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A $130,000-a-year income left little room to breathe once a Florida caller laid out nearly $200,000 in consumer debt and just $3,000 in savings.
Alyssa from Naples, Florida, contacted “The Ramsey Show” after reviewing her finances with her husband. Once their combined figures were tallied — including nearly $200,000 in consumer debt, $60,000 tied up in cars, and just $3,000 in savings — personal finance host Dave Ramsey delivered a blunt assessment.
“You’re freaking broke,” Ramsey said, adding, “That lifestyle is absolutely asinine.”
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Despite earning about $11,500 a month, Alyssa said the couple feels ongoing financial pressure. She works as a mental health therapist and earns most of the income, while her husband works in construction. Before remarrying, the two handled their finances separately.
“Between our combined finances, we’re bringing in about $11,500 a month and still feel like we can’t,” she said, raising concerns about stability as a self-employed parent with a 9-year-old daughter and the difficulty of building savings.
When asked to list their obligations, Alyssa said the couple carries about $140,000 in student loan debt. Roughly $90,000 belongs to her, while about $40,000 belongs to her husband. They also owe about $60,000 on vehicles and have a mortgage balance of approximately $240,000.
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After those figures were laid out, co-host George Kamel shifted the focus to cash flow. “How much margin can we create every month to throw at that smallest debt?” he said, pointing to spending reductions as the primary lever rather than income growth.
As Alyssa raised concerns about emergencies, Ramsey emphasized the need for immediate changes.
He said the solution would require immediate, uncomfortable changes, including selling vehicles, eliminating vacations, and cutting spending deeply. “The more dramatic we change our life, the faster this is going to turn around,” he said, adding that continuing to “goof around with it” would only prolong the stress. Ramsey urged the couple to redirect all available cash toward eliminating consumer debt.