What began as a decade-long relationship turned into a financial and emotional wake-up call when a North Carolina woman uncovered her boyfriend's six-figure debt and turned to The Ramsey Show for urgent advice.
What Happened: Calling into The Ramsey Show last week, a woman named Allie revealed she recently discovered her longtime boyfriend had secretly racked up $80,000 in credit card debt, in addition to $40,000 in student loans.
"He hit the end of the rope," Allie said. "I thought he was making more money than he was. Apparently, he wasn't. He was leveraging most of it on credit cards."
The boyfriend, who owns a classic car restoration shop, had also asked Allie to co-sign a $100,000 HELOC (home equity line of credit) on a house that she doesn't own. "If he wraps one of those sports cars around a telephone pole, I'm stuck with his debt for the rest of my life," she told hosts George Kamel and Jade Warshaw.
Allie explained she moved in with him two years ago after a nearly fatal car accident left her disabled and financially devastated. Though he cared for her during recovery, she said, "I felt like I owed him."
Kamel and Warshaw urged Allie to leave the relationship, refuse the loan, and stop financially supporting her boyfriend. This isn't a partnership but a one-sided rescue mission, Warshaw said.
They recommended she move out, even if it meant finding roommates to make rent affordable, and explore less physically demanding, better-paying jobs to regain her financial independence.
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Why It Matters: The financial situation Allie found herself in is not uncommon. Earlier this month on The Ramsey Show, a caller sought advice from Dave Ramsey regarding a complex financial situation involving her mother-in-law’s $1 million debt.
Ramsey strongly advised Sarah not to participate in a real estate scheme designed to hide assets from the IRS, calling it deceptive and unethical.
Another couple, who had initially followed Ramsey’s advice and become debt-free, fell back into financial chaos after taking a hard turn and accumulating $46,000 in debt on 13 credit cards.
Ramsey’s advice has proven effective for many. A 50-year-old Redditor once shared how he went from $146,000 in debt to financial freedom by following Ramsey’s advice.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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