- A man on Dave Ramsey's show seven years ago said half his income was going towards his car loan.
- He is now debt free after following Ramsey's advice, and helps others with their own finances.
A man who appeared on Dave Ramsey's show seven years ago said the harsh advice he got helped turn his finances around — and that he's now debt free.
He also has words of warning for anyone thinking of getting into an enormous auto loan agreement.
Faraz Amirfarzaneh called into "The Ramsey Show" in 2016, telling the host he was spending $600 a month — half his relatively small income — servicing a loan for his BMW 328 which stood at around $38,000.
Ramsey told him at the time to sell the car and "never do something this stupid again."
@daveramsey Feraz makes $1,200 a month and has a $600 car payment. #moneytok #cartok #nomoney #debt #moneyadvice ♬ original sound - Dave Ramsey
A reposted clip of the old show went viral on TikTok last week, and Insider was able to catch up with Amirfarzaneh to get an update.
He said that he listened to the advice. His parents gave him $5,000 when he asked for help, he said, and he worked relentlessly to be able to clear the rest of the loan, which he did in 2018. It's been almost five years since he's had any debt, he said.
Amirfarzaneh, then 27, decided to call Ramsey after almost defaulting on a credit-card bill, and realizing he'd suffered from "years of poor decisions and lack of direction."
He said he had lost his job for taking too many sick days, leaving him with less income. At the same time he said he had internalized an expectation in Los Angeles that everyone should have a nice car.
Even though he was a student at the time and living with his parents, he took out a big loan to be able to have the car.
Amirfarzaneh said he knew he needed help after having to borrow $20 from a friend to avoid defaulting on a minimum payment for a card that was close to his limit. He had 10 credit cards in total, he said, all of which were close to maxed out.
Ramsey is an American radio host and evangelical Christian who is known for his financial advice. He has faced some controversy due to his methods being more akin to a preacher rather than a financial coach, and has recently been embroiled in a $150 million lawsuit brought by some listeners who say they were defrauded by a timeshare exit company he promoted.
But Amirfarzaneh, who does not have any part in the lawsuit, said he appreciated Ramsey's advice because it was simple.
"He literally just teaches people to get out of consumer debt, have an emergency fund, invest in things like a 401k, IRAs, so you have money for retirement," he said. "It's just super common-sense and easy to follow. That's all I've done, and it's improved my life."
In the 2016 show, which amassed 1.2 million TikTok views from its recent repost, Ramsey told Amirfarzaneh to sell the car right away even though it would leave him still owing a lot of money and struggling to find a new lender.
Amirfarzaneh did struggle. He said he owed around $38,000 on the car, which included $15,000 carried over from a previous auto loan. He sold the car for $21,000, leaving him about $17,000 in the red and seeking a loan.
He was approved for a $13,000 loan from Upstart, but that still left him with around $5,000 still to pay. Meanwhile, his boss at the time was telling him he would fire him if not having a car meant he couldn't reliably get to work.
Amirfarzaneh said at this point, he felt helpless and "pretty much just broke down." He called his parents, and they gave him the $5,000 he needed to keep going.
"I had a friend who, his mom had a 2005 Toyota Avalon that was damaged on the body, but was in great mechanical condition, and they sold it to me for $900," Amirfarzaneh said. "And I drove that for three years."
A couple of months later, Amirfarzaneh graduated and was hired by a military contractor, where he started making better money and had access to unlimited overtime.
"I just worked six days a week and paid off that debt, on June 15th, 2018," he said. "I went from being completely underwater to being completely out of debt."
Amirfarzaneh said later sold the Avalon for $2,000 — $1,100 more than he paid — after treating it well and making improvements. Now he still drives an old Toyota, instead preferring to spend his earnings on vacations and his recent wedding.
"I was just putting my priorities in another place, and really not putting money as my number one focus in life," he said. "Money, at least here in the US, I feel like it has controlled everyone's life."
Amirfarzaneh, now in his 30s and living in Texas, changed careers to become an insurance agent. He also helps out his family and friends when they have financial struggles, and thinks he may set up his own financial coaching business someday.
He encouraged people to reconsider what they're doing if they're working a job they hate to pay for things they don't really need, including a nice car.
The number of car loans in the US has risen by 29% over the last 10 years, according to data from Finder. In 2022, 84% of new cars driven out of dealerships had financing, per data from Statista.
"They can have certain things because of different reasons, like, what are my friends and family going to think?" Amirfarzaneh said.
"That was me too, and I just kind of broke away from that, you know? I don't care what anyone thinks about what I drive anymore."