Being Sued For Refusing To Pay Rent | Financial Audit

My name is Daphne, I'm 27, based in San. Marcos, Texas, and this is financial. audit. Thanks for coming up from San. Marcos. What do you do there for a. living? Um I actually work in Austin, but I'm an elementary assistant. Well, that's kind of a commute. Elementary. assistant, so is that like front desk or. like helping in the classroom? Yeah, I'm an assistant in the classroom. Do you have a degree for that? Um I have. my certification, so I'm I'm a. Montessori elementary assistant, so it's. it's not public. It's a little. different. So, I have to you have to go. get a bachelor's and then you have to. get like a certification specifically.

for Montessori, and I just finished that. training in June. Um and yeah, so now. I'm just working my way up the ladder to. become a full lead. Oh, very nice. So, what do you make. right now? Um well, actually just signed. a new contract today for the new school, and I'm going to be making $22 an hour. Okay. How many hours a week? Is that 40? Mhm, yeah, full-time, 40. Okay. Do you. uh but it's only. 9 months, right? No, it's year-round. Cuz they have summer camp, so I get the. option to work in the summer.

Okay, so with no time off, which I. assume is not a thing, would be $45,760. Mhm. Yeah, but I also get the. like the winter break and the fall break. and spring break and all of that, so. We had come in $2,511. That's So, that's from my old school cuz. Which you were making how much? Um I was. salaried at that position. It was like. $43,000 a year. Yeah. It's $43,000. So, this is going to be. similar then. Um yeah, it's a little bit.

less, but my take-home is more just. because. here in Texas, I don't they don't have. the state tax I was in Colorado, and so. This was Colorado. Yeah, I just moved back like maybe 2. weeks ago. So, you're from here and you came back? Yeah, I went to Colorado to do my. training for the Montessori, and then um. I did my internship out there, and then. I decided to move back for. reasons. Oh, so state income tax in Colorado. 4.4. So, I'd say you're probably going. to bring home Let's include those. vacations and everything on a monthly.

average. $3,200. a month. And I get $380 in child support. a month. So, there's that. Three. 379. Three Okay, 379. 3,200. So, 3,579. we can call your income. Yes. Okay. Cool. So, welcome back, and I'm glad you. uh got a new job, and you're starting to.

climb the ladder, so that's good. Um. What the was going on in Colorado. though? Is immediately what sticks out. of my head, cuz we have an outstanding. balance. An outstanding balance for an. apartment of $3,060.01. Outstanding balance, and you weren't. making nothing. Yeah. I mean. among the higher wage earners, no, but. what is going on? Um. Yeah, there was a lot of things that.

were going on prior to this, and um. I was having a lot of issues with the. apartment complex. I had moved there at. the beginning of the year, um and within. I want to say was it like April? I. started having That's a few months in, okay. Yeah, I had a really bad rodent issue. Like it was. Yeah, for 2 months I had this giant rat. in my wall, and I kept telling them. there's a rat in my wall, they didn't. believe me, and I showed them the videos. that I had of this rat, and then they. had the pest control come out, and then. they're like, well, it's not that big of. a deal, it's not uh.

Yeah, it was. So, that was one issue, and then. underneath me was basically like a trap. house. And so, that was a big Yeah, like there. was always. random people coming in at random hours. of the night. Very sketchy things. and insertions? Yeah. Yeah, it was Yeah, it was really scary. because there was multiple times where. there was like violence threatened. The. police had to come out a couple times. cuz gun shots. against you? No, like the person that.

lived there. and then the random people that were. coming in and out because of whatever. they were doing, they were just always. threatening violence against each other. told me you had kids, too. Yeah, I have. Yeah, I have one. I have one. And what How old are they? She's 6, and that that was. Oh, yeah. It was really traumatizing for. both of us because there was a couple. times we had to hide in the closet. because of the shooting. What the Yeah, the co- Yeah, the cops. had to come out, and there it was So, that was scary. How were they not kicked out. immediately? Who would want this in. their property? Yeah, that's what I My.

neighbors were also said that they had. been there for like a year, and. Was this like a lower income community, by the way? No, it was a regular It's a regular. apartment complex that had a. And yeah, they and I would tell them I. mean, my dog even got attacked by the. cuz the random people are always coming, and then they had random dogs, and just. really scary. dogs. Yeah, and then summer came around, I. didn't have AC. I kept telling them. about that. They were ignoring me, they. didn't do anything about it. I went the. whole summer without AC. Granted that. summers in Colorado aren't that bad, but.

still it was It was 85° in my house, and. I had a kid, and my grandma was coming. to visit. It was just So, I kind of got. to the point where I was. probably not the best choice, but I kind. of got to the point where I was like, hey, I've been. trying. talk to anyone legally? So. my I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I tried. Um a lot of the places that I was. getting referred to for like low income. or just cuz I. I. was at the place to like get a like a. big lawyer, and I don't I've never had.

to do anything like that before, so I. was trying to find like. like local lawyers or like low income A. lot of I got a lot of recommendations. from. like. the community center that I went to, and. they were gave me a lot of like how like. low income housing, but anybody that. lives in Denver knows there's a huge. housing issue out there, so. just talking about that. I'm talking. about legal help with them not fixing. AC, trying to get you out of, you know, contract. uh maybe even more uh with all the. dangerous stuff that was going on, and.

obviously not holding up their end of. likely the contract that you signed. Yeah. Cuz I assume you just left. Is. that what this means? Yeah. You just. left. When did you leave? The end of September. So, you made it all the way to the. September. Okay, wow. And then so. uh. like there's a utility bill that came. in, and it was a late fee, then we had a. back rent and late fee and late fee. But. I mean, you're just obviously not paying. it, but I mean, okay. I mean, this it it gets a little weird.

I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what that. pursuing them to try to get out of a. contract, it sounds like in any kind of. way, which is hard, cuz you're just a. person, you know, making 40,000 bucks a. year, or whatever it was after taxes was. like you know, almost 30. Well, I mean, that doesn't make sense. I don't think. you're working as many hours as you. but it was salary. I'm a bit confused on. the income that came in, I'll be honest, but either way. Well, I just said that's all I did.

You broke the contract that you signed, which means that. I mean, yeah, this would be. Did you give them notice? So, what. happened was because all that was. happening, they came to me and said, well, we're going to evict you, and then. that's when the whole. Evict you? Yeah, and then that's. For why? Because I wasn't paying rent, and that's when Why weren't you paying. rent? Because of all the safety issues, and they were ignoring me, so I went I. guess it's probably not the most like. the smartest move. Um I I would have.

rather you talked to someone legally. Yeah. Yeah, I. In retrospect, that probably would have. been best. Instead of just paying rent. Yeah, so. yeah, and I got to the point where we. had to go like I don't know, it's like. civil court evict or whatever. Um. And I showed up, and I. told the judge I was like, hey, you. know, this has all been going on, and. I From my understanding was my options. were I either just pay the amount of. rent that was due, which was like the. 3,000 not without the late fees or. anything, was either to pay that to the.

property to be able to stay, or to get. my stuff and just leave by a certain. date, and then it would all be. considered like even. That's what I. understood, but now I have this bill. that they sent me. What do you mean that's what you. understood? Was that the decision that. was So, what. Cuz the way that it's I don't know how. to ex- The way that. it's worded, it sound cuz it's Did they. take you to civil court? Yes. They took you to civil court. Yes. Okay. And I don't have a lawyer.

Like I just I just presented the court. with all of the photos of all the damage. that my apartment suffered all the. the judge decide in the end? They gave me it was a stipulation. agreement is what they gave me. Okay. And so. that's what I signed, and it said that, you know, I had to be out by this date. at this time. Yes. Okay. And I had my keys, and that's the funny. thing, too, cuz a week later they called. me and said, well, we need your keys, you're not out of the unit. I told them. I said, yes, I did return the keys, there were two people there, and they're. like, okay, well, we'll see if we can. find the keys. And they didn't seem to. believe me, but I haven't heard back.

from them since then. I also emailed. them about that, and asked um what was. going on, so. absolutely terrible landlords. They give. every. They have a. two-star rating, so I'm not surprised. Total unpaid charges $3,910. Even though it says out balance is. outstanding balance of 3,000, so. Um I think they took my deposit or at. play it to that. Okay. Well, you're Yeah, you're probably. not going to get your security the. security deposit back, but obviously. you're just trying to get 3,000 bucks.

off the bills. that you have to owe, especially when we. go through the rest of the debts. Obviously, your debts really stack up. for your income situation as a single. mom, right? So. Ooh, okay. I don't have uh. the judge's decision in front of me. I. have no choice but to just take your. word, and just, you know, hope your hopeful understanding of the. situation. So, what are you doing now? You're challenging it? Yeah, that's why. I reached out to them um and yeah, I.

just to the apartment complex. I sent. them an email and it's like, "Hey, you. know, I signed this agreement. It's from. This is what it said." I kind of quoted. a little bit, but I also don't. understand legal. wording that well. Um. and I just That was last week and I. haven't gotten anything back. So, I. don't. I don't know. Um. They may have sent it to their lawyers. and it could take a bit. Yeah, so I'm. not I'm not sure. Mhm. what to do about this. And I don't. I don't like have a lawyer or anything. I don't really know.

I know and there there might be people. who are willing to do low lower income. services. as well. Even if you hire a lawyer just. to look over the agreement. I mean, I. could maybe we could we could find. someone to do like a few hundred bucks. I don't know. That's hard. It's probably going to be a couple. thousand with the retainer. So, yeah, I might look for resources to see. what you can do cuz I mean, at that. point then you're basically just doing. this. Um.

saving that money. I love when my money. is making more money in the SoFi high. yield savings account I use has 4.6%. interest on that money. It's the savings. account I personally use for my tax. money that I set aside and other money. that I just want to be building while. it's just sitting there. And you can get. bonuses by signing up all the way up to. $250 by using my affiliate link in the. description below. And it's not just cuz. they're my affiliate. I personally use. them. They're great. I've had a great. experience with them so far. And I only. recommend those who I like working with.

and who I like using. So, if you have. money sitting in savings, have that. money make some more money. and use that high yield savings account. Link in the description below. 4.6%. and bonuses all the way up to $250. Eventually, it'll go into Well, they're just adding late fee, late fee, late fee. They might just write off the. loss out to collections. If for some reason this isn't So, okay, you emailed them, but you're not. pursuing anything you haven't gone to. the court? I mean, like, "Yo, what. what's up?" No, I haven't. I don't.

I recommend maybe reaching out to the. office that you know, that judge's. office if possible. office? Yeah, you know, I was yeah. Um whatever system they were in. Was it. like the county? Was it. Uh yeah, the county of. that place. Okay. Okay. Now, I get it. Okay. So, yeah, I mean, maybe we send an email in or leave a. call or something like that. Okay. See. if we can Yeah, cuz obviously, if if. what you said.

was correct. then obviously, these people they're. probably stuck in a big. paperwork of corporate bull and they. probably don't even give people who are. work obviously obviously, the people. managing your place don't give a Well, I. mean, in the few months that I was. there, they had two different That's. That's another thing. They had switched. over management. So, when I moved in, they're like, "Oh, we just got new. management." Blah, blah, blah. And then. like right before the rat thing. happened, they switched to another. manager. That's how I found out because. I was emailing them. You don't know who. the owners are do do you? No, it's a big.

corporation. There's that That property. is really big, too. Um. uh. but they switched over to a new. management and when I went to go tell. them about the rat situation, that's. when I found out they they didn't tell. us like, "Oh, we got new emails. We're. under new management." or anything. So, the communication there's also. really sh Okay, I think first step for. this see whatever community resources. are there are. I'd maybe reach out to. some housing lawyers and just explain. your situation in a in an email or. voicemail um. and say, you know, "I really don't have.

much." that kind of stuff and just see. who might be able to get back to you. Maybe someone's willing to do it for. like 500 bucks, something like that. Um. Um. Reach out to a lawyer in Colorado, right? Not in here. Right? Yeah, probably. Um I mean, that might just make it. easier, especially if they have to show. up in person or anything. Okay. Um. So, yeah, whatever that town was that. you were in and I don't look look. around. Leave lots of emails and. voicemails. Try to get and explain your. situation. See if someone's willing to. help for, you know, a lower income.

situation. Look at community resources. You know, do that for a couple weeks. If. we're like three if we're like two, three weeks in, maybe reach out to the. local. um you know, the judge's office there. and uh. if for some some reason and I really. don't think this is going to be the. case, but if you can't get any community. resource, you can't get a lawyer at all. and then you just never hear back from. uh the judge office, which again, I. don't think all three of those things. would not happen, which would that would.

just be wild. There is the potential that eventually, this will go to collections and maybe. you challenge it. You challenge it with. the credit bureaus. Be like, "Yo, here's. this legal You have a piece of paper, right?" I mean, what do you have? Yeah, I have this I have a They emailed. me the copy of what I signed or the. stipulation agreement. it Yeah, so I mean, they might fight it. there. Yeah, so Okay. I just need help. Do you have. decoding it. Um it's on my Can I take a. look? Yeah. Let me take a look. I'm curious. I've. gone through many many many.

fun legal documents, especially on the. real estate side because I am a. I do own some rental properties now. I actually treat people who rent it with. respect and don't frown. And also, if. they just want to leave, I just let them. leave anyway, so. But either way, Should move to one of your properties. Well, you'd have to live in Michigan for. that. And I know we haven't gotten into any of. the debts yet except for this one, but. it's it's it's a interesting thing to. break down that we haven't had before.

But while she's pulling this up, you. should hit the subscribe button. We're. trying to get to a million subscribers. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed. so far. Love you all so much. I think this is it. I I think this is it. and. So, yeah, I don't All right. Maybe you. can help me. It's only one page? As far as That's what they signed or. they sent me. All right, this should be. That's what I signed. Easy. This is why you don't sign things that. you don't understand. Yes, I would always go in with a lawyer.

I mean, you're being sued. Did you look. at any public options? Yeah, so the public options that were. given cuz I went to the community. resources people and they gave me a list. of like um. low income. What do they call it? Low income. representation. Something something like. that. And it was like either really low. income or free. And then some of them. they were like, "Yeah, we can help you, but we can't help you until like this. day." And I was like, "Well, that's. going to be.

too far after the whole thing." It's. hard for me to read on the phone. Can. you email that to us? Yeah. Um. Okay. We'll see what he says. Um. See if he has time to get to it before. you leave. If not, I'll just text you. later. Um. And I'll probably leave a pinned comment. if it's not included in this episode. with what happened. So, beyond that, we might owe that. I'm inclined to think. you may. So, I'm going to do rent.

$3,060.01. Just slightly leaning towards that. Not. 100% sure. And I'll let the actual. expert in the field of law decide that. We have a 2019 Toyota Corolla. You got a. car that was basically. half the income that was coming in. The. loan the loan itself was half the income. that was coming in. Mhm. In terms of the overall balance. Why did you get this Okay, this is a. good car. It's a good, reliable, safe.

It'll get you a point A point B and. it'll last a while as long as you take. care of it. Could have gotten a little. older version. Why did we go and go. essentially $20,000 in debt when you did. this? Maturity date 2026. So, we know. we're waiting a few years still. Yeah. Um so, I got that car in 2020 um. Six-year loan. Yeah. Um in June of that year, actually, got in a wreck. My car got totaled and. um. Insurance cover it? Yeah, so the total. amount due for like.

the total amount and the amount that. there was left on it was. basically the same. So, I got like a $40. um. totaled it out and All right. So, they. paid the rest of that loan and then gave. me the 40 extra dollars. What's the interest rate on this thing? Um it's. I think it's close to 18%. Oh, f. Why? Why? Because. And why did you get a car that was. obviously well beyond where it should be. for your income? Um yeah, just I was.

Like everybody else, just desperate for. a car at the time. I single mom, didn't. have a car. My grandma gave me some. money to put a down payment and um yeah. Yeah, it was a very hard time for the. car market, especially. Yeah, this was September 2020 when I got. that, so. So, you got gifted some money. for the down payment? Mhm. You don't have to pay that back? No. My grandma's awesome. 500 18% death. though. That's death. Yes. At least you're kind of on that.

down trend of more money going towards. principal than interest now. Yeah, I keep getting uh prompted to. refinance my loan, I guess cuz I've had. it for so long. I just haven't done that. because I don't know how to do that. rates are and with what your credit. score may be. I don't What's your credit. score? Um it's So, on average between. the three, it's like 600 cuz one's like. 597. 600? 600. Yeah. So, like five One of. them's 599 or five 95 1611. I don't know. So, yeah, they're right. around.

uh 506 $526.06. minimum monthly payment. It's a lot. Yeah. Especially for you bringing in. 2,000 bucks before? Is that what it was? 2,600 2,500? Yeah. But yeah, I wasn't working here when I. got that, but yeah. I know. You have student loans. I do. They're all at 5% and less. 4.5, 4.5. What is that one? Yeah. 12,000. for the certification that you got?

No. Um so some of those are from a. community college and then the the. This one, where's that? This. This This one. one? Yeah, that one's for the certification. and these two are from um community. college. Certification was 9,500? Yeah. Woo! Man, this is why. This is why I like talking about my boys. over at Course Careers for tech. certifications cuz woo, so much cheaper. than that. Me, 9,500 you borrowed. Did.

you put any money actually towards it or. was it just 9,500 to complete it? No, that was the complete total. Okay. So, I mean your minimum monthly payment. across all these is probably what? 150 bucks? Uh I don't know. I logged. into it because I knew that in October. the No, no. It says So, I'm not So, if I. look on my thing right now, it says that. zero is due. That's my monthly um amount. due right now. It says zero. Ooh, wait. When did you get your. certification? Uh I just finished it in.

June of this year. So, yeah. You You do. get a few months. Yeah. And then yeah, these ones are um. But I'd look out for it. It's going to. start very, very soon for you. Well, yeah. So, yeah. What The two of those. start in April, one starts in January. Um but I I was trying to look cuz I. logged into my student loan account. I. was trying to look to see what the. minimum monthly payment would be and. right now it also says zero on. everything. It doesn't give me like an. estimated min minimum monthly payment. 150 probably across the board. What What. do you have so much so much in.

collections? Um be. See, this is why all of a sudden I'm. even more skeptical on the rent thing. cuz you have four things in collections. here. So, it's that just screams. responsibility. Yeah. So, one of these. So, actually two of these this 10 this. 1,000 and this 373, I'm fighting those. cuz I did have um my identity stolen in. 2020. went to Banfield Pet Clinic? I don't know. I don't go to Banfield. So, and then the other one was I think. the other one. I do have a pet, but I don't I always.

pay out of pocket for her, which sucks, but. Yeah. Well, you know what could have. happened. is, you know, she went in a little more. was. a little more happen in the visit. Maybe. you signed something and that's what you. ended up owing and you just didn't pay. it. I go to a pri- Oh, at this time I cuz I. was living in Colorado, I wasn't going, but I always take her to this private. vet uh. been to a Banfield in your life ever? My mom's taken her, but I haven't taken. her.

Now? Yeah. Okay, so your mom I mean that that. could explain it. Your mom took her, but. it's still your dog on your account and. likely the payment was still owed on. your account, never paid, went to. collections. I don't think that's. something you can fight. I mean you just. answered it right there. Okay, maybe. Maybe probably. Uh 1,000 1,013. Now, okay, if your. ident- First of all, lock your credit. Yeah, I have a PIN. So, this year when I. um we're in 20 So, this year I did 22.

Last year we did 21. Yeah, last year is. when I found out I had my identity. stolen cuz I went to go cuz the lady who. does my taxes, she's always done my. taxes every year and when we went to. file it said that I couldn't file it. because it had already been filed and. she asked if I had filed them. I said, "No, I haven't." And then so I had to go. I had to go through the IRS and somebody. else got paid. I'm still waiting on like. 10 grand for the IRS to pay me from that. year. That's what makes you conclude. that your identity was stolen? No, no, no. When I when I went and or not me, when my CPA lady went and did it, it. said that it was already.

um filed under. it being filed it being filed is what. made you determine that it's been. stolen. So, her and I called the IRS and we. spent several weeks and several hours. talking everybody and they said that it. had been filed, that it had been paid. out to somebody and then they told them. to get your re- refund. I did get my. refund and then so the IRS said that my. identity was stolen and they locked my. accounts. So, now that's why I have a. PIN for Both my daughter and I both have. PINs on our things now because of that. what? I'm sorry for just playing devil's.

advocate. This is what I do. I push back. on everything, but it's okay because it. creates more open-minded conversations. Hopefully. Uh. Sounds like you also just really don't. know what the is going on. Like it. sounds like you're all over the place. Money's mismanaged. You don't know. what's happening. What if you accidentally went through. TurboTax, did a couple clicks, did just. a very easy, quick minute refund? Not. saying it did. I'm very skeptical that.

that would be the choice. But again, with the Banfield thing, you said your. mom has taken them there. It's like you. weren't able to get to there mentally. until I was able to, you know, walk you. through it. Mhm. I So, just. a slight bit of skepticism when it comes. to this. I bet I I probably was probably. was stolen. That's terrible. Um. obviously that's a. Yeah, cuz that that 1,000 from like a. phone bill that they said I opened and I. know I've never had. a phone bill with that company. So, I'm. fighting AT&T. I do not have AT&T. I've.

never had AT&T under my name ever. Your. parents have access to your credit. score? No. Uh credit score? Uh social security. number? Well, yeah. I mean my mom knows. my social security number. She's my mom. Okay. Well, I don't think mine knows my. social security number. Off the top of her head. I don't think. she wrote it down when I was a kid. Mhm. I know. She might. I mean I have my own. card, but. She knows all of it. Either way, what. what unfortunately is very, very, very, very unfortunately more common than I.

like it to be. Someone in the family. going on the road of applying for things. using a social security card of a kid or. relative. Again, not saying that. I'm. just bringing up potential things that. may have happened. Mhm. I don't know. Can you ask her? Is she the only one that would know your. social besides you? What about the ex? Okay, so we did cut something from the. episode.

We won't talk about it, but we may have. found a potential person. that has access to your socials. Yeah. That you're not in contact with. Yeah. Could have happened. Mhm. I know. communication with that individual is. difficult. I would try our best to at. least try to hunt it down. Okay. And then also Energy you straight. up you at least accept responsibility. for this one. Yeah, that was when I was 19 and I moved. in my first apartment and I moved out. I. just decided to not pay it. So, yeah, that was.

me being young and stupid and So, yeah. That's Young, dumb, full of complete. stupidity. Young, dumb, and broke. Uh Versus? What? VS? Oh, well. Oh, oh. Yeah, that. was um that was Victoria's Secret card. That was That was me. Yeah. Kill me now. Yeah. Yeah, that one went bad because I was. paying on it cuz I've had that I've had. that card for like 6 years and it went. bad cuz over the summer when I was doing. my training I wasn't working and I. told that let that go. So, that was 100%.

me. So, I made a I made a payment to. this one recently. So, my total balance. due right now is 250. 1 251. And interest is accruing on it. It's a. Synchrony card. Did you finance. something? Yeah, it was CareCredit cuz. that's how I always paid for my dog. Um But you said you paid cash. No, like. I paid out of like That's what I meant. Okay, that wasn't cash, but. Like I didn't. Dude! I know. She's getting old. She's had a lot of. stomach issues.

And yeah. I'm sorry. I mean that sucks. Yeah. But. please. with me. say. What's correct? this summer, okay? The other times, yes, I did pay cash. This is from this. summer. I can show you the statement. I didn't. open this card. the statement? When was the statement? This statement was from the end of. September. Okay, so last month. Last month. Guess. what? Amount past due, $30. This was This was.

less than a month ago. This was a few. weeks ago. Yeah, September is the only. month that I missed because I was doing. so much. that matters is one. Yeah. All that. matters is one. Why did you possibly miss a payment? Cuz I was busy moving. There's That's. not an excuse. You know, we do automatic. you If you're If you're not someone who. can be on top of We do automatic. We do. automatic cuz we just If we're not able. to be an adult, we need to do it let the. program be an adult for us. So, I have my automatic because I suck.

at organization stuff, too. Yeah. I'm I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know. I I I. go a bit hard. Um. Uh This is I I want to make sure that in. the future when things are owed, you're. not getting penalized for it cuz these. companies are going to take advantage of. you. Yeah. They're going to They're They. wait They want someone to be in your. position where things get too busy. They. don't have automatic payments on and. they just miss one thing and they just.

hit them with a fee. Yeah, and I was. also A $40 fee is what you had. Yeah. Like I said, last month was the only. month I didn't pay. Pay I've been. I've been making 175 dollar payments so. that way cuz So, the first um. amount that got put on it, it was over. 200 dollars. So, it's like 6 months. interest free. So, that's why I'm really. trying to make sure I pay it off before. December cuz I got it in June. Um the second one though, it was under. 200 dollars. So, they said that that one. doesn't have the um interest free. option. So, that's where that interest. is coming from. Yeah. And uh yeah, last.

month they said I was. a lot of steel as you see in my. spending. But um yeah, I was just And yeah, I was. in the process of moving everything from. like my credit or yeah, my credit union. in Denver to I got a SoFi account. So, I. was in the the of moving everything over. there and updating my And I had I didn't. have the card yet when I got this and I. didn't know that I could look through my. Samsung wallet and get the information. So, that's why I missed that, but I. didn't as soon as I got my card I made a. payment of like 350. So, I still owe 250.

on it now. 251. She did warn me before that she was. going to cry, by the way. It's. Yeah, everybody that knows me knows I. cry all the time. But, do you want to take a. a brief moment? It's okay. Cry here. Cry more later. Huh? No, it's fine. Okay. I'm usually. for some reason I'm actually very much a. crier myself, but for some reason when. I'm like. in front of the camera, like my brain. doesn't allow me to. But, I'm usually a. co-crier. If someone else cries, I. immediately get teary-eyed, but some. something about right here I just can't.

I don't know why. Okay. So, is that all your debt? The. collections, the rent, the car, the student loans, and the Security? Yes. Okay. And the collections was. How long have they been on your account, by the way? What's the oldest one? Um. I. I put my Credit Karma. Or just rough guess. Um the oldest one.

would probably be the Austin Energy cuz. that one I when I was like 19. 19 and you're 27 now. That's. So, it's like actually I was 20. Yeah, 18 20 20. So, it should probably. drop off soon. What's your second. oldest? I'm sorry. How old's your second. oldest? I only have one. Second second oldest. Oh, sorry. Sorry, I thought you were talking about kids. Sorry. No, you're good. Jesus. Um. Uh. second oldest can I sorry, so the Austin. Energy would probably be the oldest. Um this I guess it'd be in between these. two cuz I'm not sure when this one got.

put on. This maybe like a year or two. Okay. So, okay. So, the I'm going to assume the. Banfield's going to fall off. And I. don't know about that that thousand. dollars cuz I'm going to I'm sorry. I'm. going to assume the Austin Energy is. going to fall off. $1,748. in collections is likely what's going to. be a thing. No activity though. Have you touched the. Austin Energy at all? No. Made a Okay. So, this is your SoFi checking account? Yes. So, um.

Yeah, so you'll see in my credit union I. took out like cash because I moved most. of it over here and then some of it I. kept like in cash. I was like, "Okay, this is the only money I'm spending for. groceries or gas." Like I kept it in. cash so I wouldn't use my card. Groceries or gas. Are you just getting. $6.88. cents of gas? Is that a thing? That's. Safeway is a grocery store. What are you getting for $6.88? That. screams taquitos to me. No. Um it's more. like I was like, "I'll make spaghetti or. something." Then I realized I like. forgot one two things and then I had to. go back and get them. of your life. Yeah. You stop and you.

stop and you stop and Yeah. You have. $1,416 in here, so that's pretty okay. Uh that was That's my paycheck from my. old school. Oh, okay. Cool. Now, in the Security checking account, ATM withdrawal 80 bucks, ATM withdrawal. 100 bucks. Who knows what that was. We. went to something birthday V birthday? No, so those when you. at this at the school So, this is my. saving my savings account that Is your. savings account?

what I did. I know. Um. But, so like where it says like pink and. V, that's so when you set up like. automatic like transfers, you can put. where you're putting the savings for. So, that's what that was. Still birthday. and pink concert. We're not going to a. pink concert. If we owe money on a. credit card, if we have a death card, 18% death insanity, we are not going to. a pink concert. And I saw Pink actually. I saw Pink live. Never thought never had. the desire to. It was just random at a. music festival. She's great. I want you.

to see Pink. Guess what? Not while you. have an 18% death death death interest. rate cuz I want you to have a better. life. I want your kid to have a better. life. Pink doesn't need to have a better. life. Yeah. She already has a good life. I know. And the rent back owe I know there was. confusion around them, but come on. Yeah. That's what that was. What's. p a i i s o? 82 bucks 99 cents. p a i space i s o.

Um. Uh It's a lot of money to be spending in. this situation and not know where it's. going. Uh it's probably it was probably. just like a cash withdrawal because. there is a bank right down the street. from my house. So, it's probably what. that was. Lice cleanse. My daughter had got lice. Yeah, I assumed. That sucks. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That was. Yeah, she had got that right after she. had COVID which was not fun. Oh, no. Double. One two punch. Uh child help. What's this? Um so, that. is a. It's um like a charity organization that. helps children that are.

I know. We give to charity a ton to. charity when you're out of bad debt, when you have a fully funded emergency. fund. When you are out of bad debt and. 18% is being squeezed from you and you. have fully funded emergency fund and. you're contributing 20% to retirement, you are going to be able to contribute. in a longer term way more money than. just doing little one-offs here and. there. So, if you want to support them, support yourself first. Get to a. financial stable place so you can then. just completely fund them.

Roblox Premium. Yeah. Come on. No, that was my daughter. No. Yeah, I know. So, I fixed I didn't Yeah, I fixed the Amazon thing. So, I that. shouldn't happen again. I see someone's looking for a. boyfriend or girlfriend within the San. Marcos area. No, Austin San Marcos is I have good. options. Um well, $32.46. for that Hinge Premium. it.

I have Hinge Premium. Alamo Drafthouse. Alamo Sloan's. Sloan's that's another Alamo Drafthouse. location. Okay, well, stop. We're going to We're. paying off the debt. King Soopers. That's a grocery store. Okay. Red Robin's not neither is McDonald's. neither is Taco Bell neither is a liquor. store neither is the birthday fund or. the pink concert or Peoria or. Peoria is. Peoria was my dentist. That was my. co-pay for my dentist. Dentist good. Take care of teeth. Good. McDonald's.

that's not dentist probably not dentist. dentist approved either. Donuts I think. Venmo now 50 bucks. Chick-fil-A. Central. Park, Arkansas? Who knows? Maybe it's a. store you're purchasing purchasing from. there. Is that Safeway? I don't know. Does it say I live? Um cuz I know one of. them looks weird and it's actually a gas. station. If it says I live e I live. that's the gas station. Okay. Well, maybe. ATM withdrawal $45. Kid to Kid. Yeah. What is it? It's a consignment store. um for like kids clothes. I was getting.

some child. Job test.org? Is that you had to take. that to get your job? Um it was like a placement thingy. So, they were like like skills like see. where my skills are and all that. Cool. McDonald's, Burger King. Yeah. Liquor. store. Lava Island. Lava Island. Google purchasing something. Google One account for my um. Yeah. For what? Well, I'm a teacher so I. make a lot of stuff like. it that um. Yeah, I know teachers. at a private school, okay? So, they're.

even more. it's even more. I know. I don't have a union or anything that. protects me. You know what a teacher that doesn't. make a lot of money and owes back rent. and owes a bunch in collections and. shouldn't be doing? Everything I'm doing. DoorDashing. Starbucks. DoorDashing Starbucks. Two. things that you should not be doing. combined into one. Chick-fil-A. Papa. Murphy's. The birthday fund. Pink concert fund. again. Papa Murphy's. Ben and Jerry's. ice cream and Hulu and white glove car.

You're getting your car like. Yeah. detailed for 105 bucks? No uh-uh. We go. to a place with a little vacuum. Expedia. Sonic. Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A. refunded. That's good. Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A. Jersey Mike's. Uh. I think you said that was a grocery. store the King thing. So, Amazon. Okay. So, in your savings we ended with. 900 bucks. Yeah. You've had overdrafts. Year-to-date 60. bucks overdrafts. Yeah.

You can't be overdrafting, my dude. Yeah. We got a kid. I know. You're. I have a breakdown. Yeah, transportation costs a lot of your. money. 15.5% of your spending is that. So, that's a lot. 2.4 to your phone. Going to the grocery store 8.2%, but. guess what? 8.8% goes to eating out. So, not great. Unknown shopping. typically Walmart or Amazon cuz you. don't necessarily know what that is. before point three. Uh subscriptions 2% miscellaneous. Let's.

see what we have miscellaneous. Usually. it's taquitos. Miscellaneous. Well, the child help. that's okay. Liquor store and that. Central Park thing. Liquor store. Lava. Island. Uh getting a massage I didn't. even see that. Massage good. Self-help. good for the mental. Let's get out of. debt first. I thought that's better for. your mental. Either way, that's 10% of. your spending. 10% of your spending. That was a big mess up on my part cuz my. boss had given me a gift card for a. massage for like me leaving and uh she. told me it was for a two-hour massage.

and so that's what I had booked, but. when I got there apparently it was only. for like an hour and a half. So, I had. to pay the difference. So, that's what. happened there. Going and getting your car detailed and. the ATM withdrawals Yeah. 20% of. your income. Meaning out of the money. that could have been going towards that. like. 30 maybe maybe 35% of your spending. could have gone towards that, but went. to bull stuff that you're prioritizing. I hope that's a wake-up call. I hope. this whole thing's a wake-up call. Yeah.

Cuz right now. not good, dude. Yeah. It's not good. Let's see if he's responded. For you. credit card nerds out there just like. me, I have a credit card that I really. want to talk about. It is the Rocket. Card. This is perfect for you if you are. about to go buy a house. The cash back. on this card can be converted into 5%. cash back for your down payment and. closing costs. It can also be converted. as 2% cash back when it comes to your. mortgage payments. It's absolutely. incredible. It's a game changer and the.

next time I take out a mortgage, I'm. personally going to use this. Check out. the affiliate link in the description. below. I highly recommend it. He said. he's taking a look. So. Right now you're living alone? No, I. live with my grandma. Okay, so do you. have rent? Uh $300. Wow. Yeah. Living the good life. Yep. One of the reasons I decided to come. back. So 300. Okay. And do you is that include internet and.

utilities or do you give extra? Wow, that's incredible. That's incredible. Okay, your debt. I'm going to include the student loans. cuz they're about to start anyway, so we. may as well budget for it. $706.06. What's your phone bill? Um 30. How much needs to go to medical on a. monthly basis? Um I. Prescriptions, child stuff. I don't have.

to um because my daughter has she has. state benefits, so. I don't have to pay anything. Well, she's still at your $45,000 a year? Uh she gets state benefits now. Um. I don't I don't know. I haven't like I. haven't I just signed my new contract. with my job, so I don't really know what. that looks like and a lot of times you. have to be there a year before you can. get any kind of like. benefits through my school or through. schools, so. at at least in the private sector. I. don't know about public. Subscriptions. and stuff. How much was that Google one that you. have to pay for for school? Uh it was.

like $2 or $3 something. Two or three. dollars, something like that. Well, the one I Okay, the See, then that. wasn't Google one. The thing I saw you. purchase through like a Google Pay or. something was like 80 bucks. I'm going to give you $10 or I'm going. to give you $15 for subscription whether. or not whatever that goes to. I don't. care. $80? 15. Oh, yeah, 80. It was an expensive. purchase on there. Um so. not that big of a subscription or. whatever, Roblox, blah blah blah. Okay. Groceries for you and your kid. Uh. she's six. Mhm.

And we've done a grocery shopping trip. and everything here showing that you can. do a healthy, good, happy budget. 250. bucks a person. So. let's just assume she eats enough for. two for someone twice her size. Mhm. Let's do 500 bucks for groceries. This is meal planning. This is prepping. This is being very strategic. This is. going on the HEB website. Mhm. Sh- finding what you want. Do a. pick up order so you're not picking up. things in the aisle and shop lowest. price to highest. That's the good thing.

about being back in Texas. It's HEB. That's right. Missed HEB. Toilet paper fun, all the stuff. 100 bucks. Makeup and whatever else you do. Makeup. for your Hinge dates. And It's not working out very well. Well, neither is mine, so I get it. And. the. she's in school, right? Yeah. She was at school with me. She was. at school. She was at school with me. Let's say. school supplies, extra stuff. What do we.

want to do? Do you want to do like 30. bucks a month? Um. Some- it's sometimes going to be zero, sometimes it's going to be much higher. So what should we budget to it on a. monthly basis? Um. Yeah, I mean 30. would be fine. She wants to do an. activity, you know, like sign her up for. tennis or something. You never know. Oh, okay. Yeah, I see. Anything else that. you have to take care of on a minimum. monthly basis? My car payment. Uh your debt's already in there. Oh, I see. Okay. Car insurance, how. much? Um 150.

Anything else? Um. my pet. Yeah, how much should we budget towards. that? Do you have pet insurance? No. Probably can't at their age. Huh? Probably can't at their age with. what you were describing before. Yeah, she's on about to be nine. Yeah, she. might not get approved then. Not 100%. sure. Might be worth looking into. It. saved me thousands and thousands and. thousands and thousands of dollars cuz. my animals are always stupid and getting. hurt. Yeah, uh she's it's easily at least at. least $100 cuz she's on a pres- yeah, she's on a prescription diet now because.

she's old and she's having a bunch of GI. issues. What What kind of What What do. you have? Hm? What What is she? She's a Rottweiler. mix. Okay. Probably very cute and I would probably. give very many pets. Oh, yeah. She. thinks she's a cat. Which is interesting. Well, she like walks on furniture. Yeah, well she like will find the smallest. space ever and try to sit there. Oh, really? Yeah.

She's just as stubborn. You know what I just learned today? Hm? That one of my dogs is deathly afraid of. rain. We haven't had rain since I've. adopted her and when it rains, she goes. pee and poop on the. um back porch so she doesn't have to go. in the rain. It's what I've learned. Yeah, my dog. will literally hold her her bowels for. like a day instead of going outside. But. she's also terrified of thunder, so she. has like a prescription trazodone, which. is crazy. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, good news. You should. have an extra.

$1,648. bucks left in a month. What you need to. survive on a minimum is $1,931. You already had a thousand in savings. Stop touching savings. You do things through checking. Turn on. automatic stuff. At least have a. thousand dollars in your account. Checking account. This first month as. you're just adjusting and everything, I'm just going to give first month. wrap that. that thousand dollars you have in your. savings up to $1,931. You have a one. month emergency fund if anything happens.

so you can take care of yourself and. your kid, okay? It's a one month. emergency fund. Stay with your grandma. until we're done with this process. What. we're going to do from here. Synchrony, month number two. I mean, honestly, month number one it should be, but I'm just going to be generous. Month. number two, kill it, gone, done. Doesn't. make sense. What we're. I'm going to put in the rent thing. If. the rent thing doesn't happen, don't. worry about it. Okay. Uh like if we find. out you don't have to, then don't worry. about it. We'll have to figure out.

something legally, but for month two, month number three, you're paying off. the Synchrony bank and you're putting. some aside month number two and month. number three, you're combining it all. and you're paying off the rent thing. Does that make sense? So month two and. month three, I'm going to save the money. to pay off the rent. Mhm. And you're. taking care of Synchrony as well. Yes. Okay. Lovely. Now after that. collections we're going to let sit for a. bit. Student loans, I think we're going to. minimum the payment till they're paid. off.

Maybe you can attack them if you want. to, but right now I need you to start. catching up on retirement. Yeah. How much do you have in. retirement? Uh nothing. Exactly. Yeah. That's one of the reasons why I wanted. to come cuz I know I need to do that and. then I have a kid, so Yeah. do that. So. after 10 months your car will be paid. off. So that's 10 months after that. So. that's 13 months in total. 13 months in. total, you'll finally own your car. You'll have no Synchrony card anymore. You're going to cut it up. You're going. to use something like Fizz, you know, if. you want to take advantage of credit.

card stuff, but. was able to get Fizz because for a long. time they didn't let Android users use. it. Oh, that's right. Yeah. So that's the. new and exciting. So you can use that. use like a debit card but have it. actually impact your credit. You're not. a credit card person. Chop up the. Synchrony. I would honestly close it so. you never have temptation. The car will. be paid off. The background will be paid. off. And honestly by then the. collections should be paid, too. We're going to say 14 months. 14 months. you'll be debt free except for your low. interest student loans. Lower interest. student loans. You want to attack the student loans. from there, you can.

From but from there for me personally, I'm getting you to a. $10,000 emergency fund. Kind of started. emergency fund. What you need before you. move out and then it'll go up with. wherever your rent's going to be at that. at that point. So 14 months, can you. live with your grandma for 14 months? Oh, yeah. She let me stay forever. Yeah, but can you? Oh, can I? Like be around. my grandma? Can you, an independent person, you. know, out there.

on Hinge, out there with a kid, Yeah. can you live with your grandma for 14. months? Yes. Okay. 10,000 bucks you need to have 8,000. total or you need to have 8,000 more to. get there. Divide that by our new found. $2,500 a month we have extra. So an. additional three months we're good. So. 14, 15, 16, 17. 17 months fully funded. emergency fund. No more debt except for. the student loans. Then you can attack. the student loans if you want to. That'll probably take an additional uh. five more months if you want to do it.

But that's up to you if you want to. But. from there what I really need you to do. is immediately, unless again you're. paying off the student loans, but after. the student loans or after the fully. funded emergency fund, 25%. Let's start. playing some catch up. Needs to go to. retirement. 25% on a monthly basis. Could be maxing out whatever retirement. fund they have at the private. institution. It could be uh maxing out. your Roth IRA every year. Taking. advantage of whatever workplace. retirement plan there is. And if all. those are maxed out as well, you can. start throwing money into a brokerage. I. doubt both of those will be maxed out at. your income. So that's totally okay. So. I'd max out your Roth IRA $6,500 bucks a.

year at this point. And uh. and then close out the rest in your work. retirement fund. We can talk about that. when you get there because again, we're. What What did I say? How many months. away? Uh. like. a year and a half. 18 months. 17 months, so There you go. The year and a half is. nothing. Yeah. You're 27, so you'll be. 29, let's say. 29, still decades of your. life. If you live a good long life, you're a third of the way through, so. I mean, that's great. And you're finally. on the right track. And even then, you. can you can do 50 30 20 Well, 50 25 25.

50% to needs max, 25% to wants, 25% to. retirement. In that wants, you can give. money away to the charities like you. like to do, which is awesome. And if you. ever want to increase your wants, just. decrease your needs. Figure out the ways. around that that But you do not decrease. investing to do increase your wants. We. never do that. And if your needs increase, it takes. away from your wants. It doesn't take. away from your investing cuz I need you. to be able to retire. Yeah.

We need to hear about the rent. We'll. see. I'll let you know. But. that's what I got. Do you have any final. thoughts? Any final questions? Um I know. you. and I'm still like trying to figure out. the whole health thing. Um is there any. way we can probably like put a budget. for like therapy? Yeah. Well, how What's your insurance. coverage? I don't know. I just signed my. thing today, so I just I'm saying I need. to Yeah, so I mean and you know, it. might extend it a couple months, which. is totally fine. So just in your budget,

figure out what your co-pays are, you. know, uh budget in what it would cost. for you to go weekly or bi-weekly, whatever you prefer. Maybe start weekly, eventually go to bi-weekly. That's what. I did. I started weekly and then once I. was getting to a better place, I. switched to bi-weekly. I've done therapy. for years, so I just I need to. go. You know what works for you then. So. just put that in your budget and it. might extend the process by a couple. months, but that's totally good. Okay. Totally good. Anything else? Um. no, just got to start doing it. So.

Yeah. If y'all think about coming on, do. it. It's really scary, but it's fun. It's You got to make yourself better, so. come get yelled at by Caleb so you can. be better. For Daphne and her hammer financial. score, when it comes to spending and a. budget, it certainly wasn't the worst, but it's not even close to great for her. overall financial situation. So two out. of 10 there. Debt, if you're in. collections, zero out of 10. Emergency. fund, she is 1/10 of the way there, so. one out of 10. Retirement, she has. nothing yet, zero out of 10. Real. estate, there's nothing yet, zero out of. 10. So those weigh pretty heavily.

against her. It's going to be a 0.5 out. of 10. Make sure to check out all the. resources linked in the description. below. They're what I use or would use. in specific situations. Thanks to all of. our Patreon producers for making this. episode possible. If you want to. participate in an episode of Financial. Audit and you're able to make it to. Austin, Texas, please fill out an. application on the survey linked in the. description below. You can also send a. link to your friends or family who you. think might be good to be on the show. If you have any questions, you can email. casting@calebhammer.com.