Make Your Decisions Based on Your Desired Destination
2023-12-12 01:56:10
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Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show, where we help you, help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual, amazing relationships. Ken Coleman, Ramsey, personality, number one, best-selling, author of the book Paycheck to Purpose and host of the Ken Coleman Show, is my co-host today. Open phones as we take your questions about your life and your money, open phones at 888-825-5225.. James is in Appleton, Wisconsin, starting this hour off. Hi, James.
How are you?
I'm good. How are you doing, Dave?
Better than I deserve. What's up?
Awesome. So, I have a question for you in regards of scaling my full-time gig into like an entrepreneurial situation where I work for myself and no longer for a company.
You mean your part-time gig?
Correct.
Okay. And how do you equate your full-time job? Is that what you're saying?
Exactly.
Okay. I got confused. Okay. I'm with you. All right.
All right. So, a little bit of background. At this point, with my full-time gig, my wife's income, and the side gig, I make about $360,000 to $375,000 a year in annual income.
We completed all the baby steps. Unfortunately, we did fall back into baby step 6B, and we do own a second home at this point at a lake house, and that is on pace to be paid off at $5,000 a month by 2030. And currently, one of the ways that we're really being aggressive in paying this off is with my side gig where I buy and resell video games.
At this point, just as a side gig, I have about $200,000 a year of revenue at 85% net margin, and really just looking at ways to really grow and build that, so that I could maybe step into that at some point in time where I need to back up because I got lost.
in a number there. The $375,000, is that your personal income at your day job, or is that household income?
That's all household income from all income sources.
Okay. My full-time job is my wife's job. What is your day job? What do you get paid on your day job?
About $230,000 a year, give or take with bonus.
So you would walk away from that for something that is currently making 85% margin on $200,000?.
Correct.
So about $170,000?. All right.
So $230,000 for $170,000..
How much do you owe on this lake house?
About $400,000..
Geez, nice lake house. Mm-hmm.
Now, you said, what are you paying yourself off of the side hustle? I know what it's bringing in. Is that what you're paying yourself, the $170,000?.
I end up paying myself about $80,000, $85,000 a year.
Okay. So how much is your wife making?
$60,000..
Okay. So there we got the breakdown. So $290,000 between your day job and her day job.
Correct.
Okay. Well, do you know how you're going to scale this? I mean, you've done a good job getting it up to... I didn't know buying and reselling video games to get it to that point of about $200,000 gross income. What is the next phase to scale that?
Are you aware of that or still trying to figure that out?
Well, I'm kind of trying to figure that out. So in my mind, I have a way that I could go big, but it would require about $2 million of investment. And that's just something where I've got a spot where I'm going to go into debt for, or anything like that.
I agree with that. It sounds like a bad idea.
Yeah, not an option. Well, the simple answer to this is when anybody asks us this question, the simple answer is, well, we want to get you to a point where you are replacing your day job income with the side hustle. And I always like to go a step further and have about six months of that income and retained earnings in the side hustle bank account. So that's the simple kind of on paper, because that removes all risk and it doesn't put stress on this side hustle, which is ultimately this thing you really want to do. And so that's a good emotional and financial decision.
So that's the straightforward answer. But you've been debt free and now, all of a sudden, you've got the lake house. And so I think it's going to be a while. It would be my answer before I go full time.
What do you do that makes two-thirds?
I'm a director of finance for an F&P 500 company.
So here's the trade-off.
You've got to have a way that you can see the thing scaling. that's not $2 million.
Because you don't want to quit your job and be stuck at 85% of $200, right?
Correct.
So what do we got to do? to not take this thing to the moon, but to just double it?
Correct.
And I'm asking, do you have any idea how to do a smaller scale than a $2 million investment?
So really, at this point, I do have one employee that does all my packing and unpacking for me and some of my quality checks. I have debated in terms of scaling it, just basically doubling my inventory. I never have more than $5,000 or $6,000 of inventory on hand.
Well, you can double your inventory, but only if you can double your sales.
Correct.
Is inventory limitation limiting sales?
No, it's time and investment. I maybe spend five to ten hours a week on this at this point.
So that's what I would be doing, Dave. I would be thinking about how to replace himself to where now the five to ten hours becomes 25 hours, 30 hours, and then a full-time job. So you've got to transfer your knowledge and the experience plus the time. Those are the three components of what you do in five to ten hours a week, yes?
So I would say you can go full-time when you can see how to scale this to double.
Yeah.
And if it doesn't work after you go full-time, are you willing to sell the lake house? Because the lake house is going to destabilize your whole freaking life right now if you go full-time and this thing turns down.
A failure in this move could cost the lake house.
Are you willing to do that? Because that's the risk you take. You step out of the $230,000 comfort gig, you go for it, and it turns down, you've got to dump the lake house while you do the next step.
Yeah, absolutely.
That's what you're facing. It's a risk management issue.
If you're willing to do those two things, find a reasonable path to scaling this to $400,000 at 85% or 80%.
and say, if it doesn't work, we're betting the lake house on this dream. Not the fact we're going to get foreclosed on, but I'm not going to let the lake house, a toy, $400,000 on, take down my life because my dream turned left. Okay? Absolutely. So.
you've got to manage those emotions, with you and your wife going into this. If you do that, you're going to be in fine shape here. And I would tell you to go for it. as soon as you can do those two things. I'll tell you an interesting story right quick.
We've got just a second. A guy called me in 2012 and said, I'm a pharmacist and I have a side gig. I make $70,000 as a pharmacist. I make $70,000 on my side gig. My parents, who are pharmacists, say, I'm crazy to quit being a pharmacist, but I want to go do my side gig.
He's doing silencers for guns. Suppressors. Okay? And I'm a gun guy. And so I'm like, hey, if you love it, he goes, I love it.
I hate being a pharmacist. I love, I don't hate it, but I don't want to be a pharmacist. I love doing this. You love this gaming stuff. He was doing $70,000 that year net profit.
Last year he did $70 million gross.
I told him to quit being a pharmacist. It was good advice.
Yeah, it was good advice. And he's been successful to this point, Dave. This is now about systems. And he's going to have to train somebody to do what he does. That's how he scales us.
The margin's there.
That's what James has got to do. He's got the brains to do this. Absolutely. This is the Ramsey Show.
Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Open phones at 888-825-5225.. Thank you for joining us. David is in Kansas City. Hi, David.
Welcome to the Ramsey Show.
Hi, Dave. Hi, Ken. Thank you so much for taking my call. You and your team have been such a big source of motivation and mentorship in my life, so I appreciate you.
Well, thank you. How can we help?
I've been following you. I found you all in college. In short, I think my main question is, so I'm 25.. I make about $90,000 a year. And I do just want to point out, I am a child of immigrants, and so I've reached a good financial spot, being in Baby Steps 4,, 5, and 6..
But I think, thinking of 2024, in short, I think my biggest fear is lifestyle creep. And so I still live with multiple roommates, and it's still very hard for me to spend money. And so I just kind of wanted to talk through goals with you. I think the next logical goal would be to save up for a house, but I do plan on maybe going for an expat role outside of the country in a couple years. So when I think of the future, there's a big question mark, and it's been a little bit harder to kind of define what it is.
I want to, my action steps, if that makes sense.
Yeah, that makes sense.
So if you were to buy a home, and five years later, expat, what would mean you couldn't sell the home?
Well, I think right now, where I'm at. right now, I have around $30,000 as a down payment, so I would want to maybe save up a little bit more, since interest rates are so high.
That wasn't my question. You said, I don't need to buy a home because I'm an expat in the near future.
Yes. So if you were to expat in five years, leave the country,
expatriate, because you said you're an immigrant, right?
I was born here in the U.S., but my parents aren't, so I brought that up because I think I have this mentality of where I want my parents.
to save everything that they could. So where would you move?
So the company I work for, we have positions all over, but I would love to go to Europe for a couple years.
That doesn't mean you need to expat. That's a whole different thing. Expat means you're leaving and not coming back, dude.
Okay.
You don't want to expatriate, lose your citizenship to the U.S., in order to not pay taxes or deal with the U.S. government anymore, which that part of it sounds real appealing, but the rest of it isn't. You don't want to lose all of that to go work for some company in Europe and four years later, change your mind. That's not an expatriate. That's I want to work overseas.
Different deal. That's okay. I'm not sorry. I just want to explain. People that expatriate, they move to Costa Rica because they're never coming home.
It's the ultimate go-off-the-grid thing. That kind of stuff.
So what's the timeline, realistically,
today in Jesus? How old are you?
He has an idea.
I'm 25, I'm single, and I'm currently in the middle of a roll right now, so I plan on rolling off in July 2025.. When I'm thinking of the next year, I'm like, okay, do I keep being as single as I can and max out HSA, max out 401K, or do I take a step back? I think I mentioned this, but I'm a little nervous about lifestyle creep because I've seen my peers go all out on their apartments and their cars, so I don't really fall into that. I don't know if I should keep being aggressive.
David, I think the chances of you having lifestyle creep is close to zero. You've mentioned it three times in the last four minutes. So you're not going to do that. It's not inside of you. Okay?
Chances, though, that you... What you do need is a place, something to aim at, a more defined process that will enable you then to build your financial plan around that. And so let's just say, let's just announce to the world, we're going to move to XYZ in 2025 with my company, and I want to live there for five years. Okay? I just made that up.
Or whatever. If that's your announced goal, then save to make that happen. And that's not maxing out HSAs. That's piling up cash in a mutual fund, so you've got a big old pile of cash. So, while you're in Europe or Dubai, or wherever it is, for five years working for your company, you've got some pad.
You've got some extra things. And then, when you come home, you've got a big... Later, ten years from now, you've got a big old pile of cash to buy a house with.
Okay. Okay. And I guess the only reason why I brought up the 401k and the HSAs for the tax-advantaged accounts is that... That's fine. Load them up.
Load them up, but don't do that and have no other money. You need some other money to make some of these other... to give yourself some wiggle room in some of these other areas. So, what's hurting you, what's giving you anxiety, is it's difficult to plan when there's not a set goal.
And so I'm encouraging you to set a goal, even if you change it later. Let's set a goal of saying, I'm going to go for five years, beginning on this date, and if it ends up being seven years or three years, so what? Or even if you want a little earlier or a little later, that's fine, but at least you're planning towards that, which tells you then don't buy a house. That's right. Because you're going to be in Europe for five years.
You don't want a rental property in the States. when you're in Europe, or where, or Dubai, or wherever it is you're going to go. I don't know why I picked up Dubai, I didn't say that, but...
But that's, you know, that's the thing. So you can plan. and can, you know, in the case of our last caller, you can plan to open a business. That's right. But you just...
If you just say someday, then you can't plan. Right. It's like.
the equivalent, and you're too young to know this, but we used to have these things called atlases, David, right? And so you'd put them out, and it was like what you see on a phone now, but a smart map. But it's the idea of just staring at it and going, well, I could go here, I could go here, I could go here, and it's going to drive you mad. And Dave's exactly right. I know I want to go overseas, so now let's come up with our three best options, based on your company.
They have locations. So we start there. Very specific. Okay, these are my top three destinations, based on where my company has offices. Now I'm going to look at cost of living there.
So we know Portugal is going to be way less cost of living than Dubai, if you will. And that's what Dave's talking about. A very specific strategy. I'm going to go spend some time here while I'm young and single and experience life over there. What's my cost of living?
You know, and I can continue on my financial goals, which you already have done a great job. So this, you're stressed out because you don't have a very clear direction, destination. Choose a destination, then make the financial decisions based on the destination.
Yeah, that's a good point. And you know, that really parlays over into a whole other discussion, Ken, of some of you are facing some really tough stuff right now.
my friend Jim Collins wrote a book, was it Thriving on Chaos? And I was discussing this book with him in Green Room. We were both speaking one day at a leadership thing, and he was so excited about it. He said, I have discovered that people that uncertainty is much more stress-inducing than ambivalence, is much more stress-inducing than a known tough road. That's correct.
So if you lay out a road, even if it's a tough road, it's not as stressful as just not knowing. That's correct. Obviously, the least stress-inducing is a great road, but if you've got a tough thing to do, lay it out in detail and say, these are the things I have to do to survive this time. I'm in right now, and your level of panic, your level of anxiety will drop dramatically. Without question.
That's why the baby steps have worked for millions of people. People are freaking out. My financial house is a complete dumpster fire. I don't know where to start. It's overwhelming.
I've got $250,000 worth of debt, and then they begin to watch the show, listen to the show, they begin to read Total Money Makeover, they begin to use every dollar, and they begin to see, wait a second, debt. freedom is the destination, and now I've got seven steps that I can walk through very clearly. It's going to be painful.
I've got to work extra.
But now I know where to start.
I've got to live like no one else.
You told me a story years ago, I think you were in the Middle East, maybe even Israel, and you talked about going in a cave, and you were like, I don't get freaked out by dark and close, but this was so dark, Coleman, I couldn't see with a hand in front of my face, and that is the same emotion that we see in finance, relationships, in our professional lives. When we don't know where we're going, you're paralyzed.
And even if you're stuck, that freaks you out. Speaking of caves, oh my God. Just being stuck. Just being stuck. The idea that I'm stuck is terrifying.
I can walk through sewage up to my neck, but just don't make me stuck. That's the thing, right? That's the way we all are, though. And that relates, really, to David's situation as well. The ambivalence is more stress-inducing than the hard path.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host. Open phones at 888-825-5225.. Thanks for joining us in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions. On the debt-free stage, Lance and Morgan are with us.
Hey guys, how are ya? Pretty good. How are you? Better than I deserve. Where do y'all live?
Evansville, Indiana. Oh yeah, just up the road. Not a bad run to Nashville. Welcome here. Good to have you.
How much debt have you guys paid?
$168,170..
Good for you. How long did that take? About 35 months. Good for you, guys. And your range of income during that three years?
Started out around $140,000 and we're going to end out the year around $195,000..
Good for you. What do you guys do for a living? I'm a GIS technician at a local wastewater utility.
And I'm a railroad signalman.
Alright, very good. You guys are doing great. Congratulations. Thank you. What kind of debt's the $168,000?.
It was our mortgage. You paid off your house!
Looking at a couple of weirdos!
I love it! Way to go, you two. Well done. What's this house worth?
Around $275,000..
Wow, very good. And how much have you guys got in your nest egg already? Your retirement?
We're about halfway to the millionaire.
About another $100,000 in that. So about a half million dollar net worth. Way to go. How old are you two? I'm 30..
And I'll be 30 tomorrow. Hey, happy birthday! So, 30 years old and a paid-for house. Y'all know how weird that is, right? Yeah, that was the goal.
We want to be weird. That's good. Way to go. So tell us the story. What happened 35 months ago that made you think you could actually do this by your 30th birthday?
We got married in October 2020..
Oh, wow! Yep, good. A little COVID wedding. And then we decided, hey, we might as well tackle it.
Hit the road running.
Prior to that, I had to pay off my student loans. And he was like, okay, well, let's see if you can do that. So the day I paid him off, he decided to go buy the engagement ring. Oh! That's an interesting correlation.
Yeah. So it feels a little bit longer than 35 months for me, but we decided to go ahead and be weird. We set the goal, and we were able to do it. Knock it out. How did you find us?
Radio.
Okay. So you were listening on the radio, and y'all were talking about it when you're engaged, or when you're dating, and then you're engaged, and then you're married, so we're going to pay off the house.
Yeah, I made her listen to it quite a bit.
I became slightly obsessed, a little bit. Listening to it every day.
Yeah, eventually, I think we just said, we can keep being gazelle, and, you know, give up some boating.
Yeah, we gave up boating. Two years.
That was a little hard. And then gave up vacations. We did many weekend trips, and some concerts we had to give up. We had some COVID concert tickets that had to be moved. So at least we still kind of got to enjoy that a little bit.
Okay. Wow.
So I want to know on the other side of this, you paid the house off now, and you guys went after it. There was some serious sacrifice you just mentioned, but this was a lot of effort. Why? I want people to hear, why did it matter to you to pay off the house? And in that, why, what does it feel like on the other side of this?
Did it match up with your? why? The actual feeling? Yeah. We got a lot more freedom, I feel like now.
The grass feels a lot greener. It still feels.
surreal seeing our checking account start to increase. The first of the month, you know, not getting the mortgage being taken out of.
And then off to the stage here, we got a three-month-old that we just had, our old pig rat, so we get to bring him into this world.
We really were trying to get him to come to a home that was actually ours.
Oh, wow. That's great.
And you did? I did. Wow. So what's your first big thing you're going to do with money now that you're completely debt-free at 30 years old?
We got a couple vacations planned already. Where are you going? We got Kenny Chesney concert tickets to Boston.
Nice. Good run. We were hoping to do Ireland as well, but it'll probably be pushed back to 2025..
But for now, that's about it. We don't really know.
We're going back boating now, next summer.
There you go. What's that mean? You buy a boat?
We always had a boat. We just parked it because the upkeep was keeping us alive.
So it's in the driveway. We just got to activate it. Gotcha.
It's a good reminder to come back.
I'm waiting.
Good. Good for you. Well, way to go, you guys. Way to go. What do you tell people?
the key to getting out of debt is? Because there's people listening going, you'll now never have a house. Well, you got a house paid for and you're 30..
I would say budgeting was huge. Using every dollar. I liked, being able to track each transaction we had.
Every dollar is addicting. It is. I always look forward to going to work and moving it over real quick. Particularly for marriage. But yeah, it's addicting.
Communication was a big one between us. Being great about everything we spend.
pretty much. Is this okay? Is this in the budget? Can we go for this this time? Yeah.
Okay. Let's go for it. When it got really tough,
we had to remind ourselves. this is the goal. We're almost there. Keep going. Teamwork makes the dream work.
You've got to be on the same team. Yeah. And we want to bring this baby home to a debt-free house. So we're not going out to eat tonight. Way to go, y'all.
And you've got the rest of your lives to do anything you want to do now. I know. It's surreal. You already have a half million dollar net worth. You're going to be Baby Steps Millionaires in 20 minutes.
now. It's going to happen so fast. It's ridiculous. The next one is going to come home to a millionaire's house. That's where you're going to be.
That's how fast it will roll, because you've got no payments. You get wealthy. Your generosity factor this time of year, particularly, you start seeing it around Christmas. You can go bananas with stuff. You don't have to, but you've got the margin to.
Find somebody that's in need. You can do all kinds of stuff to help people. It's a cool place to be. A very cool place to be.
I love it. I love it. Here's what I want people to hear. The sigh of relief, even as you're recounting it. You said this is very surreal.
You guys have got total freedom to do whatever you want to do. now. I think that people need to understand the exchange for all the sacrifice is true freedom. When we talk about peace, it's freedom to make the choices you want to make. To live the life you want to live.
That's what's on the other side of this. That's what I see with you guys.
It's really exciting. It's a great feeling. It really is. Way to go. We're proud of you, heroes.
You took control of your life. You've got to keep control of it for the rest of your life. You're an unusual married couple. You actually get along. You actually communicate.
We watched it happen. I asked a couple questions. Both of you knew the answers to the questions at the start of this time. together. You both are on the same pack.
This is what we're doing. This is who we are. This is where we're going. There's nobody dragging their feet. Nobody having a hissy fit like a four-year-old.
We're both going to go win like two freaking adults. I'm so proud of y'all. Well done. This kid's got a great set of parents. What's your baby's name?
It's Cormac. Here comes Cormac. into the shot. We're going to do a debt-free scream. We've got to have the reason for doing it in here.
That's good. How cute. That's so fun. Lance and Morgan and Cormac, who has no idea, from Evansville, Indiana. $168,000 paid off.
That's their house and everything before their 30th birthday. Did it in 35 months, making $140,000 to $195,000.. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.
Three, two, one. We're.
debt-free! Yeah!
Oh, yeah!
Didn't even face Cormac. He's still rocking.
He just kind of furrowed his brow.
What's mom yelling about? Pretty cool. Very fun. Congratulations, you two. Absolutely beautifully done.
Hey, we've got the live and give box for you. It includes the Baby Steps Millionaires book, because, as I mentioned earlier, you're about 20 minutes from being there. You'll be surprised how fast that'll happen. now. Of course, the Total Money Makeover book, you can give that to someone who doesn't believe your story, but if you follow the plan, the plan works, people.
It's not rocket surgery. You can do it. It's really simple. It's just hard. That's the deal.
And of course, a Financial Peace University membership is in the live and give box as well. Thanks for coming down from Evansville, Indiana. We're proud of you, heroes. Way to go, Lance and Morgan and Cormac. You got it down, buddy.
This is the Ramsey Show.
Buying your first home is a big deal and sets the stage for your financial success. So, work with a mortgage advisor you trust, not just some random website. Churchill Mortgage is Ramsey-trusted because they help you avoid hidden traps and expertly guide you through every step. Learn more at churchillmortgage.com. This is a paid.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. This is the Ramsey Show. Thank you for joining us. Jack is in Portland, Oregon. Hi, Jack.
Welcome to the Ramsey Show.
Hey, Dave. Hey, Ken. Thanks for having me.
Sure. What's up?
Hey, so my question is my wife and I are looking to purchase our first house in the near future here and I'm kind of curious if you think we should keep saving and pay cash, being that we are close to affording it, or should we get a small mortgage and maybe the pros and cons to each of those situations?
What's your household income?
Household income is around $150,000..
Okay. And what have you got saved now?
We have around the end of the year, we will be at around $300,000..
Okay. And what's the price of the house?
We're looking in the range from $400,000 to $450,000..
Okay. So you're talking about like three more years or so, right?
If you pay cash.
Yeah, I mean, hopefully not. I mean, we've saved up what we have really quickly.
Out of $150,000 household income. what are you saving a year?
Roughly $70,000, a little over maybe.
Okay, so it's two to three years. then. Yeah. Okay. All right.
Or you take out a small $150,000 and you pay it off in two to three years, right? Right. Yep. Okay. Well, there's actually one of the few things on this show.
there's two answers to. Answer. number one is I don't borrow money. And I'm always a little bit uncomfortable telling somebody to do something I won't do. But anytime you take out a mortgage, that's something I won't do.
And so if this was Sharon and me, we don't have an option. We have to wait and pay cash. Because we don't borrow money for anything, ever, under any circumstances. I will never be a diamond debt again, ever, for any reason. There's nothing I'm scared enough of or want badly enough to get in debt for it ever again.
Nothing. Period. So I'm not borrowing money. So we would wait and pay cash. That doesn't mean you're wrong, because taking out a mortgage, as you know from listening to the show, Jack, is something we don't yell at people for on this show.
Now, if you go take out a stupid car loan, I'll yell at you for being a fool.
But just for your own good. Not because I like to yell at you, but I'm just going to call you a fool. Because it's going to keep you from getting rich. That's the bottom line. But that's in your case, if you take out a mortgage, that's a 15 year fixed, where the payment's less than a fourth of your take home pay.
that's the maximum mortgage. we tell people to do with the whole idea of turning around and getting it paid off as fast as you can. You know all that, Jack. And so that's one end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum is I tell people I don't borrow money at all, so you could do the I don't borrow money at all and wait two years and pay cash, or you could take out a small mortgage and pay it off in two or three years, and you're well within the range of what we say to do on the show.
So either answer is okay with what we teach on the show. You see what I'm saying? Yes. Yep. Okay.
What is the living conditions where you are now?
They're pretty good. actually. I mean we're happy renting where we're at. Our rent is relatively low compared to if we were to.
move to another area. If I ask your wife, does she give me the same answer?
Yes.
You hesitated.
Yeah. I have a feeling I'm talking to the nerd tightwad and she's not.
Well, you're correct. Okay. Alright. And my I mean.
She would say buy the house and pay off the mortgage quickly. You would say I want to save and wait.
Yes. We're just so close to being there that we're getting you know trigger happy, I'd say.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, she is.
and yeah, you are not and you're.
trying to go. Dave, please tell me I can't do this. But yeah.
I'm not going to tell you that, because it would be inconsistent with what I've told people for 30 years. So I'm okay. if you go ahead and buy. Prices are not going to come down in Portland, Oregon. I don't think, and I don't you know, unless Portland in and of itself has issues, but which it does but depend on where you are in Portland actually as to whether or not you're going to see price problems.
But that's a political climate thing. That's not a.
it's not. it's a law and order thing. It's not a a an economic thing for you. So as long as you're you know, outside the realm of where issues are and you're in a stable area that you're talking about buying, prices are not going to go down. in that area of Portland, Oregon.
You're going to be fine. And I would not wait for prices to come down. The interest rates are irrelevant because you're going to pay it off so fast. you're not even know you had an interest rate. Right.
And now what I would want to do if we go with her side of the deal where we're getting, where we're getting house fever and start looking in the spring and buy something. I would want a firm commitment that the two of you sit down pinky, swear, spit, shake, sign a little agreement together or whatever to where you both are saying when we buy the house we're going to lean in and pay it off in this many months.
Because it wouldn't be fair to you, your side of the feelings and argument for you to buy, and then she goes oh, we're going to pay off in four years instead, because I want to furnish it.
Right. That's not.
fair to you, because you're saying we can pay it off in two or three, and she needs to commit to that. if you guys are going to what? if you're not going to wait, you follow me. that's just a relationship thing, though that's not a math thing. Yep.
Because what will happen is you go in there. it's easy to just say oh, we got to go buy the twenty five hundred dollar play set for the backyard.
Yep.
And didn't have to have that before, but now we got to have it. you know and there's all this stuff that you need to have after you buy a new house that you don't really need to have. People spend eighteen thousand bucks to decorate the nursery for a child that takes up about four square inches of place. you know, it's just like ridiculous. people go bananas.
we had to do that for the baby. the baby doesn't even know what you did it for yourself. that's a lie. so you know that it's the same kind of arguments. people get into there, so I don't care which way you go.
Ken, what would you?
and Stacey do? I would buy it now. and the reason is, I'm just looking at the real estate market and even though rates have gone up, we see that the inventory is really low and so housing values haven't dropped. now you've seen housing purchases drop, but prices haven't, and, to your point, I just don't see a situation where they're going to get a better deal on a house. so I go ahead and buy now with his intensity and pay it off quickly.
but agree to a 36 month plan, or whatever the plan is. do the math and go okay, we're going to take a $150,000 mortgage and we're going to pay it off at $70,000, and so that's 24 months right?
I agree, because they're saving $70,000 a year on a $150,000 income. that's extreme saving. I got a lot of hope and faith that he's going to pay that house off, and she as well.
if the whole idea doesn't get sidetracked, and that's what he's a little bit afraid of.
I think so, but I think she you've had more experience than this. yes, she wants the house. you nailed that, but she's also gone along with this. she hasn't fought him. she's on board to save $70,000 a year.
they're on board, so I feel really good about it. that's what I would do, Dave, only because I'm going three years from now or two years from now. what are the housing, that housing? is that going to go up to $500,000, that $400,000 to $450,000? is that going to go from $450,000 to so?
from that standpoint, I'd probably buy now if I find something I.
like. I do think that even if house prices are stagnant for the next 24 months, as soon as the market is enlivened again, we're going to see them jump up.
I think you're right because demand.
any gains you get by an interest rate reduction in your payment, you're going to lose in a price increase because people are sidelined and they're all going to come back to the game like they did after the Fauci pandemic. right, they're going to come back to the game after that.
yeah, well, I've asked you about this before. I'd love you to share with our audience. you know, let's say we got another year of sevens. all of a sudden, if we see something in the high fives, there's a psychology to that and people go well, that's a lot better than the seven, and so now they move. is that what's going to happen?
exactly the opposite psychology. we went from three to four and you would have thought we shot people.
that's right, it's true.
three to four. right, you know, I'm selling real estate. in 1982, and the interest rates went down from 16 to 14 and the flood gates opened, I sold 78 houses that year. I was 22 years old.
I just had a horrible but slightly entertaining thought. could you imagine if interest rates on mortgages were 14 to 16% right now, TikTok would melt.
you know, there's something we could hope for. this is the Ramsey show.
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. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Ken Coleman. Ramsey, personality number one, best-selling author of the book paycheck to purpose, is my co-host. thanks for joining us.
the phone number is 888-825-5225.
888-825-5225. Marcus is in Oklahoma City. hey, Marcus, welcome to the Ramsey show.
hey, Dave, how are you?
better than I deserve what's up.
I'll just be quick and to the point 2020-2021. I was working a mortgage company. they closed their doors in 2022. I was making quite a bit. now I'm a teacher didn't file my taxes for 2020 and 2021.
probably 80% of that was obviously commissioned, so I did. I know I need to file those now, obviously, and I'm going to owe quite a bit. I was just going to see if I can maybe get some advice on how to go about doing that in the least harmful way.
ouch, okay, here's the thing. not paying taxes is not a criminal act. not filing taxes is a criminal act. that's what's weird. we do not have a debtors prison.
they don't put people in jail for not paying their taxes, but they do put people in jail about $2500 a year for failure to file. okay, so that's the danger that you're in. I'm more concerned about that than I am. the payment plan I don't think you're in trouble and because 99% of the time that you're not some public figure, that you come and self you know you catch up your filings. they're just all late.
you don't get into any criminal issues, but I want you to get it done now. I don't want them to come find you. okay, I want you to go to them like immediately, no later than the middle of January. these documents need to be filed. okay, that's the panic.
then the second issue is how do we pay it? well, number one we've got to assess the damage and figure out from the actual filings what you actually owe. and then you know your worst case scenario is you're selling some stuff and putting the KGB I mean the IRS on a payment plan. okay, so, because I mean if you were doing mortgage origination in 2020. you made some bank.
yes, sir, yeah.
like what did you make that year?
probably $250.
and you paid zero taxes.
yes, sir.
did you save any?
yeah, I got about probably $100,000 saved.
oh good, okay, because you're probably going to have a $100,000 tax bill.
oh, yeah, okay.
if you got two years of that, you will.
yeah, easy.
yeah, so you're going to give them what you got to limit it and then you're going to work out the payments. what you've got to have is a real tax pro in your corner right now, and if you'll go to RamseySolutions.com and click on the tax ELP for your area there in Oklahoma City, I know them. they're good people. they can sit down with you and help you first get the filings done and then, secondly, negotiate the payment plan and how much of this you've got to throw at them to keep them off your bank account, because we don't want them putting liens on everything after you file, but also don't want them putting bracelets on you that connect because you didn't file.
yes, sir.
so we need to get filed and then we need to develop how tough the path is that we've got to walk through. do you own a home? yes, sir, what's it worth?
about $500.
what do you owe?
about $200, okay.
and what is your household income nowadays?
probably about $70. I have three jobs right now, so I'm a teacher, I do some data entry at night and I do wait some tables on the weekends.
do you have any money other than the $100?
no.
do you have any money in retirement?
I do.
I do not tell people to cash out retirement for um, to pay off debt I might to pay off the IRS to keep from selling your home.
you follow me. so that's what you've got to get into. you've got to ascertain. let's just say this okay, let's say it's $150, and you throw $100 down and you say okay, we're going to pay.
$20 or we're going to pay $2000 a month for three years and we'll be out of debt. that's okay. but if it's $200 and you put $100 down and you're going to be in debt for a decade, you don't want that. you need to clean out something else the house or the retirement accounts and clean up the mess. so the not filing and it's not the not filing, the not paying and the not filing I hope it's not a ton more than the $100 when you get there.
it's going to be something more than that. but you need to get. you need to understand the size of the problem. the not knowing is a bigger stress inducer than knowing the details. so you've got the cancer diagnosis.
you just don't know what the treatment is yet and you don't know whether it's terminal. you know. so the first thing they do is they scare you to death and you go around for about two months or two weeks with no information and then they start going okay. well, here's the treatment plan. oh, you mean I'm not going to die.
well, that would have been handy information about a week ago, you know, and that's kind of what you're dealing with here is that same set of emotions. so
you know the yeah, get with a tax pro today when you hang up, open up Ramsey solutions.com click on tax pro ELP at Oklahoma City and go sit down with them this week. I don't give a crap. if it's Christmas, you know you need to give yourself a gift to get this monkey off your back. oh man, that's scary, yeah, and I.
hope he has. he saved some money. I hope he also has some write-offs and records of that kind of stuff so that he can you know.
the better your records, the more you can limit this.
yes, that's exactly right. write-offs and records tax pro here is huge, though do not try to figure this out on your own.
no, and don't go ask the IRS what to do. oh yeah, good lord. yeah, it's like asking a dog if it's hungry, you know. no, we don't do that. so you know.
where did you get your tax information from the IRS? oh, my god, you're a fool, you know. no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we don't. we don't ask them. we don't ask the fox about the hen house hello.
yeah, so yeah, oh yeah, they're tasty.
and, by the way, don't ask them for grace either, because they don't have any. this is get your tax pro to help you. I used to.
talk to grace. no, I used to talk to her weekly. she called me all the time. it's like from Christmas.
vacation. she died 10 years ago. yeah, yeah, they're just not going to be kind and a tax pro here is going to be your advocate, and they know everything that they can do. they're worth it, so don't try to navigate this on your own.
yeah, and here's the last part of this these commercials that are on cable TV. do you have $10,000 or more in tax debt? we can get it forgiven. we have ex-IRS agents working for us. just give us $5,000 and we will promptly do nothing for the next 24 months.
that's what that is. that's a complete freaking scam. there's a thing called the OIC, an offer in compromise that you can get your federal income taxes forgiven. about 1% of them are approved. you have to prove total paupership, meaning you don't have a house, you don't have a job, you don't have any potential income and you don't have any assets of any kind, and then they will forgive your debt after fooling with them for about two and a half years.
don't answer those stupid butt cable TV ads. go get a tax pro and actually work a plan to get the mess cleaned up. this is the Ramsey Show.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today. thank you for joining us. America, Sarah, is with us in Honolulu. hi, Sarah, welcome to the Ramsey show, hi.
thank you for taking my call. sure what's up. my question is, um, what I should do with an inheritance that I'll be receiving.
okay, how much of an inheritance did you get?
180,000 wow.
who left you that.
my.
mom. oh, I'm sorry. when did she pass on?
um earlier this year.
oh my, I'm sorry. how old are you?
um 52.
five, two, yes, okay, cool, what do you make a year?
my husband and I um household income is 250,000.
net. that's good, okay. so um, how long have you been listening to us?
a while off and on.
okay, so you've heard us talk about the baby steps, I assume.
yes, we don't have any, except for our mortgage that we owe 410,000, okay.
um. do you have an emergency fund?
yes, it's 55,000.
all right, good, do you have um anything say for your kids college, or are they grown and gone?
um, they're grown, they're kind of doing it now we and we do have in our checking account um, we have 100,000 right now.
okay, all right, for what?
um, I don't know. we're just you don't know what to do. we're just overthinking everything. okay.
you have 100,000 in addition to this 180. yes, okay, so that's 280 and you owe 400 and you make 250.
yes,
okay, all right. well, as you probably have heard if you've listened for just a few minutes on the show, we know that from the data we have and the 30 years of experience doing this, that as we talk with millionaires, they have two primary areas that cause them to become their, to get their first 1 to 5 million dollars of net worth. and the two primary areas are a paid for house and their built up retirement plan. or, you know, investing steadily into your 401k, Roth IRAs and those sorts of things. and so we teach people to become debt free other than their home in baby steps.
2 and then 3 is have an emergency fund. you've done those. baby step 4 is invest 15% of your income into retirement. you should already be doing that or you should start doing that. 5 is kids.
college does not apply here. yours are grown and gone, and 6 is pay off the house early. so if you were to work the baby steps, you would apply any free money that you have, not counting an emergency fund, not counting putting 15% of your income towards retirement. any other free money that you have like, for instance $180,000 inheritance, or any free money that you have like, for instance an extra $100,000 laying around sloppily in the checking account. I would throw all of those towards paying off your home as soon as possible.
if you did that, you would only owe about $100,000 on your house and you could pay it off in a couple of years.
okay.
and if you had a paid for house, then that would be a whole cool thing, cause that house in Honolulu is pretty stinking expensive.
yes,
what's it worth?
I believe about 1.1.
yeah, yeah, okay. so paid for house alone makes you a millionaire right.
yes, it does.
so any objection to paying off your house.
um. the only um thing that we've been thinking about is that, um, we may or may not have to move in a year or two to the west coast and we haven't been able to decide where we want to retire when my husband retires in 7 years, so we're just kind of like.
that doesn't matter. you can sell the house when you move.
okay.
you're not giving the money away, you're paying off a house. when you sell the house, they give you a check.
okay. and then another option was smartvestor. pro said that we could invest the money until it builds up to the amount that we need to pay off the mortgage.
no, they didn't. if they did, they're not going to be a smartvestor pro anymore, cause that's contrary to what we teach, and they know that.
okay.
so I'll fire them for doing that. I will not endorse someone that says to do that and a smartvestor pro is who I endorse. so you hang on. we need to find out who it was that said that, and I want to follow up on this story and make sure you got your story straight before I fire them, cause that's not what we teach people to do and we don't send people to smartvestor pros who teach them to do something different than what we teach.
we never tell someone to build up enough in their mutual fund with their smartvestor pro until they pay off their house. we tell them pay off the stinking house as fast as you can, throw the money at it as fast as you can. so either you misunderstood or they're getting ready to get fired, one of the two. so we'll find out about that. we'll have Austin pick up and find out what really is going on here.
but no, you need to pay off your house. son, throw the money at the house, that's what I would do. you called and asked me, now, you're a grown up, you get to do whatever you want to do, but I don't think your mom, who left you this money, is going to be mad when your house is paid off. I think it's a great legacy, a great tip of the hat to your mom, a great way of honoring her to have your home paid off. the difference in stability in your life, the difference in future wealth building, making $250,000 living in a million dollar paid for house, how fast you will be able to add to your wealth is mind-boggling.
it's mind-boggling. so hang on, Austin will pick up. we'll get to the bottom of that. open phones at 888-825-5225.
888-825-5225. Ken, that sometimes comes up, so we've got about 5,000 6,000 people that we endorse through our SmartVista Pro program, or whether it is through the ELP program, with real estate, taxes, and so on. we require all those people to, first and foremost, have the heart of a teacher. We require them, second, to give advice that is consistent with the advice that you hear here, so that I'm not telling you to do one thing and then someone I send you to is telling you to do something else, that would be hypocritical and then you're just confused because of the inconsistent lack of integrity that that represents. so that is something we require.
so when we tell you to go to a SmartVista Pro, you're going to get the heart of a teacher and advice that is consistent with what you hear here, and that advice is not consistent and, as a matter of fact, it's almost perpendicular.
Well, and I wanted you to explain why, because I think that makes a lot of sense to people. okay, put it in a mutual fund, let it gain some. why do we teach the opposite to say no, let's knock the house out, get on that, not save it up in an investment fund and then pay it off? Because in my.
experience of doing this for 30 years, when you build up $400,000 or $200,000 in a mutual fund, you end up doing something stupid, but with it instead of paying off the house.
so it ends up becoming a distraction.
it ends up being a problem rather than a blessing, and about half the time people actually follow through on it. but it's a bunch of theoretical hogwash. oh, I'm going to make money at 12% in a mutual fund and I'm going to offset the 7% mortgage or 5% mortgage or whatever I've got. No, you're not. you're taking risk here that you're not even ascertaining, you're not even measuring risk properly.
so that's just. you know, the number of millionaires that we interviewed. out of 10,000 millionaires, that said, Dave, the way we got rich was we saved up money in a mutual fund and paid off our house almost none. they paid off their house and they dumped money in their 401k's, in their mutual funds. That's how they did it.
it was almost none, might be 5 or something out of a 10,000 of them. so, you know, these people, all these people, have freaking theories, but they're people with no money. they've got all these theories. Or they've got a conflict where they're trying to get a commission.
that's the issue, so whether it's it shouldn't be from one of our.
better not be, pisses me off, but, put my name on that.
there's an agenda. It's Ramsey.
trusted, hello, good god, you know, so. but most of the time when we check into this, when it comes up on the air, someone misunderstood or the story was wrong or whatever it is, so hopefully that's the case there, and it's because it almost never happens, because we're so freaking hardcore on the due diligence with these folks that we put in these systems, because Ramsey trusted does mean something, means I trust them, hello, and everybody that works here does, hello, this is the Ramsey Show.
Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality is my co-host today in the lobby of Ramsey Solutions on the debt-free stage. Phillip and Rebecca are with us. Hey guys, where are you?
Hey, how are you? Where do you guys live?
We're actually from Phoenix City, Alabama, which is outside of Auburn, Auburn, Alabama, and you're wearing an Aggies shirt. I'm so confused.
So we actually moved to Alabama because I joined the military, so we're actually from.
Texas. Oh, okay. Now I understand. Alright, well. thank you for your service.
Thank you. Which branch are you in?
I'm in the Army. I'm a competitive shooter and she is a nurse.
Cool. Okay, so competitive shooter. Now I'm going to sidebar. just a second. What the flip?
What do you do?
So, spoiler alert. I actually went to the Tokyo Olympics. I compete.
Oh, with the air rifles, then.
I'm actually a shotgun shooter, but you're close. Okay. Yeah, so I'm a competitive shooter, and what they do is they then take my name and likeness and try to get people to join as well and show what the Army can provide for you as a career. So with
a shotgun. Correct. So you're talking about clays and... That's me.
Wow. So you essentially are a spokesperson for the Army by showcasing your skill. That's exactly right. Very interesting.
Alright, thanks for the sidebar. How much debt have you paid off? We paid off $275,000 in five years In 60 months, and your range of income during that time.
is from, let's see, I've got it written down here, $115,000 to $165,000.
Okay, very cool, And you're in the military, we've got that established. You said you're a nurse? I'm a nursing director. Nursing director, okay, Two great careers, very cool. So what kind of debt was the $275,000??
We had a couple of cars and our mortgage Paid off your house! Paid off the house.
Couple of weirdos! Absolutely.
I love ya! Wow, what's this house worth? Well, it was originally. That's about $325,000. Excellent!
Wow, how old are you two? 28.. 27 And you have a paid-for house. that's worth.
$300,000. Wow, Well, tell us the story. How'd you get turned on to Ramsey and how'd you do all this stuff?
So I actually grew up listening to you through my parents. Financial Peace? Baby? Yes, I was. So I listened to you.
It was right after some lady that would come on and talk about computers And I would tune in to your channel after hers, and we would listen to you on the way home from Christmas and Thanksgiving and while on the road. So I just kind of got interested. Actually, whenever we bought our house in 2018, about three days later, a hurricane came over and I had never been in debt a quarter million in my life before and then, three days later, for a hurricane to come over, it kind of sends a little bit of a shock through ya, right? So then I was like, you know, I don't want to be in debt anymore. We should probably listen to what this Dave guy has to say.
Wow, so, Kim Commando, I bet Yes, that was her. Yeah, Kim's a friend of mine. That's awesome. Yeah, she's been doing talk radio almost as long as I have, yeah, Way to go, you guys. Congratulations.
So you did it! $275,000.. How long have you two been married? Five years. Okay, so the whole time you've been married, we're getting this debt paid off.
Yep, so we actually bought the house just a few months after we got married.
Okay, alright, very fun. So, Rebecca, at what point did you realize you had married a freak? This guy's crazy! He listens to these people on the radio and wants to get out of debt! I know, right?
Well, actually, we grew up together, so I've known him my whole life and I knew what I was getting into. You knew what you were getting into. Okay, childhood sweethearts.
There's a picture of us somewhere where we're both about eight years old, at a birthday party together.
Oh, my gosh, wow, wow, There we go. Very cool.
The only thing I can think of is they've known each other a long time, which probably takes away that weird situation when he comes to date and her dad brings out the shotgun and then he's like, oh, well, I better not bring out the shotgun. That could be a really tough situation there. You had some skills, I'm guessing, early on I could give him some lessons. That's where my brain goes.
Oh, cool! You got a shotgun!
Yeah, he's probably pretty proud of you as well, I'm guessing. Okay, here's what I want to know. You guys start right out of the gate, Newlyweds, and we're going to go after this big goal. Was there a time where you wavered at all? and if you did, how did you stay focused?
or were you just locked in the whole time? Great question. Like any advice that I get, I don't just jump all the way in. I kind of test it a little bit. It took me a little while, to be honest.
I did not get rid of the credit cards right away. It took me a minute and then, over time, it just seemed like everything that y'all teach came true. So then, as it slowly became a thing that comes true every time, I was like, okay, maybe I should trust a little bit more, then trust a little bit more. So it just kind of went from dipping my toe in the water to jumping head first.
That's fair. I mean, that's wisdom. A good dose of cynicism will keep you out of a mess.
One other follow-up question and it's shotgun related, I can't help myself. Instead of cutting up the carts, did you throw yours in the air and shoot them? I'm just curious. Actually, I just went with the shredder. It would have been more fun to go ahead and shoot them.
A little disappointed you didn't do that.
We've had some people do some pretty creative plastic surgeries with firearms.
One guy with a .223 on full auto. He just shredded them. It was great.
Good job, you guys. I'm proud of you. I bet your parents are hollering and yelling. I bet they're screaming loud. They'd be watching.
Well, they should be Way to go, you two, You got an incredible start. You're going to be multi-millionaires. Now, somebody else's 28 or 27 or 25 is listening, they're going, gosh, when I'm 28, I'd like to have a paid-for house. What do you tell them? the key to getting out of debt is?
You just got to be boring. I mean, that's the best advice you've ever given is that everything that you should do it should be so boring that you get tired of it. Whenever you're out and you're spending your money, you're trying to make things more exciting than what they actually have to be. The secret is that there is no secret, and until you learn that you're not doing it the right way,
Rebecca, what do you think? My advice would be? it's a deliberative act. You have to choose this lifestyle and just continue moving forward with it. We're very competitive people by nature, and just watching the debt tick down is what kept us going.
You gamified it.
It's addicting to run through it and knock it out. It is, yeah, Waiting for the next paycheck to come in so we can throw more money on it. It's kind of dumb.
So I can mark through these zeros. It's like, wow, But it's not dumb, because when you get there, the other side of it, how's it feel now? Amazing.
Yeah, there was this moment, whenever we reached Christmas last year, where we had $70,000 left and we were like, huh, I wonder if we can do $70,000 by next Christmas. and we looked up and it wasn't even Halloween yet and we got our $70,000. Wow, look at that.
That's awesome.
When you put it in front of you, that's how it works. Hey, we got the Live and Give box for you, The Baby Steps Millionaires book. You're going to be one quick and early. Wow, 28 years old, Here you are already. Absolutely, you guys are amazing.
I'm so proud of you, heroes. Well done, and thanks again for your service. Also, the Baby Steps Millionaires books in there, The Total Money Makeover books in there. You'll give that to one of your friends who might have been thinking you were crazy, Even the Financial Peace University membership. All of that's there, the Live and Give box.
Thank you for coming all the way up from Auburn, Alabama. Thanks again for your service. Merry Christmas to you. Here's the way to go. Phillip and Rebecca.
$275,000 paid off. That's house and everything They did it in the first five years of their marriage. House is worth three-something. now They're well on their way to being Baby Steps Millionaires. $115,000 income Up to $165,000 Debt-free, house and everything.
Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream 3, 2, 1. We're debt-free!
Yeah! Woo-hoo-hoo! I love it!
That is so fun. That is so fun, That's great.
I feel like we should be celebrating Old West style right now, Just firing shotguns in the air.
They fired shotguns a lot in the Old West. What are you talking about?
Well, sort of a bar scene. It was more the revolvers. I understand, I took a little bit of...
Yeah, you reached.
Well, I went to the West and I thought, Instead of the revolver, let's go with the shotgun. I was making it all come together. I mean, you gotta give me a little creative license here, But that's a great story, though. Another young couple here Who's literally changed the trajectory of their life.
That's two in a row, Both of them under 30, with paid-for houses. That's crazy. I mean, you know how many years I did this show Before somebody under 30 came over and paid off their house? Paid off their house? Yeah, It happened twice just today already.
Oh my gosh.
You won't see that on TikTok.
You do if you watch this show.
Yeah, there it is.
Because we're taking up some space in that crazy environment. This is the Ramsey Show.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality is my co-host. You can hear him daily on the Ken Coleman Show and podcast broadcast, on radio, on SiriusXM, on podcast, on YouTube. He's always talking about your career and your job and how to make more money and how to do something fun with your life where you actually end up with money, and that's a cool idea. Lots of cool projects and things around that, including his number one best-selling book, Paycheck to Purpose. He's my co-host today.
Aaron is in Orlando. Hi, Aaron, how are you?
I'm doing well, how are you?
Better than I deserve, what's up in your world?
Well, I have a couple questions for you.
I'm born right now, with the current economy, to either start my own business or to enter a better paying trade than what I am currently in for the long haul.
What trade are you in?
Currently I do lift station work. sewage pump station.
and either for private companies, and I maintain them.
What do you make?
I currently make $24 an hour at 22.
You're 22 years old.
What trade are you thinking about? pivoting to? or moving to? Are there several, or is there one that's got your attention?
One trade that has my real attention, and has been one I've wanted to for a while, is I would like to do line work if I don't start my own business.
Big money.
Big money, in fact, I was talking to a guy a couple weeks ago who runs a line company training business, a line training these folks and they're looking for people. there's great opportunity, so what's keeping you from moving into that?
He might open his own business.
Yeah, but I want to know the answer to this first question, because I think that helps us with the second one. Are you truly considering it? You've been thinking about it a long time. Why haven't you moved?
The biggest thing with is economic climate. I live in Florida.
and that's one thing that has kept me from throwing away a job and jumping full in to try to start my own business, because right now the price of everything in Florida is so high and not a lot of people have the money to go ahead and do that.
So why would you be throwing away a job if you're taking another job in line?
I want to know why you haven't moved towards that. trade the line.
Currently.
one of the biggest things is I would have to travel and I'm not trying to jump into a vehicle payment to get a better vehicle where I can travel with Okay.
But you're assuming that you have to go into debt to be able to get a decent vehicle to be able to get to the job.
Do you have any money?
I have about $2,500 in emergency after some medical expenses.
So when they hire you to do a line job, do they pay a signing bonus of any kind right now?
No sir, There's a local union out of Ocala, Florida, that I'd be looking to join, and that's a three and a half year process to get a journeyman's card, and that would put me in the range of $44 an hour.
So it's not instantaneous, it just takes a while. Now the business idea takes 20 minutes to start, but you just don't know whether to do it right now. What is it?
It's fencing. I have some experience doing it from. I used to work at a municipality.
and I have some experience doing that.
Building the fence?
Yes, sir, building and installing. clearing the land to go ahead and install the fence.
Commercial fencing or residential?
Residential is what I have experience with, like cattle fence and then residential privacy.
What kind of equipment do you need for that?
If I needed equipment, the ideal and what you would really need to turn over a profit margin would be a small skid steer with an auger is the best piece of equipment you can use if you're not trying to break your back. It saves about 75% in time.
What's a good one going to cost?
$10,000.
So now you know what you're dealing with. I don't want to make your decision for you or hang something on you, but I would say that I think that you should try saving up the money for the auger, and let's see if we can get a couple of contracts here and there. but this isn't an all in situation.
I don't think you have to quit your job to start working on fencing as a side gig. I agree. I think you can pick up some side gigs with it. break your back for a little while You're 22 and dig some holes and build a fence or two. get the profit from that by the skid steer used, and then you can increase your profits and increase your speed.
Listen, there's never an economy that allows you to start a business ever. that's easy. It's always hard. The worst boss you'll ever have is working for yourself. That guy is a butthole.
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