'Your Jeep Is Nicer Than Your House'—A Dave Ramsey Caller Pays $1,700 A Month For Two Cars And A Motorcycle While Living In A Trailer

When Eric from West Virginia called “The Ramsey Show,” he knew his finances were in rough shape. What he didn't expect was for co-host George Kamel to react with a line that summed up his situation perfectly: "Goodness gracious, man. Your Jeep is nicer than your house."

A Costly Garage

Eric and his wife admitted they'd made what he called "very poor financial decisions" over the years. Their biggest problem? Vehicles. The couple owed $47,000 on a Jeep worth $35,000, $21,000 on a Honda Civic worth $18,000, and $10,000 on a motorcycle worth about $8,000. All told, they were about $17,000 underwater on their rides.

Don't Miss:

• The ‘ChatGPT of Marketing' Just Opened a $0.81/Share Round — 10,000+ Investors Are Already In
• Meet Flippy: The AI Robot Helping Fast Food Brands Cut Tens of Billions in Labor Costs — And You Can Invest Early

The monthly payments totaled $1,720, while their household income was $6,700 after taxes. Their mortgage payment was only $468 for a trailer they owed $40,000 on. They also have two children, ages 9 and almost 2.

"We've made really poor financial decisions and we're just trying our best to get out of it at this point," Eric said. He added that he and his wife also had $41,000 in credit card debt and $11,000 in student loans, bringing their total debt to about $209,000.

"Y’all are just living like you’re in Beverly Hills, not West Virginia in the hills," co-host Ken Coleman said.

Trending: Forget Flipping Houses — This $36 Trillion Asset Class Lets You Invest Without Owning Property

A Wake-Up Call

Eric explained that a past vehicle repossession had come back to haunt him, affecting his security clearance. That wake-up call pushed the couple to start tackling their debt. But the numbers told a grim story.

"I literally have a stomach ache right now," Coleman said after hearing the payments. Kamel then did the math: if Eric saved $600 a month, it would take him 28 months just to break even on the cars, and by then, their values would have dropped even more.

"There are no good solutions here," Kamel said. "You guys are both about to be working 80, 90 hour weeks to climb out of this."

See Also: Jeff Bezos-Backed Arrived Homes Hits A Big Sale On Charlotte Property – Investors Earning A 34.7% Return

No Quick Fix

Eric's wife had already taken a second job, but his military career limited how much extra work he could take on. "Income is your only way out of this," Kamel told him. Coleman urged him not to accept the situation as permanent: "You have a full-blown crisis on your hands."

The hosts pushed the idea that Eric and his wife must raise their income drastically and make severe lifestyle changes to escape the debt trap. For now, selling the vehicles isn't realistic, and refinancing options aren't available with their damaged credit.

"My goodness, man," Camel said. "If you do it for nothing else, do it for those kids."

Read Next: Backed by $300M+ in Assets and Microsoft's Climate Fund, Farmland LP Opens Vital Farmland III to Accredited Investors

Image: Shutterstock