- Mike from Philiadelphia called into "The Ramsey Show" to ask for help paying off his debts.
- The policeman told host Dave Ramsey he owed $451,000 between student and home loans.
A man called into Dave Ramsey's show for financial help saying he had $451,000 of debt and just a $40,000 salary, shocking viewers who saw a clip of the exchange on TikTok.
Mike, 31, from Philiadelphia, called into "The Ramsey Show" to ask for help paying off his debts.
$252,000 of it was student loans, and $185,000 was a home loan. Mike said his friend had recommended Ramsey's show, and he was in dire need of some advice.
"I just don't even know where to start," he said.
The clip is from an episode of Ramsey's show from 2019, but reached a new audience of 3.2 million on TikTok, where it was posted last week. Ramsey didn't give any extra information on how Mike has handled his debt since.
@daveramsey Mike is $451,000 in debt and only brings home $40,000 (part 1). #moneytok #moneyproblems #moneyadvice #debt #studentloans #lawenforcement ♬ original sound - Dave Ramsey
Mike told Ramsey he worked in law enforcement, to which Ramsey then asked how he got into so much debt in the first place.
Mike said he attended a private university on the recommendation of his parents, to study finance, and then switched to criminal justice. He ended up doing a masters degree as well, he said, which "didn't really help my employment eligibility as much as I thought it would."
Ramsey said he was always looking at the ratio of "shovel to hole" — the amount of debt someone is in versus the income they have to get out of it.
Ramsey is an American radio host and evangelical Christian who is best known for his financial advice. He has faced controversy in the past, including accusations in 2021 that his company had a policy of firing employees for having premarital sex. He was also recently been embroiled in a $150 million lawsuit brought by some listeners who say they were defrauded by a timeshare exit company he promoted.
Some people are also skeptical of his legitimacy as a financial advisor, likening him to more of a preacher than an expert on money. However, he remains a trusted financial guru to many. A man recently told Insider Ramsey's advice seven years ago helped him escape $38,000 in car debt.
In the clip, Mike told Ramsey his parents weren't wealthy, and that he was the first in his family to go to college. He said he lived with his girlfriend and her daughter, and he bought the house on a whim when his father passed away.
Ramsey told Mike he was "up a creek" and his "paddle is real small." He said Mike had made two "stupid" financial decisions under the influence of his parents, and "bought things you couldn't afford with money you didn't have because of the influence of those two."
"At 31 years old you're going to have to decide to love your parents but no longer be influenced to do financial decisions based on their opinions," he said. "You cannot please these people any more, they are breaking your butt."
He said Mike was so far in debt he "couldn't breathe."
Ramsey said Mike had two options — get married to his girlfriend and tackle to debt together, or stay separate and sell the house, because they couldn't afford to keep it the way things were going. Mike had to be careful if he went with the first option, he added, because money problems were a huge precursor to divorce.
Mike also had to get his income up, Ramsey said, so he would have more cash to throw at the debt.
"You need that money, because you're broke," he said. Currently, Ramsey said, what Mike had in front of him was a "mathematical nightmare." With the interest on the student loan, Mike could see his student loans double, he said.
"You're not going to have any life for a while," Ramsey said. "Because you both have made a big hole that you're in and you can't get out of a hole while you're digging out the bottom."
People were stunned at Mike's debt on TikTok, saying he had made some very bad decisions. Some, like Ramsey, people blamed his parents for pushing him into the mortgage and university.
"The parental pressure is so unfair," one person wrote in the comments. "He sounds like such a decent person who is trying to make everyone happy but carrying the weight himself."
Others expressed shock at how expensive college tuition can be in the US.
"It's such a crime to let an 18 year old take that much in loans," one person said. "Education should be free like in so many countries in the world."