Learning To Let Go of Your Financial Mistakes

We want you to win in your relationships. And we're here to coach you, encourage you along the way. The phone number is 888-825-5225.. 888-825-5225.. Joining me today is Rachel Cruz, the incomparable, the graceful Rachel Cruz.

And she's our money expert. All the adjectives. I kept it simple. I don't want to get too long in the list and make it look like flattery. And I'm Ken Coleman.

I'm gonna help you in the areas of work. How about more income? That bigger shovel to get through the baby steps faster. I want to help you there. So we're gonna work together to help you.

Phoenix, Arizona is where we go. Brandon is joining us there. Brandon, how can we help?

I've been listening to you guys on my podcast while I side hustle for Uber. And also reading Rachel's book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money. And I read the Baby Step millionaire book by Dave in like a day. Wow. That's awesome.

You're binging it all, Brandon. I'm going all in. It's long overdue. What's driving it? I love the intensity, but what's driving it?

Yeah, so I just retired as a Major League Baseball player after nine seasons professionally, two in the major leagues. And I've also gone through some hardships just in terms of a relationship. I had an engagement fail back in 2021..

And then I also had basically my career just got derailed by injuries the past few years. Sorry about that. What position did you play? I was a pitcher and I had three elbow surgeries to Tommy Johnson on their collateral ligament.

Yeah, so basically I'm transitioning. I'm going to church. I'm tithing for the first time ever in my life, which is great. I'm just kind of ashamed of that, just given the amount of money I made as a professional athlete. But that's the reason I'm calling.

I know I'm long-winded, but how does someone like myself, who's transitioning into a new career path, deal with financial mistakes of my past and letting go of that shame and guilt that I feel? And then also, too, I've got a kind of a, I'm in a little bit of a budget situation that I could really use.

And unfortunately for me, I didn't have parents. They're still in the rat race. They are still in debt. And they didn't really, they're kind of, in terms of Rachel's book, kind of the type of parents that they didn't talk about money. All I really saw as a kid.

And then, in terms of like checking, I've got about $2,000 there. And then I'm working on rebuilding my emergency fund. Unfortunately, I've only got about a baby step, one of a thousand bucks.

Yeah, entry-level development coach. I'll make $40,000 this year, but they pay for my housing during the season. So really, like it, but yeah.

And then I have a house, which is, this is the biggest thing why I'm calling. The house was built in 2021 with $60,000 in earnest money down. After my engagement failed, I went to the builder and asked for the earnest money back. They said no. So I had no choice but to move in.

And the mortgage is $3,760 a month, three and a half percent interest rate. And then utilities is usually about the total cost of the home I live in.

Yeah. So what I would do, Brandon, honestly, if I were you, number one, you asked about the shame and the guilt earlier in the show. Here's the hard thing about money. is, I could tell you right now, Brandon, like I'm a mom and I'm killing it as a mom this season of life. And, but you don't, I don't have a number to that.

Ken could be like, my husband. game is out the roof. I'm the best husband ever in the world. There's no number to that. What's sad is that the, is that our money.

and what's hard is it has a number. There's a number that follows us around. So, as much as, which is very true, that your present and your future, Brandon, can be a hundred percent different. You, the way you're looking at money and even the stuff you're diving into content wise, is going to help that mindset shift. The thing that sucks is like your numbers follow you.

Right? And I think that it's that reminder, not for it to be shameful, but to say, Hey, I don't ever want to go back there again. And so let me just encourage you, Brandon, you're doing all the right things. You're selling the car, you've got a new job coming up. Uh, you know, you, I would, I would get rid of, I would get rid of the credit card.

I'd go all.

So take advantage of that. And yeah, I would, I would sell this house again. This house was a dream. When your life looked different, you were a baseball player. There was a girl in the picture and your life doesn't look that way.

And so, as Dr. John Deloney talks about, what's our reality? What, what, what is the reality? And grieve what has been lost, because it is sad. A career change and a relationship change.

But where you are now, you have to focus on this reality. And this reality is that this house, it's too much for you. It's too much and it's become a burden. So I'd sell it. Yeah, I.

Merry Christmas, everybody from the Ramsey Show. It's that time of year. I'm.

She's got the lozenges working during the break. She's not sick. I have no fever. No, no, no mask. No, she's doing great.

I'm doing good. But you may not recognize her voice, but that's Rachel. And I feel like I'm a little raspy, so we don't know what's going on, but I'm Ken Coleman. She's Rachel Cruz. This is the Ramsey Show.

We're here to help you win. We had a call earlier this.

And I was like, but you can roll it over to a Roth IRA. Uh, cause it's been open for more than 15 years. And she was like, what? I didn't know that was possible. And I was like, it is possible.

The Biden administration. I got so excited. Wow. And my voice just cracked. Went out.

Gone. And who, and I told Winston that night, who knew I was.

show. question of the day. Of course, always brought to you by neighborly at the hub for home services. Soon. You're going to have a lot of family over.

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Ouch. We can't come to agreement. And I need to know what I should do. Wow. Okay.

Sorry. No, it's okay. I'm glad you're here on this one, because this is, this is not a work question. This is a marriage question, you know, disguised as a work question. Um, so they don't agree on money, Rachel.

Now she's preggers, right. And naturally wants to be a stay at home wife, but the husband is probably freaking out. I'm speaking on behalf of all men. We start to get controlling cause we really want to provide. And he's nervous about the money.

They already don't agree about money. We don't know why, but we've already got tension there. And now she's like, I want to come home and be with the baby. And he's like, no. And she's saying, we can't come to agreement.

What should we do?

there's a value system difference. Right. And that's like the core, right? It's not just, Oh, a credit card, not, you start to, you start to really dig into these issues and you realize, well, we have different values and it's coming out as money issues. And that's what I'm, what I'm interested in.

This is, I'm like, there's probably a values difference. And I have, it's funny, I have different friends in our lives and some of the guys will say, no, my wife is, she's so smart. She's capable. She used to work and bring in great money. She can.

And if the kids are in school all day, why doesn't she? And then I have other friends that are down the other side where they're like, no, I'd rather her be home because everything's taken care of at home. I can go make them like, it's just so funny to hear these two different sides. I always lean the first way you do. I'm being honest.

I'm going to be transparent with Stacey. You're like, yeah,

And I'm always the guy, cause she'll bring up, well, there's so much going on. And I agree. She is the CEO. But I go, oh, I'll help with laundry.

You know that I'm not a caveman, or not out of the 1950s, you know, sitcom. But I understand that. I tend to go that way too. Cause I'm always thinking, let's max out our possibilities. And the reason I'm owning this is because I believe it comes from.

I know, that's not you. I know, that's not you. I know, but you're right. You're making a very good point. But I'm just wondering about Michaela and her husband.

If his value is like, no, it is a scarcity mentality, possibly like what you were saying, Ken. And let's bring in as much as we possibly can. Cause, why not? And hers is, no, I want to pull back and be with the kids. So again, for me, what do you do?

How do?

So it's really tough. I hate to hear that, especially with a baby on the way. Oh, I know. Oh, his motherly instincts kick in. 888-825-5225..

Kyle is joining us now in Orlando, Florida. Kyle,

And two weeks ago, Dr. Maloney said something that kind of like triggered me and made me think. for the last two weeks. I've been trying to call in.

I got an inheritance from my father passing away. I'm 27.. He passed away when I was 20.. So kind of saved that money. My grandmother passed away last year.

So got an inheritance from her as well. And kind of been accumulating this money. I bought a house and I still have in my bank account, $90,000 cash liquid in my high yield savings account and $125,000 in my brokerage account that me and my girlfriend, we do discuss going on trips and going away and what to spend money on and what things that we need and what we can kind of hold on for. And I realized something that Dave Maloney said, that I'm almost like afraid to spend money. I have like a decent amount of nest egg over $200,000 and own a house, can make the payments.

And I'm almost like nervous spending money. And even if it's like a $2,000 or $3,000 trip, I'm like, well, how am I going to pay for it, even though I'm sitting here with a decent amount? So I wanted to call in kind of get some insight on like, how do you kind of deal with those thoughts?

I know it's a big thing.

Yes. Yes, they do. The reason I'm asking that, Rachel, I think you wrote a book called Know Yourself, Know Your Money, and I think it's really wise. It's got to be from his past, yes?

All three things. And when one of those is deficient, you don't get the full freedom of what money has. And one of yours, which is spending, not mine, yours, is deficient, Kyle. And so a detailed budget like EveryDollar, I want you to do it, it's going to help give you permission to spend. And, Kyle, I want you to save every month towards a $3,000 vacation.

And when the money hits, when you plan it, and you have that $3,000, go on that vacation. You almost have to force yourself to spend. But a budget will give you the guardrails and the guidance where it's not questioning, oh gosh, is this okay? It's permission. It's telling you, it is okay.

So hold on the line. EveryDollar Premium for you, Kyle.

NMLS ID 1591.. NMLS.

Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. Rachel Cruz joins me in studio this hour and we're here for you. We want to help you win with your money. We want you to help you win.

We want to help you rather win in your professional life as well as in your relationship life. And those three areas are always tied together. We want to help you win in all those areas. If you're not winning in one of them, it's going to affect the other. So we're here to take your calls.

We'd love to coach you and cheer you on. 888-825-5225.. Okay.

Baltimore, Maryland is where we're going next.

Thanks for taking the call. Rachel, I hope you feel better, dear. Thank you so much, Brittany. Of course. So I honestly just need quite a little bit of insight.

here. I am trying to figure out ways to make more money and save more money. I barely make $30,000 a year. And after pretty much all of my bills, I have about 10 bucks left in my name. What are you doing?

What's your job? I am a medical secretary for a hospital. Okay. And let me ask you this. What is just,

What?

Okay. And I'm actually finishing those up this month. But still, you know, I have to put myself out there and look for a job, which could also.

Does this program have a placement program with it where they help you get placed?

And is that where you said a minute ago, I didn't understand you, and that's my fault. You were talking about a $70,000 salary. Is that what you've identified as a potential option coming out of this? Yes. Okay, great.

So I want to turn you over to Rachel, on the budgeting side of things, because I don't want you to wait. Okay. To start getting your money. And, by the way, if you can work two or three extra jobs right now for some additional income, that's going to help what Rachel's going to coach you through. I just want to push you into that.

You need to take the bull by the horns here and get after it. So I want you to connect. I'm going to give you a book called the proximity principle. Okay. That's my gift when we're done here so that you're connecting with people and it's going to walk you through tactically and practically how you begin to make connections.

so that opportunity is coming your way, because that's going to be huge for you. But income alone isn't going to fix this problem, Rachel. No,

that, I'm sure, is there. I'm curious your family dynamic. Are you married?

really now that I know is stupid. Last year, I was going through a hard time and actually kind of, long story short, got taken advantage of by a friend. And it's something I know I shouldn't have done. I put my name down so that she could get an apartment. I basically wanted her an apartment in my name because she was having trouble with her own kids and I was going through my own heartbreaks and things like that and was feeling really vulnerable.

But, long story short, she did not pay any of the rent and racked up about $11,000 in debt in my name now.

There's a sense of dignity there. that, I think, is really, which I think is really important. But I think it's going to be an uncomfortable season, meaning the amount of hours that I would encourage you to work, Brittany, because there's not much expenses to cut. You're living on $30,000, and so there's nothing to really cut there, right? So the income side, though, to me, is huge.

I'm like, even if you took four nights a week, Brittany, and said, I'm going to drive Uber, you know, three of those nights, I'm going to do Instacart. You do some extra side hustle work, which actually can bring in a good bit. I mean, some people are seeing $2,000, $3,000 on side hustles. So even bringing that stuff in, you're going to be able to pay. I would pay off your debt, smallest to largest.

So I'd pay off that 403B loan, ASAP, get that out of the way. And then the $4,500 credit card debt, I would cut up your credit cards today. I would force yourself to live on what you can. And we talk about the four walls that are really important, Brittany, your food, your shelter, your utilities and transportation. And I said, I know I said earlier, as I was talking with you, that I wouldn't want to move in with your dad.

But listen, if there's a season that you're like for six months, for rent, all of it, like if I can cut some stuff, because even my four walls are tight, you know, maybe that is an option. What is your rent?

Okay. But if you go, okay, what do I have to do? And if I get at like, you can knock that $2,100 loan out very quickly. Next on the list is the $4,500 in credit cards. And, honestly, the stupid tax of the $11,000 debt, that's the biggest one.

You can actually do this. You've the next six months to eight months. on the technology side of things, you start networking and connecting like your life depends on it. You're going to get a good job. And now it's about managing the mistakes that you've made.

and go, you know what? I'm not an idiot. I've made a mistake.

Like, there's a level of confidence that you're going to have in yourself, knowing that you can do this hard stuff. And you're going to learn from those mistakes, not going back into credit card debt, not being taken advantage of from a quote, unquote friend, that screwed you over. Like all of these things, Brittany, are lessons to learn and do something different the next time, which you will. So these numbers are great. I think working extra is going to be your best bet.

Yeah, absolutely. This is The Ramsey Show. We'll be right back.

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Did you like how I just transitioned right into a little rap from Eminem?

I used to be called Slim Shady. No, I didn't. But I'll tell you his name. You're just been smoking cigarettes and listening to Eminem. apparently.

I know. I know. We're going off the, going off the range. Little fun thing. Let's, I want to find out, next segment, what your, one of your favorite Christmas movies is, and maybe we'll, we'll do an object lesson out of it.

Okay. I'm, I'm, I'm taking over.

Like you were very Kenner-taining. He does those things. But what if my name was Izzy? I think I would be much cooler. Izzy is cool.

And Izzy is in Boston. Izzy, how can we help you?

And I think I can answer the question a little better.

And what will happen is, I would start applying to programs in April. Now, the thing is, is that most PA programs do not allow you to work while you're in school, because it's so rigorous. But also, I'm in the most competitive state, and also one of the most expensive programs is in Boston. But if I were to move out of state, I would have to take on living expenses. But right now, I live with my mother, and I only pay the utility bills, which is about $500 to $600 a month.

So what I did is I opened up my little gig and I was able to make pretty good money. I'd pay off the chunk of my debt,

but I can't do that in the winter. So I'll continue working.

I have one more question, and then I'm sure Rachel and I are going to weigh in here. Based on your current degree, that you just got, what's the best paying gig you can get with that biology degree?

Because you're what? 22,, Izzy?

And I want you to also think about, if I told you to pay cash, which is what I want you to do, how long would it take you to save up? Could you save up 30 grand a year? Well, at 30 grand a year, it's four years to be able to pay cash. Yes? Yes.

Or cashflow your way through it. So the question is, living with your mom, you know, the cash option is best for you, is you do not want that stress, because even at making 115 coming out of this degree after tax, I want you to run the numbers. What is your after tax situation? And I want you to do, it's almost like a pre-budget. And I think you're going to go, oh my gosh, I don't want to sign up for that.

I'd rather be patient. And could I save 30 grand a year? Okay. Which gets me through, it gets me to four years. or can I cashflow?

And if it's going to cost me X amount per year, I'd love to know what that number is per year. Okay. And then can I live with my mom? And I know PA school is hard and they don't encourage working, but what is the other option? Being miserable and being in debt?

Yeah. Izzy, I don't know why it's like the people.

Of course, that's the next step. I mean, it's exactly what your mindset was. And, Izzy, I can't tell you how many calls we take on this show of people that have debt, of people that took on this amount of debt, and the stories of even, you know, they get married, they meet someone, get married, have a baby, something is wrong, you know, they want to stay home because of, I mean, like health stuff. I mean, life happens. And when you take on debt, you're taking on risk.

So what we want to do is eliminate risk from your life, because that gives you peace and it actually gives you money at the end of the day. And so the most peaceful, wisest route, Izzy, and this is what I would do if I were you. I would say, hey, I'm going to put all this on pause for three years, which means you'll be 27.. We talk to 35 year olds that want to go back to school, right? So I'm like, you're early in the game.

You have the time. You have the time. And to say, I'm going to go try to find, you're smart, obviously. So I'm going to go try to find a job making 60.. And I don't, and honestly, I don't care what it is.

It may not be in the medical sphere. We're going to just go. make it. because, Izzy, listen, and if you stay with living with your mom, I'm okay with that, because you're going to pay off the 26,400 that you owe, your credit card debt, and your student loans. You can pay that off in the first year.

Keep working that job for two years. Save and save and save. You'll have enough to cash flow that first year of PA school. Do your landscaping stuff in the summer. You can make a killing on that and just stockpile cash.

And when you go through PA school, you will be writing checks. When you get out of PA school, you're going to make $120,000, and it's all yours, Izzy, and you're starting that off at 27 years old. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. That's going to be the wisest pieces, Ralph, for you, Izzy.

You're awesome. I'm so glad you called.

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where we help you win in your money life, your work life, and your relationship life. The phone number to jump in the conversation is 888-825-5225.. 888-825-5225.. I'm Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, and I'm joined by my good friend, Ramsey Personality, Rachel Cruz.

We're both a little raspy today. We don't know why. We haven't been yelling at our kids, I promise. But we've got the throat coat.

I'm about to start coughing.

It's just the weather. It's the weather. But anyway, we're excited to coach you up. We want to help you win. Jump in.

888-825-5225.. Let's go to Mobile, Alabama. Chase is joining us on the line. Chase, how can we help?

They have separate finances, separate bank accounts. They keep everything separate. I was kind of on the fence as to whether to do it or not. Last night, they kind of got the news that my sister's transmission on her car is about to go out, and they don't have an emergency fund. I felt kind of bad telling them that and seeing their faces when they got that news.

As Dave would say, he's Davish. He's done it in the past, but he never stuck to it.

And I think this is going to be the thing. I'm going to say the thing, and the light bulb's going to go off and they're going to turn, and it's going to be heroic and great. And I don't need the credit because their life is good. I conjure up this whole thing, that if I just say the right thing and have the right conversation, I can help them see X, Y, and Z. And Chase, I've had to let that go completely.

Because is your heart there to help them? Absolutely. But you can't control what they're going to do. And here's another thing, Chase, they're not asking. They're not coming to Chase and saying, gosh, Chase, I feel like you're just not stressed with money.

What are you doing? Will you show us? So what you're doing is a little bit, which I'm fine with you, gifting them FPU. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. But I think your expectations have to be very low.

And the role that you play, Chase, is a, hey, I'm giving you this gift because it's helped me. I'm talking as Chase. And I've loved it. And if you guys want to try it out, awesome. Here it is.

And you wipe off your hands and you walk away because you can't. That's not the role that you play in life for them. And I hate to say it. I feel like that sounds like, oh, we're going to just turn our backs or something. And it's not that.

It's just the reality of the relationship. So that's what I would say, Chase, go ahead and gift them FPU. I think that's a really kind thing. And you can say from your experience how it's helped you. But besides that, there's nothing that you're going to say, or I wouldn't put that pressure on you, that this thing you're going to say is going to change them.

And, or they're not asking for your advice and they're grownups. Now I would say this,

He does. And he's living with the mom. I know, but I'd take one shot. If this were me and my dad, I would go, dad, I want to support you. I can't do anything about this.

You are going to have to lead, mom. You are going to have to do something about this. And I hate that you're in this situation. I'll support you. All right.

But I'm going to tell you, dad, I think this has gone on too long. You guys need to get on the same page. And I would challenge my dad, but just once, just once, I'd go, dad, this is on you, man.

So, oh, Chase, your heart is so good and your intentions are so good. And I get it. And, like Ken said, maybe there's one good run at it of. just like, dad, I can't sleep at night, unless I say this for my own conscience. Like here it is.

And then, Chase, I wouldn't. And if your dad brings up conversations with your mom to you, I would draw a boundary there too and say, dad, not my problem. I'm sorry. I'm not the one to talk to you about. And I get y'all are talking money and all of that, but I would just be really careful.

I just think, as grown children, those boundaries, I just think that those conversations are really important because they can get tangled really quick. And I don't want responsibility put on you, Chase, or you're feeling a level of responsibility that is not yours to carry. So, I don't know if I'm being too harsh on that or too.

I think his dad's coming to him and he's kind of treating him like a counselor. He needs to go to a real counselor. And he's coming to the son because he's like, well, my son did this and I don't have the cojones to do it myself.

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Welcome back to the Ramsey show. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by Rachel Cruz, and we're here for you this hour. The phone number to jump in is 888-825-5225.. Taking your questions about money, about your work and income.

I need to get more income. Side hustle, starting something. Can I make a move during the baby steps? Anything related to that, we would love to help you. 888-825-5225..

So it is the season. I don't know if anybody talks that way anymore, but it's certainly the season. It is the season. Okay. I was afraid you were going to roll your eyes and go, there's old man, Ken.

again. Just the toll free call. But I love you. That's right. Never again.

By the way, people were on Instagram going, yeah, Ken, I'll call the toll free number from my home phone. I was like, okay. All right. Point made. But I love Christmas.

And as I look about the lobby here at Ramsey Solutions, we've got it all decorated. I got trees in my house. I love the Christmas music. So you have a fun little Christmas money lesson. We're going to play a game.

We just.

And all of you on YouTube, play along. I'm going to number them one through six. Okay. And try to put your guesses in as well before, before. Okay.

So here we go. These are going to be kind of short. So I hope they're going to be good. Here we go. Number one, don't spend your work Christmas bonus on a pool until you actually have the money.

Christmas vacation. The greatest Christmas movie of all time. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Number two, don't steal a credit card and try to.

Home Alone 2.. You know what? James got me on a technicality. I missed that one.

He's a stickler,

Boy, I'm going to go with my instinct here. If I'm wrong, James is waiting.

Yeah, that's a clue, I guess. If you switch houses and do VRBO, make sure it's what you expect. Do your research.

Come on, Kenneth,

My wife is going to be.

If there's a sign in the mall that says, for someone special and you buy it, they may not want or need the gift.

Does James have it? Okay, James has it.

Is that Elf? Is it Elf? I was going to say that, or Paul Blart Mall Cop. I wasn't sure what it was going to be. Elf, well done.

Well done.

It's one of Winston and I's favorites, though. We think it's so funny.

Here's the last one. Don't lie to your family about not visiting them on vacation and saying that you're going to go on vacation.

That's where they're going to inoculate the kids in Burma, and he makes up Burmese in the bedroom while they're packing. It cracks me up. It is the funniest movie. That and one last one. Okay.

Swaddle that baby.

Oh, the Christmas service is just too much. And then Graham, Graham, but I'm going to stop there. Graham, Graham, Betty White. No, that's not Betty White. No, it's not Betty White.

Oh, my gosh, you're right. Sorry. Nope. It's true, though, but they make a very good point. You can't spell lies without family.

It's a Wonderful Life? Miracle on 34th Street.

Yes. I think it's a Christmas movie. I'm pretty sure. the blue and the audience, you jumped ahead. Would it kill you to wait?

Would it kill you to not interrupt me? I was setting it up. I think Die Hard's a Christmas movie. That's what I think. You think it is?

Austin says yes. James says,

Lots of lessons to learn. God, It's a Wonderful Life. I need to watch it.

Obviously overspending.

Yep. Last week from Wallet Hub. Yeah. A quarter of Americans. I mean, it's unbelievable.

They're still.

Within reason. Your budget's different than everybody else's. My budget's different.

Well, they're interviewing about today, so I didn't get all the historical facts, but you're a history buff. I feel like you could go back in those days. But we were talking about the expectation of lifestyle in general from, for sure, the 50s, even the 80s. Average square foot of a home, the cars. I mean, everything about it.

Just our natural baseline of lifestyle is high. And that bleeds over, for sure, into the Christmas season. And so it is. It's this expectation and it's the buy-in, I think, too, because this gets me. It's the stuff you don't plan, right?

Like we do a budget and we plan out, hey, here's how much we're going to spend on Christmas. And then, you know, a party comes up. This happened to me last week, and it's a bunch of girls, I know. And it's a favorite things party. I'm like, well, I want to go.

But you have to bring two items. I mean, they're 20 bucks each, so it's like 40 bucks. That's 40 bucks that.

That's what they did in the 50s. I'm kidding. I didn't say that. I wanted to. I remember, you probably don't remember this, but some of you are old enough to remember when the Tickle Me Elmo first came out.

So yeah, I do think it's, I think it's not being able to plan well because you're trying to do everything. And when stuff comes up, you just add on and, or not having the margin, but continuing to live how you want to live. And there's a point that we have to be grownups to say, I just can't do that, you know? And it's hard to say no to.

Please don't make any crazy money decisions. It's going to be okay. And don't be like those people that Rachel was talking about, that are still paying for last year's Christmas. Oh, that gives me heartburn.

This is the Ramsey Show.

Welcome back to the Ramsey Show. I'm Ken Coleman. I'm joined by Rachel Cruz, and we're here to help you win in your money and in your work life. By the way, if you're enjoying the show, no matter how long you've been listening to the show, one of the things that we would love for you to do, if we're adding value to you in any way, we'd love for you to share the show. Subscribe, leave a great review, share it with a friend.

That all helps us get out there. You know how those algorithms work. I don't, but they're out there. And so all of that helps us get in front of people who may be struggling, certainly this time of year, as we head into the Christmas season, a little bit strapped financially, maybe heading into the new year and wanting to break free of all that debt and get a good start. We'd love to help.

So please let people know. 888-825-5225.. Let's stay right here in the back of the woods, if you will. I don't know what I'm saying. In our neck of the woods, there it is.

Nashville, Tennessee is where Kate joins us. Kate, how can we help?

Hi, Kate.

Hello. How are you? You're on with Ken and Rachel. What's going on?

It's more on my end. I moved out on my own two years ago. We just got married a couple months ago. And I've just been struggling to find consistent work that pays enough to the point where I've been on and off unemployed over the past nine months. And obviously, unemployment brings on debt.

And I'm trying to figure out how to work with that while still being unemployed. Okay. So what kind of debt have you accumulated?

I have some credit card and just some medical and other general debt. Okay. And what kind of work?

Ideally, I would say farming. Realistically, I went through a course for data analytics almost four years ago and have not been able to find a.

Some of it has been living on my own. due to the rising costs. I've had to look for other jobs just to stay afloat. I recently was diagnosed with a thyroid illness and realized that part of what's made me be unemployed is I have difficulty getting.

So your job hopping? Yes. But you're not hopping from something to something. You're just leaving something then trying to find something else. Sounds like.

Well, I have been.

Okay. So we don't know. So the issue is, would you be better served doing maybe a remote job or from home, where it's kind of? that is the thing they're expecting? Is.

That's what I've been trying to find for almost four years now.

And if you can't find something, there is something going on with the way you're looking or the way that you are actually applying and getting into the situation. Because you should be able to find something right now with all the online freelance work that's out there,

He is a full-time student. He's about to start his final semester to graduate with a bachelor's in business administration. So he's not working?

He works part-time, but very limited part-time because he is a senior.

And I don't care if I'm a senior. I have to pay my light bill and my rent and my mortgage. You know what I mean? There's a level of adult choices here that are not fun, but that have to happen to survive in our world today. And I'm not talking about the luxuries of life.

I'm talking about, Kate, you guys got to pay bills to keep the lights on and the rent paid. And so he may have to stop school. I mean, he may have to pause, Kate. That's how urgent I want you guys to feel. Unless you can find something, which I have confidence you can, but it's that urgency.

You looking for four years and him staying in school full-time, working part-time, that doesn't happen. You can't do that. Does that make sense?

But Rachel's right. Your hubs has got to be working two jobs. He doesn't have a thyroid condition and the degree, we can get back to that degree. It will be there. He doesn't even need the degree.

Honestly, a business degree doesn't guarantee anything. I don't want to kind of pour salt in a wound here, but Rachel's 100% correct. He's working two jobs, maybe three jobs, to get you guys in the income where it needs to be, to pay off the debt. Weekends, Saturdays, Sundays, full-time. He's working nonstop.

And I will tell you, you need to be looking at customer service roles until this thyroid thing gets under control. I think it's very hard for you to go to a Walmart or a Target or someplace like that when you've got this physical condition. that is obviously sapping your energy and untold other issues. Here's the point. You can be working online,

tutoring, customer care. Those jobs are everywhere. Data input. Data input. I mean,

There needs to be-.

You've just got to go, hey, this is where I'm at. I've got a thyroid condition. It's now diagnosed. I'm getting treatment, but this is where we are. Hubs is in school.

We need to make money. We'll do anything. And you've got to start putting the word out. Do you understand what I'm saying? This is not applying online and just hoping your resume makes it through the matrix.

This is you talking to people, posting on social media, go, hey, I'm looking for X amount of hours. This is what I-.

But you guys are in that situation where you need it. Because how much is your rent a month,

It's 700, so it's not that much.

Any amount of money, Kate, to get you guys in a stable place, but that's probably going to mean him working Saturdays and Sundays and nights. I'm like, that's... And bartend, be a waiter. Like the places that you make some good money too. Hey, let me tell you this.

I hope your.

I don't want to do it. That's right. But there's something to be done right now.

RamseySolutions.com slash agent.

That was a little fun exercise. The game that we played earlier.

We're in the process of moving to that home. We're in the fortunate situation that we didn't have to sell our existing home in order to purchase the new home. And so now we're sort of left with a question of what to do, you know, whether we should sell it, whether we should rent it out. We did buy the home pre-COVID and we bought in an area where a lot of New Yorkers have moved to. So our property value has increased, thankfully, because of that.

So, yeah, that's sort of where we are. We're just wondering what to do with the home.

OK, so if my math serves me correctly, Brian, you could sell your house, your old house, current house, and pay off the new house, correct?

the romanticism of it leaves.

No. Okay, Brian, listen, here's where I would say to keep it. If you called in, Brian, and you're like, we're making a million a year, I'd say, you know what? Pay off your, you guys live on nothing, pay off that house, pay off the other one, keep it as a rental because it's yours and you own it outright in three years, whatever, whatever, whatever. But this keeps you, I mean, $560,000 on one, $680,000 on the other.

It's keeping you guys in debt. And so when debt comes into play, there's a lot of this. that's just, I don't know, it just adds on to me more stress and the idea of, oh, it's just passive income. The renters will pay, they'll pay them more. Like all of that that people believe about rentals, it's just not true.

There's more of a headache. Now, if it's all paid for and you could take on the risk of something, that's something else.

Okay. What would the rent...

And I have another question. You said, the hope is we return. When would that be? When would you return, if that was even an option?

What if one of you loses your job? Without question. This thing that is supposed to be so great, and in a perfect world, it's great. Where, Brian, in a perfect world, you could sell it, bank $220,000..

when Winston and I moved as a married couple. We had spent a decade of, you know, and all of it. And I cried, and I took pictures of every bed. I mean, all of it. And I just told Winston, I was like, I'm so sad.

I'm so sad. But yet we're building this home that we're so excited about, but I'm so sad. I'm so sad. Brian, can I tell you this? This is not an exaggeration.

We moved in. Two to three days later, I had to go back to the house because we forgot something in the garage. I had to pick up. And I walked in the kitchen. I was like, whoa, I want to go back to my new house.

Oh, there it is. I flipped a switch. And again, and you may not, but I'm telling you, when you make the change, the glamor and the... I understand the sentimental factor, but it seems just to... I don't know, for me, it'll always be special, but it's not a reason, I would keep it for $560,000 of debt.

She doesn't know.

Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, this is The Ramsey Show. It's where we help you win in your life, specifically, winning with your money, winning in your work, and winning in your relationships. The phone number to jump in, we'd love to coach you today, is 888-825-5225.. 888-825-5225.. Rachel Cruz joins me.

I'm Ken Coleman. And we are thrilled to be here to coach you, guide you. We want you to win. So let's get to the phones. Susie is up in Seattle, Washington.

One of my favorite cities. You were just out there recently.