Financial guru Dave Ramsey attacked a Missouri couple after the husband revealed they were $240,500 in debt but refused to give up the family car. But they’re not the only Americans unwilling to make urgent changes.
John from St. Louis called into Ramsey’s show last month to ask if he could help him get his and his wife’s “monster debt” under control. But the guru had no time for his antics after he told him he refused to get rid of the family car, which cost them $28,000.
“John, I don’t really care if it’s the family car,” he said. “You guys are broke, starving and making $150,000 a year. You can’t say it’s the family car, you can say everything is on the table, we’re selling so much stuff that the kids think they’re next.
“You’ve been spending money like you were in Congress for 10 years. [years]’?
The St. Louis couple, who earn $151,600 a year, have been married for only four years, much to the surprise of Ramsey and his host Jade.
Financial guru Dave Ramsey attacks a Missouri couple after the man reveals they’re $250,000 in debt but won’t give up the family car. “You’ve been spending like you’re in Congress,” he said. “You’ve never had a debt you didn’t like.”
“You never had a debt you didn’t like,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey laid down the law and confronted John’s excuses and the false language he used to describe his debts.
“That’s got to change completely, because your behavior, your habits, the language you use around these kinds of things,” Ramsey thundered. “As soon as I start talking about the car, you start saying, ‘It’s a family car,’ like it’s a non-starter.
“It’s not a non-starter, it’s a stupid car and your family is about to go bankrupt, it’s the enemy, it’s not the family car, okay? So change your language about that,” he said angrily.
“It’s not about the family car,” he mocked, before telling John that he and his wife would have to “go to war” to get out of debt.
The bulk of the couple’s debt comes from John’s $88,000 student loan and their HELOC, which allows borrowers to use their home as collateral for a $46,000 loan.
The St. Louis couple, who earn $151,600 a year, have $240,500 in debt, much of it in loans and credit card bills and a “family car” they refuse to get rid of
John told Ramsey that they had used the HELOC to “unfortunately” pay off “a bunch of credit cards,” to which Ramsey and Jade exclaimed, “No, you didn’t.”
You move them [the debt]’ Ramsey said dryly. ‘And you haven’t stopped spending, you’re still spending more than you earn… No use of plastic is okay in your home, you guys need to stop cold turkey.’
John admitted that the debt “scared” him and Ramsey offered him free access to one of his company’s coaches and provided him with a free premium account for Financial Peace University.
The Missouri couple isn’t the only American struggling with the burden of massive debt, as the average household owes about $104,000, according to MoneyWise.
Nearly 50 percent of Americans earning more than $100,000 said they lived paycheck to paycheck, according to a PYMNTS ReportAmong people earning more than $200,000, the number dropped to only a third.
