needs and help you make the right decision. This is an absolute necessity and Zander has made the process easy and convenient. Call them at 800-356-4282 or visit zander.com for instant online quotes. Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Number one best selling author of the book Paycheck to Purpose. Amber is in Dallas. Hi Amber. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Caller]

Hi Dave.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hi. What's up?

[Caller]

So me and my husband, we're 34 and we're 35, we don't have much of a retirement. He's got 13,000. I just started mine last paycheck so I have $400 in there. We have about $49,600 worth of debt and that includes everything except for our mortgage which is $128,000 left. Not terrible, but it's at 6.125%. I have been, I'm an RN, so I'm able to work extra and I've been working extra since August and we've been able to pay off just under $5,000 worth of debt, which is great. But I can't do this forever. You know, I miss my kids, I miss my husband. So that 49,600 that I'm kind of laser focused on to get rid of and we've dialed back Or I feel like we've dialed back everything that we can as far as financially or, you know, monthly. I'm just not sure how to get ahead because our goals are obviously to get out of that. But I also am really concerned about retirement age, which I know is in roughly 30 years. But I don't want my daughter to ever have to worry about what's, you know, worry about me whenever I'm older. I want her to be able to live her life.

[Dave Ramsey]

The best way to be able to retire with dignity is to get the debt cleared. So you need to stop putting money in retirement temporarily.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And use all that money to help clear this debt. That's a temporary thing because I want you to clear the debt fast so you can get back to having, breathing again, a normal life. What's your household income?

[Caller]

While I'm working extra, we bring home about 8,500 to 8,800. It kind of depends rn it's, you know, funny hour shift differential.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's your husband?

[Caller]

Huh. He's in like a investigator HR position. He doesn't have a degree or anything, but he makes 73k a year. But he also has to pay 12,000 a year in child support, so whatever that is. The 73,000. Minus 12,000. That's what we're making.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And so you're making about the same. You're making about 70 or so.

[Caller]

Well, when I don't, when I'm working just normal and I'm not working extra, I bring home about 4,000amonth.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I'm not talking about bring home. I'm talking about your total household income is probably about 150 to get home with 8,500. Does that sound right?

[Caller]

Yeah, this one's about right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Around 80.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's the 50,000 in debt on?

[Caller]

We have. I have a $5,600 personal loan. That's at 13.95%. That was like a loan to pay off.

[Dave Ramsey]

What else?

[Caller]

We credit card from my 20s.

[Dave Ramsey]

What else?

[Caller]

And that behavior is fixed. Like I'm not going to run up any debt. In fact, I've used credit credit cards to repair my credit.

[Dave Ramsey]

What else?

[Caller]

We have a $20,000 car that has 13.95% interest. 12,000 left on my car that has 8%. And then I have about $7,000 in school loans and it has varying. But they're all around 4%. And then our home, of course, €128's credit is bad.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you got screwed when you bought that $20,000 car.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah. At that time I had not repaired my credit.

[Dave Ramsey]

Doesn't matter. You got screwed. You have a high interest rate and half of your debt is one car.

[Caller]

Yeah, that's true, isn't it?

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Sell it.

[Caller]

I don't know if we can. He has a. About a 30 minute commute Monday through Friday.

[Dave Ramsey]

It doesn't require a third. It doesn't require a twenty thousand dollar car to do a 30 minute commute. Requires a $5,000 car.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you had rid of that 14% interest rate, 1385 on a car you couldn't afford and shouldn't have bought and it's half of your debt, you. And you quit putting money into retirement. You're going to see these numbers start to flip for you, kiddo. It's going to start to work. And he's not looking at this with you. You're doing it by yourself, right?

[Caller]

Oh, no, no, no. We are both very involved. I think we both just lack that kind of deep financial literacy.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good, good. Okay. Yeah. If you sell the car and you stop the other retirement temporarily and you get detailed on your every dollar budget and both of you are looking at that every dollar budget and beating the snot out of it. I'm making every. We're not going out to eat, we're not going on vacation. Don't see the inside of a restaurant unless you're working as your second job. And does he need a second job? Probably you're working one and temporarily. Let's get this stuff knocked out and let's see how fast I can pay off $30,000 or $25,000 worth of debt making $150,000 a year really fast.

[Caller]

Yeah, I don't know if he could get a second job. He's. He doesn't get home till 6pm most days and then on the weekends he has his son, his special needs. All right, but I, but that's the beauty and the blessing of the career I chose is I'm able to.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, but Amber, I want to make sure you're grasping the numbers that Dave is giving you. Okay. If you remove the car payment plus the actual debt on the car, just what you guys have paid off since August, it's roughly four months. You've paid off $5,000. You got to listen to what Dave said and put real pen to paper right now, like sit down right now before you do anything else today and run those numbers. If we sold the car and we bought a $5,000 car, what is that monthly raise we just got to put towards Debt. I don't think. I don't think those numbers have clicked for you, and that's okay. I would run those numbers in a real budget. I think you're going to be shocked how quickly you're going to pay that debt off and then you're back to retirement.

[Dave Ramsey]

Here's what's interesting, is you're tired and you find all these reasons things can't happen because you don't see how you're going to get there.

[Ken Coleman]

That's exactly.

[Dave Ramsey]

Once you see how you're going to get there, you're going to be energized and there'll be no stopping you. That's called hope. Power of hope. It's very powerful. And sometimes hope is literally the result of a mathematical equation, what Ken's telling you. And so let's do that. Hang on. I'm going to put you and your husband through Financial Peace University and put you into everydollar and get you guys going because you guys need to sit down. It sounds like you're like 80% of the way there. You're both on board, which is excellent. Really glad to hear that. He's carrying this with you. That's amazing. That's very good. You're willing to work extra. That's amazing. You've identified that. I want to get rid of the debt. That's amazing. So you've got all the parts there. All I'm doing is helping you polish the rough edges off of what you were looking at. And I think that's going to cause the ball to roll and then the hope's going to kick in and weird stuff starts happening. When you start seeing away, then you just push your foot down on that accelerator and you bust it. You bust it. We're going to make it. We're going to make it. We're going to make it. We're going to do this. We're going to do this. Get it, get it, get it. Rob is with us in Tampa, Florida. Hey, Rob, what's up?

[Ken Coleman]

Dave, how are you?

[Caller]

Hi, Ken, how are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Good. How can we help purpose my call?

[Caller]

I'm. I'm calling. I want to know. I know what I want to achieve. I just don't know how to achieve it. If I can give you a real quick background, I'm 67, I'm delight. I'm retired. I have an IRA. I'm totally debt free. Have an IRA with 985,000. And I have a brokerage account about 115 minutes. And I have one son, my sole, Beneficiary and what I'm trying to achieve. Like I said, I'm in good health. I think I have 20 years left in me, possibly more if God's willing. I want to know how I can, you know, move some money now where upon my death, my son isn't hit with the mandatory required mandatory distribution.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, they're not, they're not technically RMDs, but under the SECURE act that Biden passed, he'll have 10 years to empty a traditional IRA. So he's going to empty 100 grand a year and be taxed on it. The way you're sitting today, the way to avoid that is to begin to move some of it towards Roth. And so as you make a pile of money, move a chunk to Roth and write a check because Roth is required to be distributed over the same 10 years. But you can't leave it in there in inherited ira, but there's zero tax on it because you will have already paid the tax. So develop like a 10 year plan to move 900k plus whatever the growth is towards Roth a little bit at a time. To where when you leave him with nothing but Roth instead of traditional, he's not going to have any problems with taxes at all because there's not any taxes. I did that, started that on that process myself about 10 years ago and I have zero traditional anything. It's all Roth. This is the Ramsey Show. Mortgage rates have dropped. So if you're thinking about buying a home in the next year, contact your local Churchill Mortgage team right now. If you wait, more people will be in the market competing for the same homes and potentially driving up prices. Churchill will help you do the math to be sure your budget is correct, making your home a blessing and helping you build lasting wealth. Learn more@churchill mortgage.com Churchill mortgage.com this is.

[Caller]

A paid advertisement in MLS.

[Ken Coleman]

Id 1591nmls consumer access.org/equal housing lender, 1749 Mallory Lane, Suite 100, Brentwood, Tennessee 3727.

[Dave Ramsey]

So since we turned on the microphone today, I think all we've done is give stuff away, which is great because we're helping people with it. So if you heard us give away Ken's get clear assessment on figuring out what it is you're passionate about, what it is you're gifted at, and give you some insight into some directions you can go to enhance or even change your career. That's awesome. The Total Money Makeover book, you know, 10 million plus copies now sold. The Baby Steps Millionaires Book, all about The Baby Steps Millionaires and Ken's book. The Paycheck to purpose. All this stuff is on sale right now at the Black Friday extended [e-mail] store. Like $12 books. These assessments are half. So this is like the best deals of the year. So have at it. That's the thing. Do it right now. Ramsey Solutions.com store. Or you can click the link in the note, show notes on the podcast or on YouTube. So Derek is in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hey, Derek. What's up? Hey.

[Caller]

How are you?

[Dave Ramsey]

Better than I deserve. How can we help?

[Caller]

Yeah, I just need help. I feel like I'm drowning in debt right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, tell me about it.

[Caller]

So I have a. Around 10,000 in a personal loan because I recently consolidated my credit cards. I had. I was in a abuse relationship. And after I got out, I found out that they probably racked up close to 6 or $7,000 in credit card debt in my name without me knowing about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you paid that off after.

[Caller]

After contacting the banks and all that? They said there's nothing they could do about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, of course there's something they can do about it. Let me stop. Let me stop. Let's find out where we are today. Did you take. Because you believe those lying thieving bankers, did you borrow money to pay off debt that was not yours because it was done with identity theft?

[Caller]

Basically, yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Cause they said not basically, honey, that's what you did. You went and borrowed $10,000 and paid off debt that this criminal fraudulently using your name opened up without your permission and you paid that debt off.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yes, I had. I paid 2,000 of it off.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I'm talking about the $10,000 you borrowed. That's what you used it for. You paid off the credit cards with it.

[Caller]

Yeah, I paid off the. The credit cards.

[Dave Ramsey]

And then is there any debt outstanding that the criminal did that you haven't paid yet?

[Caller]

No, dad.

[Dave Ramsey]

Comet, son, you got screwed twice. Basically, you don't owe that money. You didn't owe that money. When someone fraudulently. If I take your name and go open up a credit card in your name, you don't owe the money. That's called a criminal act. It's fraud. That's what identity theft is.

[Caller]

I had the credit cards since I. Since. So I know. I followed your show.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I thought you said they opened up the card in your name without your permission.

[Caller]

Yeah, Basically what happened was I had them as like the emergency fund, never used them. And then without. Really.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's different than Opening up a card, they took your card that you opened up and used it without your permission. That's different. You understand?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

If you hand Ken Coleman your card and say go use it, you're liable for that. If Ken Coleman goes and opens up a card in your name without your permission, fraudulently signing your signature, that's identity theft. You're not liable for that. You understand the difference?

[Caller]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you handed the fiance your card and they went bonkers with your card.

[Caller]

So I didn't even give them the card. That was, that's the biggest thing is.

[Dave Ramsey]

Honey, they used a card that was open in your name. That's the point. Right?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, so you owe $10,000 and what do you make, hun?

[Caller]

So right Now I make 45 and then in five months I'll be making 55.

[Dave Ramsey]

What do you do?

[Caller]

So I am a child abuse investigator for the state.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's an irony. Okay.

[Caller]

Yeah. And then I have around 7,000 student loans through a. But I'm in the government program right now for if I work for the state long enough, they fully pay those off.

[Dave Ramsey]

You know, you need to pay them off. You know, it's only $7,000. It takes 10 years to do this. So $17,000 makes you debt free hunting, is that right?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh Lord. Go get six extra jobs and be debt free by like spring. You're not working with 40 hours.

[Caller]

So I work around. So with my job now is, it's a lot of on call and so most days I'm home around 9, 10 o'clock just because of the nature of the job.

[Dave Ramsey]

So you're working 50 hours a week for. You're working 50, 60 hours a week for 55 grand.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

No you're not. You're on call. When you're on call, you can drive Uber.

[Caller]

So we have to initiate a report. We have to immediately drop everything drive to initiate that report. And there's a lot of times I'm spending 12 hours in a hospital in my on call days with a kid waiting for a relief or social worker to come and refill it. And the idea is, all right, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

You, what you gotta do is you gotta increase your income. You only need $17,000. This should not be overwhelming.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, sell stuff.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not that much money you gotta have.

[Ken Coleman]

I bet you got two grand worth of stuff you could sell. You could work on the weekends, you're on call days, whatever those are. You're not working seven days a week. So this is a season where you.

[Dave Ramsey]

Gotta clean up the mess.

[Ken Coleman]

17 grand is very doable, but you're.

[Dave Ramsey]

Not a victim, okay? You handed her the card. You knew this was going on. The only thing you're a victim of is being engaged to an idiot. And you're not the first one that's ever happened to. So, you know, roll up your sleeves, hon. Get on a detailed, tight budget and get as many extra hours as you can, as much extra income. Don't go out to eat. Don't talk about vacations. Talk to your supervisor about, I'm not working 80 hours. You're going to have to have some kind of a different plan here, because 80 hours for 55 grand don't cut it. The work you're doing is very important work, and it's very good work. You're taking care of kids who have been messed up. Thank you for doing that. You got a good heart. But also, you cannot sit and be a victim of 17,000 bucks, man. I mean, seriously, let me help you with this. $2,000 a month, and you are done in eight months. That's all you need. And you make 55. So this is very doable. You should be done with this in six months and then have zero debt. But this debt represents all this pain in your life. And so it's like. Feels bigger than it is. Mathematically, it's tiny. Emotionally, it's huge. And that's why you're. You know, you act like it's some kind of big monster. It's 17 grand. And, you know, no, I'm not staying in student loan debt for 10 freaking years for $7,000 worth of forgiveness that probably isn't going to actually come because you're probably not going to cross every T and dot every I. A high percentage of people that run that game don't end up with the forgiveness at the end. So you don't want to get in that game. You want to get in the game of, I'm going to knock this out, put it all in the rearview mirror, move forward in health and with. With enthusiasm.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, I can feel the stupid tax. We've all done stupid, every one of us, and that's what you're feeling. You know, this is a breakup. She. She took your card. And, you know, and so you've created this narrative. The way you led the call is that you have been victimized, and in all reality, you haven't. And I think Dave is absolutely right. The more you can quickly go, I've got to get a victory. And I would, if I were you, I would go sell Something today. If I could sell it for 500 bucks or if I could sell five things for 1000. Get a quick win and put $1000 down on this debt. You need something to get those shoulders back a little bit. And there's nothing wrong with you. You aren't. You aren't drowning in this. This is all a mindset because of what's happened to you and the way it happened. Learn from it. But get a quick victory like, happen to this. Don't let life happen to you anymore.

[Dave Ramsey]

So quick lesson, folks. You need to have Zander Insurance's identity theft in place. I do. Because they will take over an account that is actually identity theft. His wasn't, but actually as identity theft, they'll take it over and they'll deal with the banks. The banks will lie to you and tell you you're responsible for identity theft. You're not. When someone else misuses your name, that is criminal fraud. And you are not liable for a debt. When a thief uses your name to open up an account, don't let some banker tell you that. That's bull crap. And you need somebody in your corner with identity theft protection like Zander Insurance. And that's why we've endorsed them for, God, a decade plus since this identity theft thing became a thing. Hey, you guys, I'm not a fan of the big banks, and you probably already know which ones I mean, but I do like CRED unions because they're nonprofit organizations that focus on their members. And I'm proud to endorse Fairwinds Credit union because they share the Ramsey mission of helping people get out of debt and live generously. In fact, they design products to help keep you from going into debt in the first place. Fair Winds has been in business for over 75 years, and they serve hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. You can feel secure because your deposits are federally insured by the NCUA up to $250,000. It's easy to join, and Fairwinds partners with more than 5,000 credit union locations around the country so you can bank in person wherever you live. But if you prefer the online experience, you can log on to Fairwinds and do anything you could do at a physical location. So go to Fairwinds.org Ramsey to learn more. And while you're there, look at the combined checking and savings account bundle they created just for Ramsey fans to help you take control of your finances. That's Fairwinds. F A I R W I n d s.org Ramsey. If you live like no one else later, you can live and give like no one else. Oh, this is the season for giving. Generosity, man. We love talking about generosity. We love encouraging generosity. And one of your favorite shows we do of the year is the annual giving show around Christmas time. And we're going to be doing that. So we want to hear stories from you about a time that you were able to bless someone or a time that someone blessed you with generosity. You know, the good stories that make your eyes leak and inspire the rest of us to want to be more generous and be better human beings and all that. Yeah, we're going to do an entire show of generosity. It's called the giving show that we do. Go to Ramsaysolutions.com Ask Put giving in the subject line and tell us a little bit about your story. We'll make you one of the stories we use that day. And that's coming up December 18th. So you need to get this in. You just got a couple days. Ramsaysolutions.com Ask Put giving in the subject line. Philip is in Houston. Hi, Philip. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Caller]

Hi. Thank you for taking my call.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sure. What's up?

[Caller]

So my question is I'm debating if I should buy a house. I currently own a mobile home that I was given to me for my family and I had it on family land. After my divorce, I kind of had to restart over and after a long, long battle, I was finally awarded sole custody of my kids. So my custody, my kids are with me full time, but I live on a, in a mobile home right now that, I mean, but it's fully paid for. It's mines. But I feel kind of a little bit ashamed of it because I know, because I make good money and I.

[Dave Ramsey]

Feel like, what do you make?

[Caller]

I make about 86,000 a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. And the land that it's on is not yours?

[Caller]

It's my parents parents land. They have multiple properties in the area.

[Dave Ramsey]

And someone gave you the mobile home?

[Caller]

Yes, my parents stayed.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, they did. So they had a mobile home sitting on their land and they said, hey, while you're going through hard time, move into it.

[Caller]

Yes, they gave it to me, gave me the title for it and everything.

[Dave Ramsey]

But they did not give you the title for the land?

[Caller]

Not for the land. Just a mobile home.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right. Okay. All right. How old are you?

[Caller]

I am 35.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. Hey, you've been through hell and you needed a soft spot to land on. You found a soft spot to land. That's not a bad landing spot. That doesn't mean we want to stay there. But it's not. It's a nice thing that you're landed there. Okay.

[Caller]

And I spent the lessons. I don't really pay. The only thing I pay here is the light bill again.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a soft landing spot. That's kind of nice. However, it does not take you where you want to be ten years from now. Ten years from now, you don't want to be owning an ancient, rotting down mobile home on someone else's land. So this doesn't project well into the future, even though it's a very nice gift into the present. Does that make sense?

[Caller]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

So we can be very grateful to mom and dad. I'm grateful to them. I think what they do is very nice. But it is not your ten year plan. Okay?

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

You want to buy something that goes up in value and you own the dirt.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's your long term plan.

[Ken Coleman]

There's no reason to be ashamed.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's nothing to be ashamed about.

[Ken Coleman]

We can feel that on you. And you don't need to feel that way. You've been through a fight.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

So throw our shoulders back here and figure out what do we got to do to move forward. But your kids don't care about the mobile home.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I'm not ashamed of it. It's a nice thing, but again, it's not your long term plan. Not because of shame, but just because of math.

[Caller]

And so I spent the last year kind of just maxing out my 401k, maxing out my Roth IRA. I was able to save about 22,000 in my savings account. The only debt I have is just a truck that I owe about 15,000 on.

[Dave Ramsey]

Write a check and pay it off today.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Now save up a good down pay or save up a good emergency fund of three to six months of expenses and then start and stop your 401k temporarily and start saving up for a good strong down payment on a house that's going to go up in value.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. Now, how much land does your mom and dad have total?

[Caller]

I would say about 15. The one I'm on right now is 2 acres, but they have 2 acres in different properties here and there. They, they have property managed. They own a property management company.

[Dave Ramsey]

Is this property that you're on adjacent to their home? No, it's a standalone property.

[Caller]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, Well, I mean just talk to them about if they're in property management, they know that this is not going up in value and that you don't own the Dirt. And so, mom and dad, I'm going to start saving for a down payment on a home, which means I'm going to be selling off the mobile home or giving it back to you. One of the two. What's it worth, do you think?

[Caller]

I would say about 4,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's not worth it back. Just give it back to him when you get ready to leave. Because they were renting it out before, weren't they?

[Caller]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. That you don't mess up the rental property by dragging that thing off. So just when you get ready to leave, just say, hey, I'm going to save up money and I'm going to go buy a house. But thank you so much for letting me land here on your rental property for a little bit. And I'm going to give you the title of this back when I leave. Okay. But thank you all so much and just be very grateful because you should be. It was a very nice thing they did.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

But it's not your long term plan, that it can be both things. It can be a nice thing and not the long term plan and no shame is in either thing. Is that okay?

[Caller]

Yes. Appreciate that.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're a good guy, man. You're making good money. You fought for your kids. You landed in it. You got good family that helped you land on a soft spot. That's nice, man. There's a lot of good. There's a lot of good in this story, Philip.

[Caller]

Thank you. I've been blessed.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you have been in the middle of a dad gum tragedy. You know, you did. It's good.

[Ken Coleman]

And he saved up 22,000 and he's giving himself money.

[Dave Ramsey]

So he's paying attention.

[Ken Coleman]

That's right. And now he's going to get a massive raise when he pays the truck off today.

[Dave Ramsey]

Exactly. Oh, I forgot about that little detail.

[Ken Coleman]

We want that.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's a big deal.

[Ken Coleman]

And Dave, we got a lot of new people all the time joining in. I think this is a. This would be a good refresher here of why we tell people if they're not familiar with the baby steps or they've just joined us in his situation, it's going to change his life if he actually gets in order and does them the right way. That's why we're telling him to cut it today. Cut the payment today. Write a check, get rid of the truck.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, well, I mean, all that money that you're. You're wasting on that truck payment goes to build up savings really fast. And this guy's a natural born saver. Partly because he's been through hell and he's real careful, right? But I mean, just accentuated his nature is what it did. And so just lean into that and go, okay, now I don't have a truck payment. Now I don't have a mobile home payment because mom and dad gave it to me. I'm living here for all I got, utilities and I'm making 85k. I got to feed some kids. And other than that, let's go to town, baby. Boom, boom, boom, boom. As fast as he saved 22, he's going to say 52.

[Ken Coleman]

That's right. And that's where he gets the house. Yeah, that's the magic of the baby steps, right?

[Dave Ramsey]

Big time. And listen, there is nothing snobbish about a couple of guys in Tennessee being telling you not to do mobile homes, okay? It's nothing about that at all. It's not a class warfare thing. It's not anything. It's a simple math thing. They go down in value. When you put your money in things that go down in value, it makes you poorer. Why is this hard? So a mobile home is like a car you sleep in. It goes down in value. And so you don't go buy a $55,000 mobile home and then look up 10 years later and it's worth $10,000 and wonder why you're broke. People don't do that. Buy something that goes up in value. You're better off to rent. At least you're not losing while you're paying payments. When you pay payments on a mobile home, you're paying the payment and you're losing the values. Like when you're paying payments on a car and it's going down in value. So, you know, I got a friend that's in the mobile home business. Dude, would you quit trashing mobile homes? I was, oh, trash mobile home. It's not a personal thing, dude. It's simple. When you start making one that goes up in value, I'll advertise for you. But until then, we're not going to talk about it. We're going to. I'm going to tell people, put money, it goes up. You know, my grandpa said, I'll put money. I was bragging about my car when I was in college. And he's like, what's that? And I said, well, it's kind of like an investment. He goes, honey, my investments go up, you know, well, duh, right? And that, that's the thing. So you really want to have investments like your personal residence going up. In value. And the problem with stinking mobile home is they set it on a piece of dirt and the piece of dirt goes up in value faster than the mobile home goes down. So it gives you the illusion you made money, you didn't. The dirt just saved you from your stupidity. So don't buy mobile homes now. He didn't buy one. Mom and daddy gave him a whole $4,000 one. This is not a, you know, this is not, they didn't give him the Taj Mahal of mobile homes for sure. But, but that, that's the deal, guys. It's real simple. That's why we tell people to do that. Go buy things that go up in value. This is what rich people do. That's how they became rich people. And that's how they get rich, get richer and the poor get poorer. This is the Ramsey Show. Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show. We help people build wealth, do work that they love and create actual amazing relationships. Open phones at triple. Ken Coleman, number one best selling author of the book Paycheck to Purpose, host of the Ken Coleman show here on the Ramsey Networks. He's my co host. Today you jump in, we'll talk about your life and your money. The phone number is 888-825-5225. The call is free. And some say the advice is worth exactly what you pay for it. James is with us in San Diego. Hi James, what's up?

[Caller]

Hi Ramsey. This is a pleasure to be here. I really, really love what you do for people and thank you. I'm super nervous right now.

[Dave Ramsey]

So we haven't lost a patient. You'll be okay. What's up?

[Caller]

So I have, it's not, this call isn't for me. I have a bot, have a buddy that's very financially illiterate and they've made some very poor financial decisions over the last few years. And I guess to start with, I guess where to begin is they have right now currently $37,837 of debt. Their minimum monthly payments for those debts is $1,743. Their gross monthly income approximately is around 100k a year, plus or minus a couple thousand. They have a mortgage right now. They're behind one month on their mortgage. It's so they're currently at fifteen hundred dollars a month to. That's what they're behind. Normally it's twelve fifty. With all their, with all their basic household bills, they're looking at around I think $4,000 a month. Or $4,500 a month. So my thing for them is they have two kids they've recently had over the last two years and they find a struggle to be motivated to go to their job. Well, they go to work but they allow overtime and he could work a little more than he is now. But I guess the problem with them is they're just kind of stuck in this hole. They're about negative $700 a month. So do you have any advice to them? I know right now they're doing 8% on their 401ks because the company matches 8. I'm just trying to help them out if they any way I can. I figured you'd be the first person to call but I recommended maybe.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're very sweet. I don't know if you can help them because I don't think they're going to do it.

[Caller]

No, I agree. I know, I agree but so I'm.

[Dave Ramsey]

Going to give you just. I'm going to burn a few calories and try to help you help them because you're a good guy but I think you're probably wasting your dad gum time.

[Caller]

I understand, but it's worth it for me to try.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, I mean yeah, a little bit but it's not worth it for you to care more than they do about their own life. So that, that's a boundary you need to set. You need to walk and get, give us a little drive by. If they pick up the, if they pick up a couple of pieces information and run with it then you can help them a little more. But if they sit back and go, well, you know, I just don't feel like working, I'm sorry, that one right there just kills me, okay. I'm broke, I have two little kids, I can't make my bills but I really don't want, I don't want to miss Yellowstone on the dad gum television. I got to be home, you know, I mean come on. Yeah, get up off your butt.

[Caller]

It's 12 hour shift so I kind of understand.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, you're killing me here.

[Caller]

I know, I know.

[Dave Ramsey]

Call the wambulance. All right, so here's the deal.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, here's the deal. Stop the 401 case, get on a written budget, stay out of the restaurant, take all the overtime you can and sell the expensive car that's in these numbers somewhere.

[Caller]

Yeah. So they have two car loans. One is at 7,000, the other's at 15.

[Dave Ramsey]

Tada.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Almost like I've done this before. Yeah, sell the expensive car stop, the 401ks, get on a detailed budget, pick up all the overtime you can pick up. They really. There's nothing wrong with any numbers here. Oh, and before you start. Before you start paying any extra on your debt, buy food, pay the light bill, and pay the stinking house payment. How in the world you're not paying your house payment of 1500 when you make a hundred thousand a year? These people are mentally lazy, too.

[Caller]

Yeah. It's tough to hear because I work. Me and my wife are pretty. We're comfortable and it's hard to hear. And they make more than they make, honestly, more than us.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. So.

[Caller]

I mean, we live in San Diego.

[Dave Ramsey]

Their house is not their problem. But, dude, you don't get behind on your house payment when you make 100k and you have two little babies. This is just. Are they doing drugs?

[Caller]

No.

[Dave Ramsey]

You sure?

[Caller]

No drugs. 100%.

[Dave Ramsey]

This sounds like there's addiction in the house. Maybe it's three.

[Caller]

It's 360amonth for cigarettes. That's an addiction for sure.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, but I mean, really, because I don't. They're smoking weed. I don't want to work much, and I didn't pay my house payment. You sure they're not smoking weed?

[Caller]

Well, the wife. The wife.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right. I thought so. All right. Yeah, because THC is like. It's called an ambition killer. Okay.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Just completely destroys ambition. There are no ambitious potheads. Okay.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

There are no potheads with extreme work ethic. They don't exist.

[Caller]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

So this is the problem. All right. This. So, yeah, I would just say, but we got there.

[Ken Coleman]

You're very nice, James.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're a sweet guy.

[Ken Coleman]

The best thing you could do is a come to Jesus meeting with this dude. I just say, dude, man.

[Dave Ramsey]

Come for you to grow up, throw the cigarettes in the pot, in the dad gum ditch. You and your wife start acting like grownups. You got babies you're responsible for. Come on, man. Adult up. Man up.

[Ken Coleman]

You're making excuses for him. I hear it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, well, he likes them. He thinks they're sweet. They're probably sweet. A lot of potheads are, but it's just, you know. Golly. You got to be kidding me. This is just.

[Ken Coleman]

I know this. This call. Well.

[Dave Ramsey]

There's no way you can have this much illness. Logical stuff going on without getting down there. I've done this too long, right?

[Ken Coleman]

He doesn't want to go in at work.

[Dave Ramsey]

Here's the deal. Larry Burkett used to say, financial problems, including when Dave Ramsey Went bankrupt because he was stupid. The guy I'm talking about right here. Financial problems are not the problem. They're the symptom. What are they the symptom of? In my case, it was arrogance and the need to look cool and drive a car I couldn't afford and buy crap I couldn't afford with money I didn't have and build a big real estate portfolio. And I got rich quick instead of get rich slow because I'm smarter than everybody else and I was a stupid little snot nose and I got the tar knocked out of me because I was an idiot. And that. But it was. The problems were not the problem. They were the symptom. These people's problems are not their problem. They're the symptoms of what's going on in their house, the dysfunction in the household. And that's what you're facing. So, you know, another example of that is we've sadly, with 30 years or 40 years now of working with people with financial problems, we end up spending a lot and you do with careers too. And I spending a lot of time with people that are recovering from addictions. And so we don't, we're not addiction counselors. We don't know anything about it. Technically speaking. We've only got 30 years of dealing with addicts because 100% of addicts have financial problems. 100%. You're addicted to porn. A hundred percent of the time you're going to end up in our office with your stupid house in foreclosure if you don't break that. You're addicted to gambling. Oh, that one will get you there real fast because that's like money. Stupid, right? It goes straight to the heart of the thing. You're, you know, you're doing drugs, you're doing cocaine, you're doing alcohol. You hundred percent of these people. And I was with a buddy of mine the other day. He's been driving for two years. He was doing cocaine. He was doing mountains of cocaine. He's been off at two years. I'm real proud of him. I said, why'd you quit? He goes, realize there's no old cocaine addicts. There you go.

[Ken Coleman]

Wow.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. But the addiction is the problem. The symptom ends up being the financial issue. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey guys. I've never done this before, but I'm partnering with a nutrition company, Field of Greens. Each fruit and vegetable in field of Greens is selected by doctors to support heart, liver and kidney health plus metabolism for healthy weight. And your doctor will notice your improved health or field of greens will give you your money back. I can get behind a promise like that. Go to fieldofgreens.com Ramsay and get 15% off with promo code Ramsay. Fieldofgreens.com Ramsay It's Cyber Monday week and if you're looking for Christmas gifts that actually make a difference, we've got them. Get bestselling books like Breaking Free from Broke, Baby Step Millionaires and more for just $12 or audiobooks for just eight bucks. Now's your chance to give something that'll help your friends and family build wealth, transform their relationships and find work they love. Visit Ramsaysolutions.com store today. Ramsaysolutions.com store Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Ben is with us in Dayton, Ohio. Hi, Ben. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Caller]

Thank you, Dave. Glad to be here.

[Dave Ramsey]

Good to have you, sir. What's up?

[Caller]

Yeah, so I have a question regarding life insurance. So I'm looking at a policy through Zander at 10 times my income. And the last variable my wife and I need to nail down is the duration of the term life insurance. Now, I've taken FTU before. No, you normally recommend 15 to 20 years. But my question is if that's right for our situation. So I have other context to give there. But I'll let you go ahead and.

[Dave Ramsey]

Ask, why would you think it's not? What is the context?

[Caller]

Yeah. So basically over the next 10 or so years, my wife and I intend to have more kids. So there's a lot of life coming at us in the next 10 years. And I've heard you mention on the show before that again, life comes in stages. It's not all at once. And you want your insurance to reflect that. So my thought is, does it make more sense if we keep having kids over the next 10 years to get a policy that's 10 years and then at the end of that get one that's 20? Because if I get a policy now that's 20 years, our child that's on the way, she'll be out of the house hopefully at that point. But if we have kids in 10 years, I would need to take out another one. So does it make more sense to take a shorter policy and then take out a 20 or maybe 25 year policy at the end of that rather than just taking out a 20 year policy now that I know I will probably end up changing in 10 years? Does that make sense?

[Dave Ramsey]

So your first baby's on the way.

[Caller]

Correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Congratulations.

[Caller]

Thank you. Appreciate that.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you're A good dad because you're thinking about how to make sure your kids and your wife are taken care of. Way to go, Ben. Good man. Well done, sir. Well done. So you're not going to mess up. You're doing fine. You can do your plan or you can do whatever. The only thing I'm positive of is you're a bit of a nerd. And that's a wonderful thing. I am too, by the way. That's how I recognize it. And so you're overthinking this. It's not going to unfold the way you've got it in your head. So the variable is not the number of kids. The variable is your income. So 10 times your income today is going to be different than 10 times your income 5 years from now or 12 times your income 10 years from now. And so that's what I ended up doing. And you've heard this apparently, but I'll repeat it for everybody else out there because the way you reflected this back, I know you heard this. I did 15 year policies and then every so often I bought another 5 years later, about another 15 year, and then those would fall off at the appropriate time as the liability for the children go down. So the goal is when the life insurance runs out for you to be debt free and have a large enough nest egg that if you die financially, your wife doesn't care. Okay? So you got a million dollars in mutual funds and you have no debt and the kids are grown and gone. Those are the three things, right? So they're out of college, they're not on mom's payroll in any way if you're gone. And so that's going to work out, you know, and, and here's the thing. As long as you keep your health, you could do your plan or you can do, you know, three different versions of 15 year policies, which is kind of what I ended up doing. And then I ended up adding one because we were building a big building. And Sharon goes, I don't want to finish that building with my money. I want to finish it with your life insurance money if you die during the building. So I had to buy one for her just because that's what she wanted. It was swi Sharon once. It had nothing to do with financial planning. It was like a Christmas present. And so. But you're going to end up. That's what I mean. Stuff. I had it all nerd figured out and nothing ever works out the way I've got it figured out. When I look back on it. 15, 20 years later. So if you do it your way, you're going to be fine. You're covering your family for 10 to 12 times your income. If you pass away with one or two babies in the house, your wife will have plenty of money to live off of the principal or live off the, the growth of the principal without touching the principal and have replaced your income and she'll be okay. And you know, and that's not going to, you know, if you got a three year old and a one year old, she's probably not going to just sit there and do nothing and play that out for 17 years exactly. That way usually doesn't happen. Her life will change after you're gone too. So that there's all these things that happen that are, that are hard to quantify the variables. But the good news is if you got a good long policy, 10, 15, 20, that's fine. I wouldn't fool with 30s, I don't think they're worth it. But I did fifteens. A series of 15 is what I did. And each time I reassessed as my income went up, I needed more insurance. I just bought another policy. And then as we got out the back end of the story and we didn't need insurance, they start falling off in five year increments because I'd bought them in about five year increments. So that's an okay way to do it. What you're talking about similar and what you really end up looking at is the difference in premium between a 15 and a 20. It's not much difference and you don't save a lot and it's not a lot of difference between a 10 and a 15 usually because I mean, you're young and the whole stinking thing is just the cost of a pizza. So if you're young and healthy, if you're not obese and you don't smoke and you're in your 20s, this stuff just doesn't cost anything. And, but I mean, smoking and obesity will run it up. But if you smoke, it's just double. Let me tell you what it is, it's double. And so, you know, that's the thing. But you know, you guys did the similar stuff, you and Stacy.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, but we followed the income. This was the key lesson. The variable is not the kids, it's the income. And so as my income increased, I stayed right on top of that and kept changing based on what you've always taught. This was before we, I even worked for you. So that's the variable it keeps it simple. As your income goes up, then look.

[Dave Ramsey]

At the policy, add a little bit more and you don't have to cancel the old one and get a new one.

[Ken Coleman]

That's correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

Just add a smaller one on top of it and that way you've got them phased in and phased out. And that's an easy way to do it. And Zander can help. Zander Insurance can help you with all that. And they do a wonderful job. They shop among a bazillion different companies. They get you the best price. Guys, when you're buying insurance of any kind, particularly life insurance and PNC homeowners and car, always go with an independent broker that will shop among a bunch of different companies and get you the best deal. You don't want one that has a. Listen, if they have a football player on their advertisement, they're more expensive. So let me help you. Okay. Mahomes and Peyton Manning. Okay. Two of them. State Farms, super expensive, right? Somebody's got to pay for all those dead gum football commercials. And it's you boys and girls. So you State Farm people. That's who's paying for it. So.

[Ken Coleman]

So you're telling me Jake is not the friend that we think.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm telling you that if I don't, if I see another State Farm commercial like back to back to back to back to back every break till I'm about to throw up.

[Ken Coleman]

That's true.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh my God. You can't even watch football for these people, right? I wish they just get back on the field so. And play. So we didn't have so that gun main commercials.

[Ken Coleman]

I agree. And that painting versus painting, I. That one drives me nuts. Peyton versus painting. It's too much.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, it's. It's a walking dad joke.

[Ken Coleman]

I get it.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I am a walking dad joke.

[Ken Coleman]

And I like, I don't want to be reminded.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't know personally, but I know Peyton and he's a wonderful guy and he does have a great sense of humor in general, by the way.

[Ken Coleman]

I want to point this out because we have a lot of people that again, brand new coming in. Our audience is growing the life insurance. Xander is so good at what they do. It is such a pain free process from start to finish, from the time you call them to the nurse coming out and taking your blood to the paperwork. I get to tell you it is.

[Dave Ramsey]

It is.

[Ken Coleman]

I think a lot of people think.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, what do I got to do? You just say the nurse taking my blood was pain free. I heard you say that out I did. It is.

[Ken Coleman]

They come right to your house. It's simple. Paperwork is easy. I just, I want people to know. It is such a easy process.

[Dave Ramsey]

It is comparatively to the other stuff.

[Ken Coleman]

In life that you have to take care of. And it doesn't get more important.

[Dave Ramsey]

But you, you know, like, for instance, on pnc, if you go to one of the LPS and you shop it on your. On your homeowners and your car, you're going to save like 800 bucks probably on average annually over what you're paying on car and homeowners. So. And that's simply because. Not because the. They have like, the cheapest insurance. It's because in your situation, they're going to look at five or six different companies or eight different companies. They're going to find the one company in your situation that is the best deal.

[Ken Coleman]

That's right.

[Dave Ramsey]

And that's what you want. When you, when you're an insurance agent and you only sell for one company in the business, we call that a captive. Yes, Agent. So a nationwide agent. That's the guy that wrecks everything. Right? Isn't that the commercial? Is that nationwide? I can't even remember now.

[Ken Coleman]

No, that's all state.

[Dave Ramsey]

See, it didn't work. The ad didn't work because it's not even memorable. Okay, yeah, the guy's memorable, but I don't. Yeah, yeah. So. And, and yeah, that's the only reason.

[Ken Coleman]

I watch those is because that's kind of fun to watch him destroy everything.

[Dave Ramsey]

Something. Yeah. Over and over and over and over. Over and over and over. So shop, shop. Don't work with captives. Shop among a bunch of different. Get an insurance broker. That's a different thing. This is the Ramsey Show.

[Ken Coleman]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. And when you sign up for BetterHelp between December 3rd and December 5th, you'll get one month of online therapy free. This is valid for US customers only. All right, so the holidays are here. And for some folks, you're able to stay in and enjoy getting cozy with family and friends. But for millions of other people, the holidays can be a stark experience of loneliness, grief, or painful, even unhappy memories. And for all of us, the holidays are a time of stress, chaos, and change. And therapy may just be the next right move. Therapy can be a safe place for all of us to settle in, pause the stress of the season, and take care of ourselves. My friends at BetterHelp have made licensed therapy accessible for everyone, making it convenient and affordable to find comfort during the chaos of the holidays. BetterHelp is 100% online therapy with licensed therapists and you can talk with your therapist when it works for your schedule. You just get online, fill out a short survey and you'll get matched with a licensed therapist and you can switch therapists at any time for no extra cost. Find comfort this December with BetterHelp and when you sign [e-mail] DeLoney between December 3rd and December 5th, you'll get one month of online therapy for free. That's BetterHelp Help. H E L P.com/ DeLoney this is valid for new US customers only. Hey George Camel here. So you're thinking about buying or selling your home? It's exciting, but there's a lot to think about and all those decisions can feel overwhelming. Well, here's the good news. You don't have to tackle the process alone. Ramsey's Real Estate Home Base is the place to find all of your free tools and resources for help to get prepared to buy or sell your home with confidence. You'll find calculators, start to finish guides, a podcast, and even an in depth video course hosted by yours truly.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's not to love?

[Ken Coleman]

So if you're ready to take the next steps toward your home goals, go to Ramsaysolutions.com real estate that's Ramsaysolutions.com real.

[Dave Ramsey]

Estate Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality is my co host. The Ramsey Show Question of the Day is brought to you by why Refi? We trust why Refi? Because they help people who have defaulted private student loans. They refinance with a low fixed interest rate you can't get anywhere else and it'll get you a payment. With Chris for instance, they got his payment down 40%. Wow. Go to why refi.comramsey if you have defaulted private student loans, the letter Y r e f y.com Ramsey might not be in all states.

[Ken Coleman]

Today's question comes from Vanessa in Indiana. I'm a 21 year old who will graduate college in the spring with my bachelor's degree. How am I supposed to go about getting an entry level job when they all want full time experience? I had part time jobs while in school but they don't really relate to my career path.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well.

[Ken Coleman]

I appreciate the question Vas. I've answered this question thousands of times. The answer is it's not entry level if it's requiring a bunch of experience. So what? It just can't be. So what you do is you recalibrate and you go I'm trying to get on rung of the ladder 2, 3 or 4 and I need to drop down to the lowest rung on the ladder. And so if it is by definition a entry level job, then they're not going to require a bunch of experience. And what happens most of the time is people have their eyes on something a little bit bigger and they go for that and they actually are requiring experience. So how did someone get into that job? Look lower. I can promise you there is in fact entry level jobs where you do not require any experience. So this is all about reality. And patience would be the two words so that you see the right things. And I appreciate that you want to get something a little higher up the ladder. We all do.

[Dave Ramsey]

And Ken, I think it matters more. I think it matters more. I'm thinking about from an employer position when we're hiring, it matters more. If her degree is in a technical field, then all they want to know is she can accomplish the technical task.

[Ken Coleman]

That's correct.

[Dave Ramsey]

If it is in a broader soft skill field, let's say communications. Okay. And she wanted to go to work in pr. That's not a tact, a technical tactical thing. There's soft skills involved there. I would be more concerned with experience there than I would someone as a developer. That's a technical skill.

[Ken Coleman]

It's exactly right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So if you got a, if you got a certification as a developer, we might put on the job offering, but we prefer experience. But I'm not going to, we're not going to require that as harshly as we would in something where soft skills are involved. Does that make sense?

[Ken Coleman]

It's exactly right. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so it depends on the field.

[Ken Coleman]

It depends on the field. So let's take that example. Let's say that you've got a degree in accounting or PR or something and you're going for something and whatever it is, and they're saying, okay, you don't have any experience even in classes or in summer work. You've not interned, you've not done this. It's not the sky is falling. Then you simply go, okay, great, so I need to go get that. And so I might need to go do, go get two part time jobs or a part time job. And I've got to get some intern experience. And I get that basic level experience. And so now all of a sudden I have checked that box when the.

[Dave Ramsey]

Other thing that comes into play is that's just something an employer sometimes will put on there as almost a screen.

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

And what would they necessarily never hire someone with zero experience. That's not true. They would in Certain circumstances.

[Ken Coleman]

That's right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because all they're trying to figure is, can you do the job?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so the proximity principle could help that.

[Ken Coleman]

It can. And I think you also. Yeah. And so the proximity principles, where I've got people that are in that industry who I've spent some time with and now they're going to open up some doors. But I want to go back to what you just said, and that's gumption. I think you're absolutely right. Here's what I would say to someone coming out of college. If they say you need experience in communications or you need experience with problem solving, you know what I would do? Instead of saying, like this young lady said, and I'm not knocking her, my part time jobs, didn't have that experience, you know what I would do? I would look back into my high school and college experience and I would say, you know what? I was in charge of the yearbook my senior year at a large public high school. And as the student editor, I had to solve problems all the time. I'm not saying you're going to get the job because of that answer, but there's the gumption point they're looking for. Do you want this? Are you hungry? And can you say, realistically, I solve problems.

[Dave Ramsey]

Point poise.

[Ken Coleman]

Right. But if you say I solve problems by doing this, we had deadlines.

[Dave Ramsey]

But if you look down and go, well, kick sand.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

I don't have. I don't know. Yeah, I apparently don't have any. Yeah, well, you just managed to get a four year degree. That was like you pushed through something. There you go.

[Ken Coleman]

There's just more transferable experience than people realize. When you're sitting in these job interviews, they want to see that you can think on your feet, that you've got some gumption to say, I believe I can do this job. That's what they're looking for because they're going to train you.

[Dave Ramsey]

You're making a sale, baby, and you're the product. Yeah. Damon is with us in Des Moines, Iowa. Hi, Damon. Welcome to the Ramsey Show. Hi. How are you? Better than I deserve. What's up?

[Caller]

Oh, just had a question. My employer has offered me to buy into 10% of our company. I'm an electrician with a small company just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. I'm on baby step two now. My wife and I, we both make about 110,000 together. The. Let's see, I just didn't know if I should continue the baby steps, which, like I said, I'm on baby Step two, or if I should direct my focus on. To trying to get 10% for $100,000 is what. Is how I would get that 10%. And I wasn't for sure. If I should put my focus towards getting some ownership into the company to where I can.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, you should look at your boss and say thank you for your kind and generous offer, but I'm in the middle of getting out of debt right now, and so my wife and I have to focus on that. I'm so sorry. I can't do it. And let me tell you why. Okay? $100,000 for 10% of that company is. You said it's a small company, and yet you just valued it at a million dollars.

[Caller]

Yes, and I don't. Like I said, I don't have all. I don't have all the. All the numbers on the company. Yeah, he just kind of either.

[Dave Ramsey]

How many employees does it have?

[Caller]

We have 10 employees. I know. This year he had told me that we're on track do 1.4 million. And last year we did 1.7 million.

[Ken Coleman]

How old are. How old are you?

[Caller]

I'm. My wife and I are 25.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay. Do you want to work for him for the next 10, 15 years?

[Caller]

Yes, sir, I do. I actually used to live in the city. I've worked with companies that have, you know, three, 400 employees. And I really enjoy the rural life.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I really enjoy.

[Ken Coleman]

So here's the deal. That opportunity will come back around if it is a good opportunity. I'm not sure it is, but it'll come back around around later.

[Dave Ramsey]

Number one, I think it's overpriced. Number two, let me teach you something about small business purchases. Okay? What you are purchasing there is called a minority interest, meaning you do not have at least 51%, meaning you don't have control. You follow me?

[Caller]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And so you have absolutely zero power with your stock. Zero. So boss man can decide to run this thing in the ditch, and suddenly your 10% is worth nothing, and there's not a stinking thing you can do about it. So you do not buy minority interests in small businesses. Period. And number one, for any price, if he wants to give it to you, fine, as a bonus, that's okay. But no, we're not going to give him $100,000. And you have zero control over anything in the company. Your vote means nothing because he. He holds all the cards. You follow me? He can. He can go. He can go deeply in debt. He can develop a cocaine problem. He can do whatever, and then squat you can do about it and your hundred thousand is going to become worth zero if any of those bad things happen. And sometimes those bad things happen. Not all the time, but sometimes they do. So don't do minority interests in small businesses, period. And I think this one's overpriced. And Damon, you're in debt. So just be kind and generous to him and say thank you for your kind offer. I'm honored to be working here. I'm going to continue to work and plow the field like I'm supposed to and we'll, we'll revisit this discussion later when I just buy the whole thing from you or something. But for right now, I'm getting out of debt and my wife and I are to have to focus on that. That's what you should do. Sir. This is the Ramsey show. It's cyber Monday week and if you're looking for Christmas gifts that actually make a difference, we've got them. Get best selling books like Breaking Free from Broke, Baby Step Millionaires and more for just $12 or audiobooks for just eight bucks. Now's your chance to give something that'll help your friends and family build wealth, transform their relationships and find work they love. Visit ramsaysolutions.ramsaysolutions.com store Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co host today. Thank you for joining us, America. It's a free call at 888-825-5225. Folks, 100% of the people that do anything successful, do it as an act of success is not an accident. It's not random. It's not a lightning strike and it's not a DNA issue. He's a born leader. No, he's not. I've been to the hospital. They always say it's a boy, it's a girl. They never say it's a leader. Leaders are developed. It's a series of intentional acts. You learn the character qualities and processes of leadership. If you want to be a leader, a successful one. He was born a great husband. No, he wasn't. Ask any wife ever. There's no such thing as a born great husband. They have to be developed.

[Ken Coleman]

I'm not sure if you ask many wives, they'll say there's such thing as a great husband.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

Hey now.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, there is. My wife's got one. So there you go.

[Ken Coleman]

Self described.

[Dave Ramsey]

I love that because of the humility and all, but. Yeah. But the so anyway, the so the thing is this winning with money is an intentional act. You have to tell Your money what to do. Because broke people always wonder where it went. Rich people tell their money what to do, and they have a plan. Broke people. Thank God it's Friday. Oh, God, it's Monday. I sure hope it all works out. I sure hope Trump will fix my life. Because Biden didn't. Trump isn't gonna fix your life, honey. He's going to do a bunch of crap. But fixing your life in any of it, I can tell you that. It's not his job, by the way. It wasn't the guy before him's job and the guy before him's job. The guy before him, your job. So on paper, on purpose, you tell your money what to do. That's called a budget. If you want help doing that. The world's best budgeting app is called Every Dollar. It's in the app store for free or the Google Play Store. Get it and download it, put it on your phone and start making your money behave. It's an intentional act, boys and girls. Brian is with us in San Antonio, Texas. Hey, Brian. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.

[Caller]

Hello, Ramsey team. It's a pleasure.

[Dave Ramsey]

Pleasure, sir. How can we help?

[Caller]

Well, I just wanted yalls take on making sure I'm not crazy and considering an $80,000 new car.

[Dave Ramsey]

A Tesla model S. Cool. Nice car.

[Caller]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, so what do you make?

[Caller]

Well, I make $360,000 a year.

[Dave Ramsey]

Cool. What's your net worth?

[Caller]

I've got. Without the house included.

[Dave Ramsey]

No house is part of your net worth. What's your net worth?

[Caller]

Okay. About 1.2 billion.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right. You got the cash to pay cash for it?

[Caller]

I do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Buy it.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

Let me tell you what. Let me tell you the rule of thumb I use on this, okay? The reason I ask you those questions. We tell people not to buy a brand new car unless they've got at least a million dollar net worth. Ding. Check box. Okay. Because new cars go down in value, including Teslas.

[Caller]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

They don't go up, they go down. And you can't afford a depreciating asset that's brand new. When you drive it off the lot, that sound bloom, bloom, when you go over the curb was 10,000 bucks. Okay?

[Caller]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's what it is. You got to be able to. You got to be able to choke that down. And you can choke it down. And you don't buy new unless you got a million dollar net worth. You do. Okay. Second thing is, don't buy depreciating assets. Things with motors and wheels. In your case, wheels. All Added together that equal more than half your annual income. You make 360, we're buying 80. That's less than half your annual income. I'm assuming the other car, if there is one, is not, you know, not a $200,000 car. So you're probably okay.

[Caller]

Yes, sir.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So because you don't want too much of too much as a percentage of your income invested in things that are going down in value again, same thing. So like I got a friend that made 15 million last year and he bought a $428,000 car. That kind of blows my redneck mind. I have, my head, have a hard time getting my head around that. But it's a very small percentage of his income. It's like most people buying a biscuit. Right. And so, yeah, it's not going to hurt his finances at all. Even though, you know, we, you know, jealous people say stuff like, well, no one should ever write you. That's what jealous people say. No one should ever. So you got. If you made 15 million last year, you can afford a $400,000 car. It's that simple. You made 360, you can afford a $80,000 car, you got a million dollar plus net worth, you can afford to buy a brand new car. That's how I just. And you're paying cash. You're not going to borrow money. That's the three things I was looking for. You. You checked all three boxes? Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

And hey, he's done it the right way. And so this is, he's, he's had to wait. That's the other thing that when, when, when Dave walks through those.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm just glad George and Rachel are in the air with their little Teslas.

[Ken Coleman]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because I would have had to put up with the Tesla stuff, telling a guy to buy a Tesla because there's no chance I'm doing that. But those two both are Tesla drivers. So you just. Batteries.

[Ken Coleman]

Even if they came out with a.

[Dave Ramsey]

Really cool looking one, they're there. They actually are a cool car. I just, I need.

[Ken Coleman]

You want to see?

[Dave Ramsey]

I need like an app for it that makes a muffler sound.

[Ken Coleman]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because a redneck needs a loud muffler and that's just all there is to it.

[Ken Coleman]

They do that. You know, they have these cars.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do they really?

[Ken Coleman]

Yes, absolutely. But I don't think it's enough for you.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, it's not.

[Ken Coleman]

I think you want to smell.

[Dave Ramsey]

I still know I'm sitting on a battery.

[Ken Coleman]

You like the hint of petrol in the air.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's It.

[Ken Coleman]

That's. You want to smell that? You're driving.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's it. Actually, I'm trying to help the planet. Well, I mean, the planet gets destroyed by making those batteries more than me driving my raptor. I could tell you that.

[Ken Coleman]

Oh, so you're green? Is that what I mean?

[Dave Ramsey]

That's it, man. I'm. I'm totally okay. I'm down with the green, right? Not at all.

[Ken Coleman]

But yeah, it's very exciting.

[Dave Ramsey]

It's funny. I don't care what you say. Open phones at 888. 825 5, 225. Fabian is with us in Los Angeles. Hi, Fabian, how are you?

[Caller]

I'm doing good, sir. I just want to say first, Bob, Beth, you, my future in life. And I binge watch your show. We bought your books and I'm currently on Baby Step two. And we appreciate you very much.

[Dave Ramsey]

Well, thank you, sir. How can we help you today?

[Caller]

All right, so I need you to do that thing that you do where you pretend like I'm your son. And if I'm making an overall good career choice, I want to be able to switch careers. I feel like I was in my twenties going on ventures.

[Dave Ramsey]

What are you doing now? What do you want to switch to?

[Caller]

So the last two years I did project management and construction blueprints. And I really like that. I've been doing restaurants for 10 years. I went back to it because it was a venture with a startup company that went downhill. So now I backtrack. I went back to what I was good at. So, yeah, doing restaurant for 10 plus years and construction blueprints to permit for two years. The past two years.

[Ken Coleman]

So you want to go from restaurant management to this construction blueprint stuff?

[Caller]

Yes, sir.

[Ken Coleman]

Okay, so what's the question?

[Caller]

Do you think the construction industry is a good career path?

[Dave Ramsey]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Caller]

And then how do I make this switch over? Because I never went to school or. But I learned how to like work with.

[Ken Coleman]

Does it require. Does it require. If I were to hand it to you today, does it require a college degree to do what you want to do? The answer is no.

[Dave Ramsey]

Project management, reading a blueprint. Most people doing it don't have a college degree. There's a few people have a construction management degree, but almost none in the business.

[Ken Coleman]

Sounds like you've already got enough experience to get in the industry. So the question is, can you get back in it and make the kind of money you need to make?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

And then do it.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Ken Coleman]

So my advice is this. Keep working in the restaurant business. Until you land the job, doing what you want to do, and so there's no interruption of income. This is not scary. If we do it methodically and we're patient and we don't stop working. And that's.

[Dave Ramsey]

That's. The guys you used to work at the startup, the construction business startup before, where are they working?

[Caller]

It was a remote company. It was.

[Dave Ramsey]

Were any of them local?

[Caller]

Yes, some. Some of the projects were local.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. Find out where those guys are working, and they may talk. They may talk nice about you and help you get a job there.

[Caller]

Oh, you mean like the.

[Dave Ramsey]

The guys you used to work with in the construction business? Find out where they are. That company was a startup and went down. You said, now go find those guys and run that to ground, and they'll get the door open for you and you can get going. Yeah, but you don't. Yeah, go. You need to go do this, man. Absolutely. Go do it.

[Ken Coleman]

You've already done it, so you know where to look.

[Dave Ramsey]

Start. Absolutely.

[Ken Coleman]

You got this.

[Dave Ramsey]

Walk out there on the job site, Start talking people. Who's hiring. I know how to do this. I'll help you. And just walk in there and start reading blueprints and project managing. You know how to do it. It's. It can be done. You really. You know. You already know. You don't have to have a degree because you've already done it. This is the Ramsey Show. Hey, you're still here.

[Ken Coleman]

What are you doing? You do know that the rest of today's show is playing right now over on the range Ramsey Network app. Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

All you gotta do to finish the.

[Ken Coleman]

Episode is search Ramsey Network in the app store, Google Play store, or just click the link in the show notes to download the app for free. Yep, you heard me right. For free. Then right there on the home screen, you can watch the rest of today's show. Bada bing, bada boom. All right, I'm getting out of here.

[Caller]

Enjoy.

[Dave Ramsey]

We'll see you on the app.