Highlights from the Dave Ramsey Show

QUESTION: Montgomery in New Orleans moved to New Orleans four years ago to work for a professional sports team. He was let go and got another job quickly but is now ready for a change of pace. He's thinking about moving cold turkey to another city. How much savings should he have in place for that?

ANSWER: What is wrong with taking every waking hour that you're not on the job and finding a job in the other location before you go? The good news is Austin, Texas, isn't that far from New Orleans. I would just assume before you left the dock with your feet that the boat had pulled up. I'm kind of thinking you find a job over there. Why don't you take two weeks and go to Austin and find a job before you quit?

You just want me to tell you to be impulsive, and I think you're going to end up freaking homeless. I'm not going to tell you to be impulsive. You have a job. You've got money to eat with. You have a thing to do.

I think you ought to leave and go to Austin, Texas. I agree with your plan. I'm just adding one step to it called wisdom, and let's have a place to freaking land when you get over there. That's all I'm doing, dude. I'm telling you exactly what I would tell my own son if he called me with this.

I think you ought to go. I think you're done with New Orleans. Austin's a great city. It's booming. I was just down there the other day. They're wonderful people. I'm not against New Orleans either, by the way, but I think you're done with it and you're done with this government job. You want to get out there in the private sector and make something move around. I'm with you on all that. I want you to do all that, but just move over there and hope this works out? Add one step to it, and you don't have to have all this stress.

If you want to go over there and burn through your savings, you can. I'd spend two weeks at least trying to land something to where I can feed myself when I get over there even if it's an interim-type thing. Even if you found two really good part-time jobs, at least you knew that you weren't going to burn up your cash when you made the move. That's how I would do it. When I was 20-something years old, I might not have done it that way because I didn't always do things that were wise. But that's how I would do it today, and that's how I would recommend you do it.

If you want to go over there and just burn through your money while you hope you find a job, you could do that. I think that's a waste when you have this perfectly good two weeks of vacation laying here. Use it to go look for a job. You've done nothing morally wrong with your current employer. Set up some interviews before you go. Work for a few weeks to do that. Then take your two weeks and plan it in the middle of summer.

Again, I think Austin's a great town. I think the economy's moving. I think you'll be able to find something. But go over there and land on something. That's how I would do it.

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QUESTION: Steve in Houston is a software developer for a large company. He's been offered a position with a start-up company, so he'd lose the benefits that come with his current job. From a stability standpoint, is losing the benefits a good move in exchange for a job he might enjoy more?

ANSWER: I would want there to be some pretty tremendous upside in terms of your income to offset the fact that you have to cover your own benefits yourself and that you're taking the risk with this small business, because it could fold.

If you are a mobile software developer, you're in high demand right now. I would hire three of them tomorrow. I've got them on the board here. You're in high demand, and honestly, you're probably worth more than $95,000 if you're any good.

I would have to have some kind of thing that allows you to make $120,000 by making the move. Maybe it could be participating in profits that you help bring in or something. You're taking risk, and you're taking on the benefits package.

I just think if you're in a major metro area, you're worth more than $95,000 in this current environment if you know your stuff. If I'm you, yeah, I would do that, but I'd want some upside. Eighty-five is fine, no benefits is fine, better quality of life being near the family is fine, but there needs to be an upside where you participate in profits that you bring in to get you up to $120,000. Because I don't want you going up there, them paying you $85,000, you bring them in $500,000 or $1 million in profit next year, and you get none of it.

We all work with people we like and who are our friends, but we have to get our work done. The actual implementation of the job requires that you're competent, you're on time, you're reasonable to work with, and that they don't have unreasonable expectations because of the friendship and you don't have unreasonable expectations that are unprofessional because of the friendship. Wear your professional hat at work, and they wear their professional hat at work. But they don't need to be saying stuff like, "If you were a real friend, you'd work until midnight." You don't need to say, "Well, I don't need to come in until 9:30 or 10:00 because you're my friend." That's nepotism and crap. You've just got to be professional and efficient and productive and bring it. You need to expect professionalism from them in your business relationship, and you probably need to say that out loud. That's the danger of hiring family or friends. Everybody thinks they get a pass.

I would just say, "It's dangerous for friends to work together. Friendships end on this kind of thing, so I'm going to treat you guys as if you're my employer because you are, and I'm going to be professional and productive and efficient. I'm going to have an expectation of leadership and vision for this company and communication like I would from any leadership team. In addition to that, we're friends. It's not because we're friends that any of us can be half-butts in our execution of our given roles." You just need to say that out loud.

I've brought plenty of friends to work on my team, and it's worked out very well. I've had friends leave my team, and it's worked out fine. I had a good friend leave the other day who I've been friends with 20 years. It was fine. We're still good friends and no weirdness. It was a little bit weird, but it's just part of life. We're not mad. He's not mad. Our friendship didn't end. It's not damaged. That's part of being professional about it and being clear and plain and having a lot of clarity.

As far as your income goes, since you're giving up income and benefits, then you need to negotiate some kind of a share of profits going forward to offset that. If I can bring some extra money into this place, I need to get some of that to get me up in the hundreds somewhere. How could we do that? How could you feel good about that? I don't want to take money you're already making, but if you can increase the revenues of this organization with my services, then all I'm asking you to do is share some of that with me to offset the fact I'm taking a pay cut to take this job. I think that's a reasonable thing for that small business owner. I think it's a reasonable thing for you. If you can negotiate that part of it, I'd do the deal. I don't see anything holding you back.

If you get up there and you kind of get the feeling that there's a weird vibe because of the friendship—like you owe them something or that kind of thing—then you just don't want to be in a situation like that. That's where family and friends in business can cause problems. But it doesn't have to be a problem. I'm not asking you to be a partner. I'm just asking you to share some of the profits as we go forward.

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Question: Jamie in Dallas wants to know if he should dumb down his résumé in order to get a part-time job. He feels that his education level is keeping him from getting a job, and he's eager to pay off his debts. Dave disagrees that it's necessary.

Answer: I think you probably just haven't found the right thing. Honestly, there are a lot of people with big-time résumés who are working part-time jobs in this culture today whether they're trying to get out of debt or between jobs or underemployed or unemployed. There's a ton of that out there right now as you can imagine with the economic strains that we've just been through.

I don't think it's unusual for the guy at the package place to see somebody with a master's degree wanting to work at night throwing boxes. That's probably not what you're facing. I think you just haven't found anything that's a fit for your part-time gig yet. I really like where your head is and where you're heading though. I really predict good things for you in the next six months because I think you're just a guy who's not going to be denied.

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