A woman named Bree from Philadelphia recently called “The Ramsey Show” with a difficult financial and family dilemma. Her husband, who currently works as an assistant manager at a trucking company, wants to quit his job and start driving for Uber full time.
Bree explained that her husband feels overwhelmed at work, dealing with drivers, mechanics and a heavy workload. Now, a friend convinces him that Uber might be a better option. “His friend at work told him that with Uber they can make $2,000 and more a week,” Bree said.
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But to make the switch, he wants to buy a new Toyota sedan using an auto loan and put it in Bree’s name because her credit score is better. The couple is already $40,000 in debt, Bree is a stay-at-home mom with a young child and is also pregnant with her second child.
Co-host of the program George Kamel He was direct as always. “I wouldn’t listen to this friend,” he said. “He’s going to ruin that car and the depreciation will hit it so hard that you guys will be underwater with this car within the first week,” he said.
When asked about their current finances, Bree admitted that they don’t have a formal budget and that most spending is done on her husband’s credit card, which she doesn’t keep track of. “I don’t know what’s going on with his credit card,” he said. “We basically charge (everything) to your credit card.”
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Co-host Jade Warshaw They asked for more transparency in their finances. “I want a checking account. We both have a debit card,” he said. “We both spend the money we have on the debit card because I’m freaking out about our debt.”
Warshaw advised Bree to set three clear boundaries for her husband. First, they should not take on more debt to support this job change. Second, any job change should be delayed until after the baby is born. And third, they need to manage money more openly, without depending on credit cards.
Bree also said that both she and her husband are immigrants: she is from Ukraine and he is from Uzbekistan. Kamel emphasized that debt is not the path to achieving the American dream. “The American dream now is: go into as much debt as possible to finance a fake lifestyle and hopefully be able to impress people,” he said. “They say, ‘Hey, come get a credit card. It’s the American way. We can get you a new car. See how crazy this is?'”