A Dave Ramsey caller opened 18 credit cards after bankruptcy and is $118,000 in debt “to impress people.” Her husband has no idea

A recent one Call on The Ramsey Show featured a woman who opened up to Dave Ramseyand admits that despite filing for bankruptcy in 2019, she’s back in debt again — to the tune of $118,000, not including the mortgage — and her husband is completely oblivious to the mess they’re in.

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“We are the poster child for trying to impress people,” the caller admitted. After buying a new house, she felt pressured to fill it with “nice things,” but this desire spiraled into financial chaos, leading her to open a staggering 18 credit cards to finance the lifestyle she thought they needed to maintain.

Her husband, who makes $35,000 a year, has no idea about theirs financial matters because, as she explained, “He doesn’t even have access (to our finances).” She takes home $125,000 annually, plus another $15,000 from a side hustle, but her spending habits have left them drowning in debt—all because of a desire to project an image of success.

The caller revealed that the $118,000 debt was spread across various sources. She owes $1,300 to the IRS and $9,500 is tied up in “pay in 4” payment plans like PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Klarna. The largest portion of the debt – $116,000 – comes from online personal loans platforms such as Prosper. On top of that, they have a $40,000 car loan and $5,500 in credit card balances.

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This complicated mix of sources of blame shows how far the situation has spiraled out of control. The buildup of loans, payment plans, and credit lines has resulted in an impossible financial mess. The car loan itself is already a big problem and with all the high interest loans and credit card debt added on, it’s really hard for them to make any progress without making big changes.

As always, Ramsey doesn’t sugarcoat his advice. “You’re not going to be free or heal yourself,” he told her. The key, according to Ramsey, is teamwork. “We need two things relationship-wise: one is for you to go to him and say ‘honey, we’re in a mess – again – because I didn’t say no and you weren’t involved.’

The caller admitted that her spending habits were deeply connected to her need for validation, saying, “It comes from my childhood,” but that didn’t sway Ramsey, who responded with his signature tough love: “You’re too dead bubblegum old and income-rich to act like a 14-year-old girl who needs validation. It’s time to be a grown woman.”

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To get out of this financial hole, Ramsey laid out a clear but intense plan: They must budget each month together, sell everything they don’t need, and dramatically downsize their lifestyle. “Sell everything, everything not tied up,” he said. The goal is to adopt what Ramsey called “scorched earth” living for 18 months — essentially living as frugally as possible, funneling every available dollar toward paying off debt.

One of the biggest takeaways was the importance of not trying to impress others. According to Ramsey, wealthy people often get to the point where they “don’t care what anybody thinks.” And for the caller, ending the cycle of guilt requires learning to disregard the opinions of others. “You have to practice not wearing nice things and getting people to see you,” added co-host Dr. John Delony and encouraged her to confront her fears about appearance.

Image via Shutterstock

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This article A Dave Ramsey caller opened 18 credit cards after bankruptcy and is $118,000 in debt “to impress people.” Her husband has no idea originally appeared on Benzinga.com