A man who racked up $35,000 of debt and maxed out 8 credit cards asked finance YouTuber Caleb Hammer for help paying them off

• A man racked up $35,000 in debt with 8 maxed out credit cards.
• He appeared on Caleb Hammer's YouTube show "Financial Audit" to get some help.

A man who was struggling with his finances came onto Caleb Hammer's show "Financial Audit" for advice paying off $35,000 of debt that included 8 maxed-out credit cards.

Hammer, 28, has built up a following of over 400,000 YouTube subscribers by helping people figure out ways to get out of debt.

One was 27-year-old Johnny, who lives in Jarrell, Texas, and didn't give his second name.

He told Hammer he worked in the natural gas industry, and that his household's annual income, which included his wife's salary, was $120,000. After taxes they had an income of around $7,000 per month, he said.

Despite the good earnings, Johnny's bank statement showed he started the month out with $-222 in his bank account, and ended with $-433. When asked, Johnny said most of the money went to "eating out."

"You're not eating out $8,000 a month," Hammer said. "What, are you going to the nicest steak houses twice a day?"

Hammer said Johnny's situation was one many Americans could probably relate to, but it may also be one of the "craziest" financial stories he'd ever had on the show.

Hammer broke down Johnny's finances through the 45-minute interview, going through all his subscriptions and expenses, including multiple Amazon purchases, a Hulu subscription, food payments to Dutch Bros, Whataburger, Domino's, Longhorn Steak, McDonald's, Starbucks, and Subway, as well as car payments and rent.

"It's not about excuses, I need to know why — where is your mindset at?" Hammer asked Johnny.

Johnny said he and his wife were in a cycle of paying off cards then getting into debt again.

Hammer also noted Johnny had spent $748 on overdraft fees so far this year, despite having $4,500 in savings.

"That's insane," he said. "I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at the debt."

Johnny said he and his wife were new parents with a 6-month-old son. Johnny said that was when they started racking up debt again because they weren't making as much money with parental leave.

"We definitely care, I don't know what it is," Johnny said. "We have the money and then we spend it, it's there and then it's gone. Whether it be gas or eating out or going shopping or whatever."

Hammer counted eight cards in total, all of which were maxed out. Some of them were over the credit limit, meaning Johnny was paying even more in fines and fees.

Johnny also had a car he was paying for at $680 per month.

Overall, with the cards and the car debts, Johnny was in just over $35,700 of debt with minimum monthly repayments of about $1,000.

The video didn't include a total breakdown of all of the cards, but did show screenshots of several statements, including one with a balance of $620, one where Johnny was $19 over the $800 credit limit, and another where he was $248 over the $300 limit.

Overall, the individual debts weren't the highest Hammer had ever seen, he said.

The number "actually does not sound insane," Hammer said. "It is insane the way you've done it."

Johnny said he and his wife wanted to turn things around for their son because they didn't want to "live like this forever."

Hammer said the couple had to start telling themselves they were "not credit card people," as the system was taking advantage of them.

"Not credit card people, say that in your sleep, not credit card people," he said.

He also suggested Johnny and his wife cut up all their credit cards and never use them again.

"Credit cards need to be gone today," he said. "Burn them. Have a ceremony. Burn them."

"All of them?" Johnny asked, saying they were trying to build up their credit.

"Fuck your credit," Hammer said. "I don't give a shit."

Hammer said Johnny should use the snowball method to pay off his debts — paying off the smallest one first, even if it isn't at the highest interest, to create a sense of momentum as each debt disappears.

Hammer said the way the couple were going, in spiraling debt and with no retirement savings, they were being irresponsible parents. If they followed his budget, which was laid out as rent at $1,725 per month, $693 on gas, $310 on insurance, $700 on groceries, and $1,010 paying off the debts, he said they could be debt free in a year and a half.

"Your kid won't even have any memory," he said. "He won't know you guys aren't having fun and going out to eat."

Hammer said he was "terrified" because Johnny and his wife seemed to be in a pattern of spending that would be tough to break. But he said he wanted Johnny to prove him wrong by sticking to the budget and asking friends and family to hold them accountable.

"I think we'll follow it for sure," Johnny said. "I've been talking to her about cutting up the cards for a while now."