2024-05-21 01:57:09
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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. Thank you for joining us, America. The phone number is 888-825-5225.. Ken Coleman, Ramsey, personality, number one, bestselling author, and also author of the bestseller, newly minted bestseller, Find the Work You're Wired to Do. Just hit the bestseller list, boys and girls.
So congratulations, Ken.
Thank you, sir.
Very cool. You can hear him on the Ken Coleman Show on the Ramsey Networks as well. So we're glad you guys are with us today. We're here to help. 888-825-5225..
Dexter is in Philadelphia. Hi, Dexter. How are you?
Good. How are you doing today, guys?
Better than I deserve. What's up?
Awesome. Awesome. Very good. Long-time listener here, and really appreciate the show and how you guys really help a lot of people and things like that. I have, under circumstances, I met a very beautiful woman who I plan to be with for the rest of my life.
And we're dealing with a situation where she is trying to basically get visitation for her daughter, and she has been under a lot of financial stress. And apparently, I've been trying to do a lot to help with the circumstances. A lot of lawyer fees.
The gentleman she had been married to is a very hostile. I believe he is sort of has a condition or something. I guess it's more of a controlling control person. And so I'm trying to do a lot of things to help in financing. I just bought a home myself, and I have paid pretty much for the home, and I'm renovating, and it's taken a lot of my finances out.
I have four months to try to get moved in, but I have a lot of financials to re-renovate the place. So I'm kind of doing it on my own.
So, due to conditions, the girl I'm dating is actually trying to get visitation to her daughter, and he won't allow her to see her daughter. And she had the cops come out to try and have visitation, and he won't allow her to see her daughter. And he's controlling the daughter by buying gifts and doing a lot of things to control the relationship of that situation.
I got you. So you're dating a hot mess.
Yes. No doubt. Okay. How can we help?
I'm trying to figure out. She doesn't want me to help her with some of the finances. She's really saying, look, I got this. This is my mess.
She's stating that don't get involved or try not to. And so I'm helping out. She's also helping me renovate the place, so then I try to help her with other things and do things to whatever I can do, she'll allow me to help with.
And she's in a situation where all her finances are into a lawyer who is fighting so she can just get visitation. And she's basically in debt with her family because her family is giving her money to help out with the situation.
What does she make a year?
She makes probably, I want to say maybe $50,000 a year, $55,000.
So you've still not asked a question, but I'll just go ahead and give you a comment or two. Okay. Number one, do not contribute money to someone's situation that you are not married to. If you're married, it's now your problem. If you're not married, you can cheer, you can be a shoulder to cry on.
You can be angry with her. You can participate emotionally and relationally in her fight and so forth, but do not transfer money. You're going to change the tone of your relationship if you do, and you're going to regret it later. Do not pay her bills when you are not married to her under any circumstances, period. I've been doing this a long time.
100% of the time. people do this, they wish they didn't. For one reason or another, it always bites you later in the butt. Don't do that. Okay?
That's a true statement. Yes.
Then on top, but I want you to be supportive for her. She's obviously going through a hard time. You're obviously emotionally invested, and that's cool. I've got no issue with that at all. Have at it.
You're supporting somebody you care about and they're going through a hard time. Do it. That's what good people do. You're a good man. As far as your house goes, you just bought a house you got to renovate.
If you didn't have the money to do the renovation, you shouldn't have bought a house that needed renovation. You need to step in there and get that sucker done and get moved into it. Again, that's got nothing to do with her finances. It's as if you told me two different stories. You have the story of the house, which is completely independent of the story of her, except the part where she's helping you sweep and do some of the renovation or whatever.
Maybe she's swinging a hammer and hanging drywall. I don't know what she's doing. That part, there's a little bit of overlap, but the rest of these are two separate stories and they need to remain two separate stories.
True. Okay.
I think what you're struggling with is you've fallen for her, which is not a bad thing. I'm not saying she's not worthy of that.
You're starting to want to treat this like a marriage situation before it is. I'm telling you, when it's a marriage situation, you're all in, buddy. You signed up for the trip. You take the trip. Until then, you're just a supportive boyfriend.
Yeah. I'll just add, Dexter, Dave's 100% right. Don't think that the out here is to go ahead and make the marriage happen. I could hear it all over yourself, your voice. She said she didn't need help.
It's my mess. I can hear the but coming. I think you need to wait. This thing needs to resolve itself before you guys get married. That's just my opinion.
Don't think all of a sudden that what Dave said is, well, the asterisk is, if I marry her now, now I can jump into this. I think you've got financial troubles. You're not clear, as you need to be financially with some margins. You're just going to have to wait this thing out.
Yeah. Get the house renovated. Get the visitation settled. Then you're both dealing from strength, not weakness, to build a quality relationship. I think, Dr.
John Deloney, where he's sitting here, we'll just channel our own inner. Dr. Deloney. I like channeling any inner doctor stuff because I don't have a doctor. There you go.
I have a doctor, but I am not a doctor.
Does that mean we have to take the same medication? he does?
I hope not. I wouldn't want to have those.
I don't have any tattoos or I can't do this.
I wouldn't want to have that twitch.
If I do this, I look silly. He looks cool when he does it. I think you're right. I think we got to be careful here. Let's get through this time.
Yeah. Deal in relationships from strength. You don't make yourself better when you're hurting by marrying someone. That just brought your hurt into the marriage is all it does. or your battle, or your, God help you, a house renovation.
I'm not sure which one I'd rather have. This is The Ramsey Show.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey.
Personality is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us, America. We're so glad you are here. Well, graduation season is here, and so the goods are here for the graduates. Ken's a brand new bestseller, Find the Work You're Wired To Do, which includes the famous Get Clear Assessment.
And you get an assessment code built into it. Almost 100,000 folks have bought the assessment and taken it online at RamseySolutions.com. Now you get the book that tells you how to read and go through the results and how to apply the results. That's a great gift for a graduate. Breaking Free From Broke by George Camel, speaking the language of that generation, of you, generations that just graduated, whether it be high school or college.
This book is fabulous. More research and detailed research on what's going on in the marketplace with money right now. It'll blow your mind, some of the stuff some of these companies are doing to you, and George unveils all of it. And the 20th Anniversary Edition just came out of the Total Money Makeover. Over 10 million copies sold.
That means over 10 million people have gotten a Total Money Makeover. It's been a graduate gift for a long, long time. You can get these graduate gifts at RamseySolutions.com in the store, and it's probably the best thing you could do. It would be better than giving them some lame-o graduate gift. Although some kids might think a book is a lame-o graduate gift, but it's not.
This is a book with life-changing material in it, all three of these, so be sure and check them out. Jeff's in Madison, Wisconsin. Hi, Jeff. Welcome to the Ramsey Show.
Hey, Dave. How's it going?
Better than I deserve, sir. What's up in your world?
Not a whole lot. I have a unique situation right now. Me and my wife, we started, or created and started a spray foam business, and we are in the, we have the opportunity right now to actually sell out our business. Quick background on us is my wife, she's a stay-at-home mom. She's a home school teacher.
We live out in the middle of nowhere.
Out in the middle of nowhere where there's no phone reception?
Yeah.
Just as you said that, your phone cut out. That's so perfect. Are you back with me?
Yeah, I'm here. Are you there?
Yeah, sort of. Okay, so you've got a spray foam business. Somebody's offering to buy it. Tell me about it.
Yeah, so it generates about $175,000 to $200,000 a year. We run on about a 58% to 60% profit margin, and we're just trying to figure out, we're not a business kind of people, so we're just trying to figure out what we need to do. We're trying to figure out the value of the business, how to structure the sale of the business, and what to do with the money after we get the money.
Okay, who's offering to buy it?
Another guy, another contractor, who actually just recently purchased another spray foam business, so he kind of wants to, I guess, control the market and keep his employees busy five days a week, nonstop, so that's kind of what his objectives are.
Okay, when you say you made a 60% margin on $200,000, that's $120,000 profit, but does that include paying you?
So we generally don't really take a salary. We kind of like pay our bills.
Yeah, are you working in the business?
Yeah, we kind of just hold on to it.
Okay, so if I were going to buy the business, I'd have to hire somebody to do what you do, because I'm not going to spray the foam.
Easy. Right, so I'm trying to put a value on the business. So the value of the business is the net profit after every piece of labor has been paid, and you haven't paid yourself labor out of that $120,000.. So if I hired someone to do what you do for your business, I might have to pay them $60,000, right? Yep, about that, yep.
Okay, which means we might make $50,000 or $60,000 net profit on your business. Does that sound about right?
Yep, sounds about right.
And what's the guy offering you for your spray foam business?
We're figuring right around $135,000.
Little low.
Little low.
Yeah, so if you net $50,000 on it, and I want to make 25% rate of return on my money, I would pay $200,000 for the business. Really? And I would make 25% on my money. Interesting. Invest $200,000, make $50,000..
That's 25%. You follow me?
Right, it's like kind of playing the stock market. If you had 25% rate of return.
Yeah, 25% is a good rate of return on a small business, which is higher risk than the stock market. Right, right, exactly. So your business, if you only wanted to make 20% on your money, then your business is worth $250,000..
Right, I see what you're saying.
So your business is worth more than $135,000.
Interesting. Okay, well, that's good to know. So then how would that be structured? Cash. Like I said, we're not into the cash.
Yeah.
Okay, just straight up, no loans or anything like that.
So if you can get $135,000 to $150,000 cash and walk away, and you're smiling and you're happy, and you're glad you did it, that's probably okay. Yeah. If it's a little low, but it's cash on the barrel head, the guy has to go scratch the money together from somewhere, then you may have sold it a little cheap, but you got your money all up front. You're done. No questions asked.
Everything's over.
Okay, all right. And then, so, with that money, we do have some bills that we'd like to pay. Is there anything specific that you would suggest that we should do? Pay our bills off first and then worry about saving for the future? Yes.
What do you think?
Yeah, we recommend getting out of debt, which is maybe step two. How much debt do you have, not counting your house?
Well, that's kind of the interesting thing. So we own 92 acres, and we built a house. So we bought some property, I want to say, in 2018, and we paid about $3,500 an acre. Right now, the value of that land is probably about, around our area, is about $8,500 an acre.
That's where you live?
Yeah.
Okay, how much debt do you have, not counting where you live?
Okay, then we would probably be sitting at about $72,000.
Okay, first thing we do is clear all that, and then you raise your right hand and never borrow money again.
Exactly.
What are you going to do for a living after you sell this?
So that's the other side of our business. We run a trucking company as well. A what company? I'm going to hop? a trucking company.
Okay, all right.
Do that as well.
Did you say hop back in the truck?
Yeah, I'm going to start driving again.
Okay, so what are you going to be making?
The gross on that is usually about $215,000 before everything.
Okay, all right.
So you're going to walk our baby steps out. Baby step three is the three to six months of expenses after you pay that debt off. So if you clear $150,000, all of that is basically, not all of it, but most of it is spoken for, right?
Yeah, you're going to pay taxes on it. You're going to pay taxes on it. You're going to set that aside, and then you've got to clear up the $70,000, and you put some money aside for an emergency fund, and a lot of that money is gone. then. Okay, and then after that, we take the fact that we don't have any payments anymore.
You now have control of your most powerful wealth building tool, which is your income, and you use that to invest for your future, to invest for retirement and a kid's college, and start talking about paying off that piece of land that you were beginning to tell me about, and that's the direction that you go. So good question.
Dave, I was going to follow up because I think this would be interesting for small business people that are thinking about selling a business. I was running through the numbers as you were walking. Was it Jeff? Yeah, Jeff. Jeff threw that.
Are you working out about a three to five times net profit? Is that what you were working on?
25% is four times. Right.
That's what I was thinking.
20% is five times.
It's somewhere in that range for a small business, or is that across the board?
Yeah, a small business. I mean, because you've got a high risk. The thing that people in a business of that size that's making under a million dollars a year, they very seldom take their cost out. So you always have to remove that to get to a true net, and you treat it like an absentee investor. Like if I was going to buy that spray foam business, I live in Nashville, I've got to hire somebody to run it in Madison, Wisconsin.
Now, that tells me what the business is truly netting. It's net, net, net. And then that tells me what my return on investment, my cash on cash return, is. And that's a good general rule of thumb. Dave, nobody gets 25% on their money.
In small business, you do every day, honey. But you work your butt off, and there's a lot of risk involved that you don't have buying a mutual fund. Okay, it's a completely different setup than a mutual fund. So, yeah, I make 25% on my money all the time at Ramsey. If I don't, I'm probably not going to stay in business.
This is the Ramsey Show.
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Thank you for joining us, America. We're glad you're here. Open phones at 888-825-5225.. Ken Coleman, Ramsey, Personality, number one best-selling author, is my co-host today. If you like what you're hearing, we could use your help.
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Leave those nice five-star reviews. They're very helpful. Zach is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hi, Zach. How are you?
I'm doing good. How are you all?
Better than we deserve, sir. How can we help?
Well, my wife and I were talking last night, and we were wondering if we should pause Baby Step 2 to purchase a storm shelter, since we do live in Oklahoma.
How long have you lived in Oklahoma?
Myself, 31 years, and my wife about four years.
Okay. And so why, all of a sudden, last night, are we afraid about tornadoes? They've been there the whole time.
They have, and it wasn't something that happened last night, but I'm an ag teacher, and spring is my busy season, and, you know, I've got a wife and year-and-a-half-old daughter now. And one night I was gone, had kids at a speech contest, and a storm started right for the house. A tornado gets put on the ground, and my wife and kids' only real option was to drive five miles into town to her classroom, which is a storm shelter. So I guess that kind of got me, kind of scared, the daylights out of me and got me thinking about it.
Okay.
How much would a storm shelter be?
About $4,000.
And what's your household income?
After-tax is $70,000.
Okay. So how long does it take you to save up and build a storm shelter if you push, pause and do this?
Two, possibly three months.
Two. Okay.
Well, it's, you know, the principle that we use is, if your car broke down, okay, and you don't have the money to fix it because you would have paid everything down to $1,000, and you need $2,000 or $4,000 to fix a car or replace a car, you would have to push pause because you're in the middle of an emergency. Okay?
Emotionally, after the scare with a one-and-a-half-year-old, your brain is in an emergency. Right. And I can understand that. Okay? If that had been my little kid, that would have done it.
But you and I both know that. statistically, you've lived there 31 years and haven't been hit by a tornado. They're all around you. You can see them out there dancing in Oklahoma. I know.
I understand. And they put on quite a show sometimes. And sometimes they hurt people and tear up jack. I'm not questioning that. Okay?
But statistically, tornadoes are way different than hurricanes, because it's one finger on the ground versus the entire city gets wiped out. Okay? And I'm just talking about the actual data, not the emotion and the fear around it. Okay? Right.
And so, statistically, you're probably okay to get out of debt and then do this. But I don't know if, psychologically, you're going to be. So. in order to stop your baby step two, you have to declare this an emergency.
Yeah.
Emotionally, I could probably do that. Statistically, I can't.
Yeah.
Does that make sense to you?
Yeah, it does. And I think I'm just thinking about it more of a peace of mind.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is.
Compared to the debt side.
So, Zach, let me challenge you. If I were you.
How long would it take you to get out? How much debt you got left? I'm sorry, Ken.
That's all right.
We've got $14,600 left on a car, and that is it besides the house.
All right. So, Zach, if I were you, I would not pause the baby steps. I would find a way to come up with the four grand as quick as I possibly could. Working extra hours, selling anything and everything. You know, four grand, you can find a way, is my guess, pretty quick.
What does your wife do for a living?
She's also a teacher.
Okay. So I think both of you pick up some tutoring.
And here's the thing. What we're talking about here is we're not talking about whether or not to do a storm shelter. What we're talking about is if you're paying off debt at the rate of $2,000 a month, you're done in seven months and in two more months, nine months from today, you're 100% debt free and you have a storm shelter. Okay? Yeah.
Or you do the storm shelter first and nine months from today, you're 100% debt free and you have a storm shelter. So the only thing we're discussing is whether we put it on the front or the back of the debt snowball.
Yeah.
And in the middle of that discussion, we might change those number of months by increasing your income. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So that's really the discussion. So can you deal with the emotions of this for seven months and so forth?
And I've got a bad track record on this, so I really am uncomfortable telling you to do something. I'm going to say, you know, if I'm in your shoes, the principle is, in order to put it in front of getting out of debt, you have to declare this an emergency. And after getting the crud scared out of you with a one-and-a-half-year-old, I'm not going to be mad at you if you declare an emergency. That's right. But I'm going to put with that the actual statistical discussion.
But I'm the guy who, what, 2020 March, remember that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm on the air. They canceled schools in our county tomorrow, the next day, because a storm might be coming, that might have tornadoes in it.
And they canceled school. And it's not. the sun is shining outside. And they canceled schools the next day. I'm the guy that went on the radio and made fun of that.
And the next day, a tornado tore the hell out of Nashville. I mean, hurt people and everything. And so, like, people, are ripping me to shreds on the Internet going, well, that didn't age. well, Dave. I'm like, no, it didn't.
So I don't make fun of tornadoes anymore. after that. That was my last time. And, you know, we had people in the workforce. We had three people in the workforce.
Our house got blown down. And, I mean, it was a bad tornado came through here. And that was right, as the pandemic was opening up. So it was a great March. You know, March of 20 was just an amazing month.
Yeah, so it didn't age well. But I still, you know, I still love the generation that go, you canceled school because it might snow. You are a bunch of wusses. You are totally wussed out. And so I just, I don't get it.
But I do get it. I get the guy. I would be scared to. If my wife and one and a half year old had run five miles away to get away from it, I would be scared to. I get that.
Absolutely. That actually happened. That was not a might happen tomorrow thing. And then I stepped in it up to my knees. But there you go.
So, oh, well.
And this is very doable. And he's being responsible about it. You know, he's asking the question, should I do it?
He's pretty cool headed.
Yeah, I think so.
Not in drama queen mode.
If I lived in Oklahoma, I think they call it tornado alley. I could be wrong on that.
It's definitely.
When is tornado season? Chill out.
You know, I think they have an unfair advantage, though, over Nashville. Oh, boy. Because we can't see them. We got hills. In Oklahoma, you can see it coming for 25 miles.
Oh, because it's so flat. You can just sit and watch it and go, oh, crap. It is actually coming here. You know, I mean, but here you just.
I don't think anybody in Oklahoma sees that as a distinct advantage. But I get your point.
Well, we get a lot of tornadoes in Tennessee. But we don't.
We do, actually.
We don't get any hurricanes. And we do have some loudmouth talk radio people. So, there's that.
I don't know any of those people, personally. None.
There's a lot of wind involved in this discussion, I'm just saying. This is the Ramsey Show.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality. Number one bestselling author, is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us, America. Kevin is in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Hi, Kevin.
Welcome to the Ramsey Show.
Hi, Dave. Thank you for taking my call.
Sure. What's up?
So, I was just wondering, looking for a suggestion or a recommendation. I'm able to save, after taxes and 401k contributions, about $2,800 per month. And I was wondering what percentage of that remaining amount I should be investing in the market or stockpiling cash. And I have no other debts. My home's paid off.
Good for you.
I'm just not sure. I'm just not sure what to pay.
Well, you're 100% debt free. You have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, I assume. I do. Okay. And then you're putting, you're maxing out all your retirement to keep the government's hands off of as much of it as you can.
If you're not, you should be. Yes, I'm maxing out. Okay. Excellent job.
Yes, I'm maxing out my Roth, 401k, and IRA, and HSA, all the letters. Wonderful.
You're doing everything right, brother. Well, at this stage, we call it baby step seven. There's nothing left to do but build wealth and give. Basically, there are three things, Kevin, and you know this, but I'm going to say it out loud, that we can do with money. We can have fun with it.
That's called lifestyle spending. We can invest it, which is what you're asking about. And we can be generous with it. You should always do all three. And so, to the extent your monthly budget, before it, nets out $2,800, does not do those things, I'm going to increase one of those categories a little bit.
So if you're not having enough fun, are you married?
I am not. Okay. No, I'm single.
Okay. What's something really cool that you've been hesitating to do because you're a tightwad?
Well, I kind of went against your rule, and I ended up buying a brand new car, even though I'm not quite at a million, but I did do that.
Okay. What'd you buy?
A hybrid Camry.
Okay. Ooh, you went all out. A Camry. Wow.
Well, it was a hybrid, because he had to save money on gas. Way to go.
That's right.
I can hear it.
If I can save $20 a month.
Yeah. It only cost me $50,000 to save $20 a month. This will work out.
It was cheaper than that. Don't worry. I shopped around.
Yeah, not much. All right. But yeah, that's fun. Okay. I'm with you.
So seriously, try to challenge yourself on your generosity bone and on your fun bone, and build up those muscles, those two muscles, because you're investing muscles really strong already.
Okay. So I'm investing enough of them.
Yeah. Well, no, you could invest more, but I'm not the guy that says, okay, put all $2,800 into a good mutual fund. Put all $2,800 into a fund until you build up enough to pay cash for a piece of real estate. If that's what you want to do, that's okay, but I challenge people that have gotten to the level that you're at. You're almost a millionaire.
How old are you? 35. Way to go. You've done really good, man. I mean, you just really have done a great job.
So I just challenge folks to make sure we have, in the actual mathematics, some balance between fun and generosity. So I have that formula. So last week, I got a check from one of my publishers on one of my books. Okay. I get a big check from them every so often.
These books keep selling. Thank you, Lord. And so, thank you, people, that you're buying them. Yeah. So I got a big royalty check.
That check is already spent in those three buckets.
Additional giving, additional fun, and additional investing by percentage. I just apply those percentages to that check. Already gone. And so then, when I go do something fun with the fun bucket, I have zero guilt. Zero question if I'm wise.
Zero question if I've lost my Christian spirituality. Although some moron on TikTok will have their opinion about that. But just the same. Of course they will. But you see, my point is, I'm not taking a poll on that anyway.
But the point is, I know that I've been wise and that I've touched these three main areas of life. And Sharon and I are going on a really great trip here in a couple of weeks. We spent a lot of money on it. But it's a very small percentage of our world overall. And it came out of the fun bucket.
Shut up. I mean, that's what we're doing. So we're 63.. We're going to have some fun. So there you go.
That's why we work. And simultaneously, there are some ministries that got some really nice checks because we got a big check in. And that generosity piece goes out, right? So it just keeps things flowing if you've got some kind of a way to already allocate the money.
Yeah, and I would just add that it's really fun to give that money too. Not just the fun bucket, but the give bucket is really, really fun. And Dave's been talking about that for a long time. And he's absolutely right. There's a real chemical reaction, a real healthy dose of endorphins.
when you have worked hard for your money, you've been disciplined, and now you give it to help somebody else.
Lewis is in Fort Lauderdale. Hi, Lewis. How are you?
Hey, Dave. How are you doing?
Better than we deserve. What's up?
Good. So my question for you is I used to have a problem with some credit card debt that I have completely cleared up.
Good.
Thank God. My question is now that I have no credit card debt, I'm working on step three, building up my emergency fund. I'm planning on purchasing a house. once I get done with saving up and have my emergency fund. Is it a bad idea to close the credit cards that I don't use?
It's a bad idea to close them later. The sooner you can close them, the better. Because it takes about six months from having all accounts closed at zero activity for your credit score to disappear. And if you're going to buy a house, you either need a good credit score or a zero credit score. You don't need one in the middle.
Understood. So, yeah, I was worried about if I closed them, it would have a negative impact on my credit.
It will temporarily, but over about a six-month period of time. And you're six months away from buying. Yes. But if you wait four months, and then you close them, and then you're trying to buy, and there's stuff still showing up, it's going to drag your credit score down into the 600s, maybe. You know, and you don't want to do that.
That's pushing this from no man's land. So you want a zero, indeterminable, as they call it, credit score. And that comes from having no accounts open and no activity on no accounts open at all of any kind for six months. Then you'll qualify for a loan with a good company, like a Churchill Mortgage that we endorse, with a zero credit score. That's what George Camel and his wife did.
They bought a home, same interest rate that some goober with an 800 credit score would get, exact same interest rate. But you've got to have a zero. I mean, you can't be in the middle. So you want to close them as fast as possible and be done with them forever and ever, which is your plan. The only reason you hadn't is you were worried about the house deal.
And this thing, this is the mythology, Ken. This guy's not falling for it, but overall, people out there that believe the mythology about debt. And what you guys have got to stop and think about is that debt is, we live today, at this moment, this moment, today, in 2024, in the United States of America, we live in the most marketed to human race any time in history. More dollars and more sophistication are spent selling you stuff right now than at any time in history. And in the United States, we are the best at selling you stuff.
You are impacted by marketing, sales, advertising. Every time you take a breath.
And the most marketed product in frequency and in dollars spent is debt.
It's a product. That's how those banks have towers and you have a little bitty house. Their house is bigger than your house because you've been giving them money, yours.
It's the most marketed product in the history of the world at this moment. So you guys are told so many lies about debt. You can't get a house without a credit score. All that debit card, it's not got the same fraud protections as a credit card. Yes, it does.
The exact same. Look at their website. Stupid.
Wow. See, people believe these lies left and right. I'm going to get rich on airline miles, Dave. You believe these stupid mythology lies. This is the Ramsey Show.
Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Ramsey Show. We help people build wealth, do work that they love, and create actual, amazing relationships. Ken Coleman, Ramsey, Personality, number one, best-selling author, and my co-host today. We're glad to have you. Open phones at 888-825-5225..
Felix is in Bangor, Maine. Hi, Felix. How are you?
I'm doing good. How are you doing?
Better than I deserve. What's up?
So, I am 19,, turning 20 this year. I am debt-free, and I have a six-month emergency fund saved up, and I'm looking to change my living situation.
Good for you.
Currently, I live with my fiancée and her grandparents, exchanging work, as well as pretty small amounts of living expenses for help.
And in exchange, I get to live here practically rent-free. So, I have absolutely no free time, and when I'm out of work, I'm into chores. It's not sustainable. It's taking a toll on my mental health, and I'm just trying to get better.
I currently have a tiny home that I am building on the land out back. I purchased the building and refurbished it so far to the point where I can start building.
My family are all in the trades and have agreed to help me with some knowledge on building that home to make it better. However, I'm still stuck on the idea of whether or not it's a good idea to have this tiny home and move it onto some land or...
Oh, so you're building it portable right now?
Yes. You're building it on a trailer or something so that you can move it and set it somewhere? Yes, sir. Okay. All right.
Out back, and then I'm buying land. I wanted to make sure I understood what was going on. Okay. All right. Cool.
Yes. All right. So, what do you do for a living?
I'm currently a CNA. I'm also in college. All expenses paid for computer engineering.
Okay. Good for you. Well done. So, your question at 19 years old and you're engaged to be married when?
The following summer.
Good. Okay.
Your question is whether to finish the tiny home and buy some land and plop it on that, or buy a house?
Yes, sir.
Buy a house. I hate owing money. Answer the question. Huh?
The thing is, I hate owing money. I really do. Okay. And all the houses in the area are just awfully expensive. Seeing those six numbers and thinking I'm going to have to owe, that kills me, you know?
Mm-hmm.
That's fair. And, you know, renting is an option, too. But the – so, here's the thing.
The tiny house, the problem with the tiny house movement is that it's tiny. There's not a lot of people doing this, okay? There's a lot of discussion. There's a few loudmouths on the Internet.
But 98, 99% of the public are not interested in a tiny house. When you get ready to sell it. Consequently, basic supply-demand economics tells us that where there is very little demand, there is very little price increase. So the tiny house is not going to appreciate dollar for dollar as much as a traditional property will. Now, the dirt that's under it might, and it might fool you into thinking that the tiny house idea was a good idea, but the tiny house in and of itself, there's not a lot of demand, and so there's not going to be a lot of appreciation.
The only thing it does do is it provides shelter.
Very little, but a shelter.
Do you have enough cash to buy this land you're talking about, since you hate debt so much?
No, sir. I was planning on getting a loan.
So what's the difference in a land loan and a house loan?
Well, sir, five years.
The amount? Yeah.
Five years in the amount, yes, sir.
Okay.
Also the credit required.
Okay. All right. Well, it is not going to ruin the rest of your life to do any of these three options. Rent, do the tiny house with some land, or buy a home. The thing that I think that will first, that will fastest advance you to where, when you're 39, which one of these three choices will get you the furthest ahead, renting for three years inexpensively and piling up cash will get you to where you want to go faster, at 19 years old, than buying a tiny land, buying a piece of land and putting a tiny house on it, or buying a house when you're in college, still, when you haven't started your career still, you're just getting to the game too early.
And if I were you, I would just be content and just rent something and start your life off with your fiance and work your tail end off. You're not afraid of work. You're a good thinker. You're thinking about ideas all the time. That's good.
The only thing I would add to your equation to make you prosperous is patience.
Yes, sir.
Yeah, Felix.
You're a go-getter, man.
If you could rent like a garage apartment somewhere and keep your cost really, really low.
That's what he's doing now. Except he has to work to do it.
Well, he's an indentured servant, essentially, is what's really happening here. Look that up, Felix. You'll understand that. But the point is that Dave's right. Something super, super cheap, because you've got the income and you've got the discipline, I would go that route too and just wait until you get out of school, get that big job, and get on the ladder and climb it.
I think you're going to be better off.
Yeah, the only appeal for you of a tiny house is price. That's the only thing that's drawing you to it. Now, you've already got it under construction. I would think you'd finish it up and sell it and load it on a trailer. Load it on your little trailer and take it over to somebody's little place and set that little thing down there and sell it and make you a little money on it.
Man, if you want to go, do that again, that'd be okay with me. That sounds like a good side hustle, building tiny houses and selling them to people if you want to. But in terms of, is a tiny house an equivalent investment to buying a home? Not even close. Not even close, because the demand for them is very low in reality.
There's a lot of discussion and a lot of hot air around it, but that's a lot different than putting it on the market with a little for sale sign and having six people run up to buy it.
And let's not forget here for a moment, Felix, Dave and I have been married a long time each. We haven't been married to each other, let's be clear on that one. But married a long time to our wives. And here's the deal, what I can tell you, the first year of marriage, and the data will tell you, it's really hard. And I can't imagine the first year of marriage in a teeny tiny house.
Sounds like a bad Aesop's Fable.
It does, I just.
. We need some space from each other, and there's no space in those things.
Yeah, you would, by definition, they're tiny. Sheesh.
Have you seen any of these reality shows where people actually live in these things? It all seems really cool until the cameras go away.
The only thing I'm sure about reality shows is it has nothing to do with reality.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, is my co-host today. Our question of the day comes from Adam in Wisconsin.
My 24-year-old son has a mentor that wants to hire him while he builds a new business. He will teach my son e-commerce, sales, and ways to start a business. The mentor is quite successful and is excited about teaching him how to be successful in this field. Because the business is so new, my son will not be getting paid for six months to a year. Hopefully sooner, but no guarantee.
Should my son quit his current job, where he makes close to $45,000 a year to join this adventure for the potential of a six-figure income and future opportunities from what he will learn? He currently lives with us and he has no bills except for covering his car insurance. Well, Adam, I'm going to tell you what I would tell my son. If my son came home and asked me if he should do this, I'd say absolutely not. I don't understand why this mentor, who is supposedly very successful and excited about teaching a young man, is going to ask him to come on for free.
Something doesn't add up. Smells like a scam. Smells like a scam. Free labor. And I think this is silly.
And so I would call the guy's bluff. And I think you're probably going to find out that it is just in fact that. It's a bluff. And I would tell him, no, you're not doing that.
Yeah.
I don't have much more to add to that. It doesn't make any sense to me.
If I took on the role of a 24-year-old, and I was the mentor,
I could not ask them to work for free. I agree. That would turn my stomach up into my throat.
Now, if you want to offer him a job, making what he's making now, which is not much, $45,000, while you start up, and you'll mentor him and teach him stuff, fine.
So I think you not only don't take the job, you disengage from the, in air quotes, mentor. Yeah. Because I'm not sure he's a real one.
Well, he's not. Not the way you and I define it, for sure.
Yeah. I mean, I would never mentor someone with the point of making them my indentured servant. Yeah, that's what this is for real. Yeah. Yeah.
That's not the idea.
It would be kind of the other way. As an act of honor, I would want to overpay someone I was mentoring, not underpay them.
Or give them a real opportunity through a commission structure where they get what they make. They get a big portion of what they make. So that's different than this. This is a weird, wacky, feels very manipulative, gross.
And I'm just not buying the quite successful part.
No. No.
I just don't. I don't. I could be wrong. I mean, maybe he just has a different way of looking at the world than we do. And maybe he's worth millions of dollars.
And he is quite successful. But he just wants to teach those young people a lesson. I don't know. I don't know what the deal is there. But, nah.
I'm with you. The way we answer questions on this show is, if this was my son, what would I tell him? Run. Yeah. From the opportunity and the man.
That's what I would tell him.
I'd actually probably, knowing me, I'd probably say, hey, why don't you tell a successful mentor guy to have coffee with me? I got questions. That's probably what I'd say.
Successful mentor guy. I'd like to. He has a new title. Right. Successful mentor guy.
That's what I would actually do.
It's like a Saturday Night Live skit. Yeah. I'd like him to. I'm a successful mentor guy. Yeah.
That's what I am.
Yeah. I got questions, and I'd like to ask. And let's see how he answers them. But that's just me. I'd do it for sheer sport.
Tim's in Pensacola, Florida. Hi, Tim. How are you?
Hey, sir. I'm well. How are you?
Better than I deserve. How can I help?
So, quick and to the point, I'm debt-free. I tithe from my church. The remaining money that I have left over at the end of every month causes me more anxiety, more stress. I don't know what to do with it, and I just watch it disappear. I don't know if it's bad spending habits.
I put money in my TSP, my retirement, every month, too. But that leftover money, I don't know what to do with it. Inevitably, what I do is just spend it.
Well, of course you do. That's what everybody does. It's not horrible. It's just not efficient. And the lack of efficiency is bothering you and giving you regret-itis.
Yes, sir. Yeah. So, it's a very simple fix. Start doing a detailed budget using the EveryDollar app. I will give you the EveryDollar app premium version for free.
that ties into your bank. So, every time you spend on your debit card, you have to drag it into a category in your budget. Now, the trick here is this.
John Maxwell, Ken and I have a good friend, says that a budget is people telling their money what to do instead of wondering where it went. That sounds just like you.
Yeah.
I would agree with that. So, you need to tell your money what to do before the month begins. Give EveryDollar an assignment. That's why we named the app EveryDollar. EveryDollar has a mission.
EveryDollar has a name on it, however, you want to call this. But EveryDollar is allocated on. the app, has an assignment before it comes in. And if the assignment is, blow this $50, then blow the $50.. If the assignment is put more money in an investment, then put more money in an investment.
If the assignment is, find someone and do a random act of charity and give somebody $50 at a gas pump or leave a $50 tip at the Waffle House, then do that. Okay? But write it down ahead of time, and, whatever you're doing, do it on purpose. And then, if you actually follow the plan that you made for yourself, then you will not feel regret. Does that make sense?
It does.
You've got a plan for most of your money. It's the little things. The little foxes spoil the vine, Proverbs says.
Yes, sir.
I hear what you're saying. You're being very responsible and detailed with a whole lot of your money. You told me where it's going. It's going to TSP. It's going to this.
You've got it laid out. But I just want you to add a level of project management, a level of detail to your planning of your money. And when you do that, you're going to get a sense of relief. You're going to feel like you've got a raise. And you're going to be able to achieve some goals with that money.
Because I really don't care what people do with money, as long as they do it on purpose. As soon as they start doing it on purpose, then they come back and ask me, Okay, what do I do next? And that's where we came up with the baby steps. Yeah.
You can just feel a little angst on him still. And it's because I don't know if he's feeling like he's doing enough good with it or what's going on. But regardless of that, to your point.
He has no confidence. That's right. That's where the angst comes from. That's right. You will get confidence when you start telling your money what to do.
You'll start to be going, I'm a money stud. I got this going, man. Right.
I got this. Because all this is, is you feel out of control. You feel chaotic. You feel like a failure. Yeah.
And when you start putting it down on paper and then you live to the paper. Start putting it in the app and you live to the app. Ding, ding. You know, successful. It's called self-discipline.
And it's amazing what that does to people's dignity, self-confidence, power, everything. Their swagger comes. Everything. You're just going to feel a whole lot better about Tim. Tim.
So have at it. Kalen is in Sacramento. Kalen, I'm going to hold you until after the break. Because I'm looking at this number here and I don't want to have to.
Yeah, I wanted to go back to that Tim thing. Because you said something really great earlier in the show about those buckets of when you've done everything that you're supposed to do and you got this extra money. It's that give some of it, save some of it, have some fun with it. And again, by going through that budget exercise and using every dollar, it's the intentionality that I think he's craving. To.
where he can go, okay, at least I have a plan for it. It feels like he doesn't have a plan right now, which the budget addresses. And therefore, he's just kind of like, ugh. The inefficiency, I think, has eaten away at him.
Listen, there is no, even if you're the most free-spirited person in the world, there is no one who gets peace from disorganized chaos.
No one. Oh, that's fine. No, it's not. You know, you wake up feeling like you've got a financial hangover. You look over and you go, oh, God, I did it again.
I overspent.
Oh, God. I shouldn't have ordered those 73 extra things at the restaurant. Oh, I did it again. No one. That's not fun for anyone.
I don't care. You don't have to be a nerd or a tightwad to have that experience. No one gets peace from disorganized chaos. This is the Ramsey Show.
Ken Coleman, Ramsey Personality, is my co-host today. Thank you for joining us. Open phones at 888-825-5225.. Christian's in Lexington, Kentucky. Hi, Christian.
How are you?
Doing good, Dave. How are you?
Better than we deserve. What's up?
So I just recently lost my job. a couple months ago. My job I was making $80,000. at. My new job I want to make at a max $24,000, $25,000 a year.
You went from $80,000 to $24,000?
. Yes. Why?
I was a truck driver. I was on the road a lot, and my daughter just turned a year old, and I'd rather be at home with her and my wife than be on the road eight hours a week.
Yeah, but what's the $24,000 job you just took?
It's at an automotive collision repair.
Yeah, you can drive in-town CDL and make a whole lot more than that.
Yeah.
What's going on? You just acknowledged that. You know that. Drivers are in huge demand. You've got incredible qualifications, and you just said, yeah.
What's going on?
It's not something that I love to do. I was miserable.
It doesn't matter, brother. Right now you can't take that big of a hit. What's that going to do to your income?
$24,000 a year, man. You just moved to poverty level. That's right.
Have you run the numbers on what that's going to actually mean?
No.
You're starving to death. That's why you're calling. Yeah. Yeah. You have an income problem.
Okay. Yeah.
First you said you lost your job.
Yes.
Did you get fired?
I did get fired.
Why?
The company that I was at had a point system, and we have so many collisions or dropped trailers.
One was a mechanical problem, but it still went over two points, and the other one was a collision.
So is that going to keep you from getting another CDL position?
No.
Did you get hurt in the collision, or did someone get hurt in the collision?
No, sir. It was in a parking lot, a parked car.
Okay.
So I'm trying to figure out, was your confidence rattled?
My confidence was not that rattled.
It was a freak accident, honestly.
Yeah. I mean, that's why they call them accidents. I'm fine with that. I've got no issue with that. So you're not afraid to drive a truck, and you think you're capable of driving a truck, and you could make $60,000 in town, and instead you're making $24,000 schlepping parts.
and be home every night.
You do know that, right?
Yes, sir.
I mean, you do know, that's what CDL drivers make within town routes, right?
It is, sir.
I operated for one of those at that company.
So, Christian, let me tell you why I think you've got to take this option. Well, it's a viable option. This is not long-term, but it will stabilize you while you figure out what the next is.
Well, let me ask you this, too. Let's stop a second. Let me pan back three more steps. How old are you?
28.
So what do you want to be doing when you're 38? that makes $100,000 a year?
What I'm doing right now.
What you're doing right now doesn't make $100,000 a year, dude. You make $24,000.. There is no path to $100,000..
Well, I'm detailing cars, and I would like to start my own business,
and that's where I would like to get to. Okay.
Now, I thought you said you worked at an auto parts store.
Yes, sir. Not a store. A collision center.
Oh, so you detail them once they're done.
So you're washing cars at a collision center.
Yes, sir.
Okay. All right.
Okay, so let's talk that out. So, if that's the path to one day owning your own detail business, you have to make more money and get out of debt and get free of all of the junk that comes with the debt, and then we can start taking steps to starting your own business down the line. But you working in this current job in detailing.
Do you know how to detail a car now?
I'm sorry?
Do you know how to detail a car now?
Yes, sir. That's what I would do.
If I hired you to come to my house and gave you the equipment, you could detail my car, and you could charge me $135, right?
You wouldn't have to give me the equipment. I've got the equipment.
Okay. Why aren't you doing that then?
I am doing that on the side, but the demand on where I live outside of Lexington is not that great, and there are many companies that detail cars in Lexington that people would rather go to.
Okay, so we have a bad business idea. The market where you live doesn't support this now or probably in the future, correct?
Yes.
All right. So we've got to have some gumption here. We've got to say, okay, what do I love about detailing? What gives you that joy about the detailing process?
I love working with the customer, and I'm happy with a completely brand new looking car.
Okay, great. So here's what you've got to do. You've got to start thinking, how can I meet people, everyday life and do something for them that makes them really, really happy? That could be in the trades, my friend, and the trades, there is a huge need right now. You've got to start looking at what you can do that still brings you enjoyment, and so this could be plumbing, electrician.
You could get into construction. Let me tell you this. There's also manufacturing jobs right now all across this country where you could potentially be working with customers and doing something for them, because you didn't say it was about the car so much as about doing something, making it look something good and hand it off to somebody, and they get excited about it. You've got to start channeling that and realize what your opportunity is. Here's what I like about you.
You want to work for yourself one day. That's great, and I think the trades are where you need to be looking, because there's a greater market for you in and around Lexington, Kentucky than this detailing business.
Okay, so here's a couple of things I do know. I do know you're starving to death. Your current job sucks. I'm 100% sure your family is in jeopardy. You went from 80K to 24K, and you called us because you can't pay your bills and you're scared.
So we're trying to help you with that, and, dude, you need to go get something else and make some more money. On a temporary basis while you get some business idea up and running. If it's not this one, it's another one. But I can tell you this. Anytime you're doing something with your hands, like car detailing or building decks, or working in the trades, if you show up on time, do what you said you were going to do.
every single time, you can charge almost anything you want and there really is no competition, because most people can't even seem to get there.
We are starving to death. When I had that job, we were living on way less than what we made.
But what we made went into two vehicles that we can still afford but don't want to.
No, you can't afford them. You're broke. You don't make any money. You need to get a different position, son. Your income is your crisis.
It's because if you've got the equipment, you either need to get that equipment and haul your butt over to Lexington and get some cars washed and get your income going, or you need to go take a job. driving CDL inside. Your family is depending on you. You've got about 20 minutes. Ready, set, go.
Now. Now. Now. Your analysis of going from 80 to 24 and I'm going in the pressure washing business, the car detailing business, but I really can't do much because I live out in the country, is bull crap. It's killing you.
It's killing you. You need a new set of eyes on this and you need to get in gear and make some money for the next year and a half to two years and get the wolf away from the door, get these stupid cars sold, and then you can start making some adjustments long term in your career. And you either go one of the directions Ken said, or you can go beat the competition in Louisville and say, well, I don't drive over the road 80 hours, but I do drive to, I mean, Lexington. I do drive to Lexington. Or we load up our butts and we move to Lexington where the business can prosper.
One of the two.
We can't make it out in the country. We're moving to town, boys and girls. Here we go. This is what you do. You make your family work by working.
This is the Ramsey show.
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Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality is my cohost today. Thanks for hanging out with us, America. Well, I don't know when you're going to be listening, but today is Tuesday, the 21st of May. For those of you listening live. tonight, George camel and I will be doing the first installment of two nights in a row of Dave Ramsey's investing essentials.
I'm going to get nerdy and go deep down into the nerd ville of investing stuff. I've never taught before, but people have been asking me how to analyze real estate properly. And I'm going to teach you the academic version of it. And what I actually personally do on real estate and, and what I do on mutual funds and what I do on other things. And what are the principles I use and what are the principles for investing that I find with wealthy people versus, you know, your broke brother-in-law, who lives in his mother's basement and has a tick tock account, which everybody has seems to have an idea about finances that are broke.
So we really don't take financial advice from broke people. So we're going to go through this tonight and tomorrow night. It is not, it is not two separates. It is a back to back. And so you want to be there for both nights.
If you're hearing this in time, you can get the tickets for $199.
. Gosh, Ken, I can't believe. it's thousands of people. Yeah, I can't. like 4,000 people have signed up.
It's crazy.
Yeah. I'm not surprised. This is what people want to hear from you. You know,
apparently Ramsey solutions.
com slash events. They may regret it, though. They may be sleepy by the time I finished my nerd explanation. This is the kind of stuff that I dread somebody doing in a live audience. Cause they nod off right in front of you.
You should make George come out every 15 minutes and lead them in jumping jacks just for about a minute, and then let you get right.
Cause George is known for his aerobic activity.
No, I just think it'll be funny.
No, that would be funny. You know, George is going to help me and that will make it lighter than if I, it's going to be really good. Then, if I just crunch the academic crunching,
that's right.
Gordon is in Tampa, Florida. Hey Gordon, what's up?
Hey, Dave. How are you doing today?
Better than I deserve, sir. How are you?
I'm all right. Could be a little better.
Cool. How can we help?
So I have been having a little bit of trouble getting my wife on board with, uh, the baby steps and kind of, you know, getting started with financial peace university. And I'm trying to see what I can do to get her, you know, kind of on board with the idea. Um, how old are you talking about our debt situation? How old are you? Uh, 30..
And how long have you been married?
Uh, we've been married for 13 years.
And how long have you been discussing Dave Ramsey and baby steps and Ken Coleman?
Uh, we have been discussing it here and there over the last couple of weeks. I've been trying to get her on board with it.
Got it. Okay.
She's a little skeptical.
Yeah, I bet, because you came in and started telling her all the things you were going to do.
Well, I tried to get her in. You did.
You screwed this up.
I tried to give her,
I know why she's not on board. Cause you came in and started telling her, here's what we're going to do. This is awesome. I'm so excited. We need to do this, this, this, and this, and this.
And Dave Ramsey said this, and you've already turned my name into a cuss word in your house.
Didn't you?
Not exactly.
Okay. Then what did you do? Why do you think she's not on board? Why do you think she's not on board? Do you think she has a character deficit?
I honestly think she's kind of set her ways of doing things her way. To be honest. Yeah. I've, I've tried, to, you know, just simply,
you've been married, how long did you say? 10 years?
Uh, we've actually been together for 13 years. We've been married for eight.
Okay. And who handles the money in your house before all this happened?
She does because I'm at work for 16 hours a day.
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