Facts Are Your Friends...Not Feelings

**Dave Ramsey** (0:05)
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Normal is broken, common sense is weird, so we're here to help you transform your life. From the Ramsey Network and the FAIRWINDS Credit Union Studio, this is The Ramsey Show. I'm Dave Ramsey, your host, Jade Warshaw, Ramsey personality, number one bestselling author, is my co-host today. The phone number is 888-825-5225. The call is free, and some say the advice is worth exactly what you pay for it. Nick is with us in Philadelphia. Hey Nick, what's up?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:46)
Hey Dave, I'm just, I have a couple questions concerning how to get out of debt.

**Dave Ramsey** (0:51)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:54)
So, I am a sanitation worker. I make roughly $75,000 a year. I just got married about two months ago.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:06)
Congratulations.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:08)
Thank you. Our combined is, she makes anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000, so close to around $95,000.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:15)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:16)
I am currently in $41,000 in debt across personal loans, credit cards and a car loan.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:26)
Okay. How much of it's car?

**SPEAKER_2** (1:30)
Car, I'm halfway paying off my car. It's about 15, 15 and a half almost.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:35)
Okay. And what's the rest of it again?

**SPEAKER_2** (1:39)
21 of it is personal loans and five of it is credit card.

**Dave Ramsey** (1:44)
Okay. What kind of personal loans? Just at the bank?

**SPEAKER_2** (1:50)
So when we got, when she got pregnant a couple of years ago, it was a really quick thing. We had to move out quickly and I had to cover the maternity leave and all that stuff. So I took out a quick little six-drain loan so I could be secure after we moved into our apartment and just have the money to help her.
And then I just, what I started doing is I just started backing up personal loans because I was stupid with my money and would get a credit card debt and need to take out another one, another one. And then the last, then I took out one to get her engaged in the ring.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:24)
So what happened the other day that stopped your friend and you said, I gotta call Dave and Jade and we gotta change. What happened?

**SPEAKER_2** (2:33)
I just, I'm living paycheck to paycheck and something ain't working and it doesn't make sense to me. It just should not be happening.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:41)
You're a good man. You're a good man. Thank you for calling.
You are why we're here, brother.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:46)
Okay.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:47)
So, how old is the baby now? Two?

**SPEAKER_2** (2:52)
She'll be two on Friday.

**Dave Ramsey** (2:54)
What does your wife do and why does she not work full time?

**SPEAKER_2** (3:00)
She works four days a week. She is a- Makes a dollar an hour.

**Jade Warshaw** (3:05)
Wow. Yeah, that's a lot of time working and not a whole lot of money being made.
What's the type of work?

**SPEAKER_2** (3:11)
She's a dog trainer.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:13)
She makes-

**SPEAKER_2** (3:15)
It's based on commission. She can make anywhere between 20 to 25 a year.

**Dave Ramsey** (3:19)
Is she not working as much as you said?

**Jade Warshaw** (3:22)
I almost wonder if she could dog train on her own and make more money and set her own clients and set her own pay.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:28)
Because she'd probably-

**Jade Warshaw** (3:30)
Here's the thing. She'd probably do more. She'd probably do more money in less time doing that freelance, and she could probably make that a side hustle and get another job.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:40)
Yeah. I mean, I'm also looking to get back into- I also-
I don't know, tax purposes. I am a delivery driver, so I work on get cash under the books. Although I haven't been doing that for the past two months, because I had issues in the summertime, so they let me go for a couple of months.

**Jade Warshaw** (4:00)
Why are they paying you off the books? Why can't you have a job where you're paid above board?

**SPEAKER_2** (4:08)
I don't know, I need to keep the shop I've ever delivered at. They've always paid under the books.

**Dave Ramsey** (4:11)
Okay.
All right. All right. So here, one part of the equation, the reason we're poking at that, is the income part. The other part is the out go part. Okay? So we're going to get up above this problem, because what happens is when you get down in the weeds, you get lost.
And it becomes overwhelming and really, really scary, and chaotic. And that's kind of the way you were feeling right before you called us. So what I want to do is I want to get in the drone, and I want to get up above the weeds. I want to get up above the situation and say, okay, there's two parts, income and out go. You and your wife sit down tonight and start talking seriously about what we can do to add to your good $75,000 job that is reasonable with a two-year-old in the house. What can she do to double, triple, quadruple her income? What kind of side hustle can you have that has integrity to it and that doesn't get you in some kind of a bind later and that is steady? Sounds like these guys come and go.