Can’t Afford To Live, Yet Buys A Stupid Dodge Charger | Financial Audit

My name is James. I'm 28 years old, coming from Seattle, Washington, and. this is Financial Audit. So, what do you do for a living in. Seattle? I'm a service advisor. Service advisor, like vehicle type. stuff? Like vehicle type stuff. Ooh, cool. What do you make doing that. job? Mhm, this year probably 80. 80 thousand dollars, really? Yeah, but. Dude, you. cost of living up there. No, it's. expensive, but that's still a great. salary overall. Like, I wonder what the. median salary is there. Like, Austin's a. very expensive city as well. Seattle's.

probably a little more, but still like. the median household income here is like. 75. So, you're making 80. Like, that's I. think median in Seattle is. like 109 or something like that. Not median income. May- maybe median. household. Oh, yeah. Yeah, household, my bad. you're doing great for just a single. income, right? It is just you, correct? No, I have I'm married. You are married? Yeah. What's that total household. income? Um. Well, my wife makes like 65, so 140 Oh,

sick. before taxes. So, 145,000. dollars. How do you feel living off of. that? Um a lot better than before. Um. before was maybe 100, so Yeah. Well, when did that change? Yeah, so I just started. It's almost a year in November. Okay, cool. Yeah. And did you go to school, college? No. Wow. Woah. No. I don't have any credits.

You don't have Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So, you did this without a degree? Do. you have a certification? No. Wow. See? It can be done. And I I mean, I like. certifications or colleges. Like, I. mean, I always talk about course careers. for tech stuff. And that that's always. good, but. and you know, cert- certifications and. stuff can be very focused versus a. college degree, which I like, but either. way, I mean, you're doing a killing. without either of those things, which is. awesome. What is your What is the. financial situation look like right now?

It's just you obviously talking for the. household. Yeah. Uh at this point but. what are we looking at? Lifestyle creep. Couple of emotional decisions. A poor understanding of how. finance works overall and. how to use credit cards and. um. If you don't know how to use credit. cards we just don't use credit cards. We'll learn or one. Yeah. Well, it's it's I mean in part from your show.

like. much better now. Um. Well, I'm sure we'll get into it but. um. the last thing is like a bankruptcy so I. don't know if anyone on your shows has. had a bankruptcy yet. You've done a. bankruptcy? Yeah. We've had one person. through that but it's been a really long. time. Yeah. Wow, when was that. discharged? Uh August. No, no, no. Discharged like. November last year. Last year? Yeah. So, I think I got a job. and started. the debt I have here came post that or. remained through that? Post. Dude, what.

the. the actual. Yeah. Did you not learn anything? Um. it was worse before like credit card. wise. Um Mind you, the thing I'm looking at. right in front of me is a 23.69%. interest rate and that's not even. getting into all the stuff so what? Why? The The bankrupt The bankruptcy that you. got into Yeah. What What happened. beforehand and why did you guys decide. to go to the route of bankruptcy? Was it. even your choice at that point? I'm I'm.

sure there's always a choice but. um. I had gotten a car. that essentially didn't make it 3 weeks. and the result my choice was fix it for. 10 to 20 grand. and I bought the car for 20 grand. What was this car? It's a BMW. K? Yeah. And it has like a major issue. with its engine. I suppose for anyone who's into BMWs, it's the N63 engine. It's on the 550.

Basically, the engine starts to leak oil. into the engine and. will like cause further issues and it. becomes undrivable and the fix is to. take the engine apart. and then replace the oil seals, which is. more labor cost than just replacing the. engine. Okay, still going into this bankruptcy. What? Why did you guys go into the. bankruptcy? Was it just you or was it. both y'all? It was just me and uh. Yeah, it was just me. Why? Why did you do it? Um What happened? I.

couldn't afford I didn't have a. emergency fund to. fix the car. And I didn't work where I work now where. like I would have gotten a fat discount, but. just the car. The car is what pushed it. over the edge. For sure, yeah. And I had. like. maybe. six grand in credit cards, but it they. were all my credit cards were maxed out. I think I had. a healthy amount of collections, like. more than a handful of collections as. well. Uh.

And so, I I couldn't. I couldn't fathom paying on a car that I. couldn't drive. Do you And I just. bought, so like the negative equity was. crazy. Um and it was like, all right, cool. If. I figure out how to fix it, what's the. next problem going to be? How long was. the bankruptcy process? Uh August 4th I. filed. By late November, it was done. Oh, okay. Yeah. And how much were you. able to. just get rid of? Everything but student loans. Yeah.

They're student loans. So, you did go to. college, you just didn't get a degree or. anything. Yeah, yeah. picking up that vibe. We're 7 minutes into this and. you've been through a bankruptcy, Mhm. but in front of me is. an insane interest rate death debt. I. don't want to verbally punch it too. hard, but why the possibly have we gone. from a bankruptcy less than a year ago. when it was discharged to being in a.

situation that might not be equally as. bad, but is pretty bad? Why are. we here? I want to take a brief moment. to thank today's video sponsor, HelloFresh. HelloFresh delivers. pre-portioned ingredients for. chef-created recipes. I talk about it on. the show all the time, and it's true, I. got that thickness. And hopefully you've. noticed I've been getting a little. slimmer, and it's thanks to companies. like HelloFresh. Though it's easy for me. to stick in a budget when it comes to. grocery shopping for me, my main.

struggle is buying things that are. healthy for me. And with HelloFresh, it. does get a lot easier. So, I'm cooking. up those meals, having myself nice tasty. meals, and they're nice and healthy, and. hopefully I'm slimming a little. I mean, the scale says I am, but hopefully you. notice it as well. So, because of them, there's no more stressing about meal. planning and grocery shopping as long as. it fits in your budget and you don't. have terrible death debt, to be very. clear. So, it's nice because they take. care of everything. Just pick the. recipes that you want and pick the.

delivery date, and that's pretty much. it. Well, that and they do have 40. chef-created recipes. Take it from me, it's pretty darn yummy. You can go from. family-friendly to fit and wholesome, which is what I'm trying to be. And for. those who are extra busy, which I often. am with this YouTube channel, they have. a quick and easy solution for you. In. just 15 minutes, you can whip up a. wholesome homemade meal in your kitchen. They even have quick breakfast and. lunches as well. So, when life gets. busy, don't settle for takeout and don't.

stress about meal prepping. If it fits. in that 50 30 20, try HelloFresh. And. for you lovers of takeout, it's 25%. cheaper. Go to hellofresh.com and use. code 50hammerit checkout for 50% off. plus free shipping. That's code 50. hammer to get 50% off plus free shipping. when you visit the link at the top of. the description below. Thanks again to. HelloFresh for sponsoring this episode. Yeah, it's going to get. more dicey for sure. So, um. I got the car like the week I got the. car I found out that.

my. fiance at the time was pregnant. And. so we made. we went from the no cars. and I was like electric scootering to. work and that wasn't I was okay for the. summer time, but. so then I got a car which is also I sent. you and then we're getting closer to the. due date and so we need to get her a car. and we try to find something that's. cheap but still reliable and because of. the mileage and our credit interest rate. is super high. Mhm. Yeah. So, that's.

this first one in front of me is a car? Uh yes, that's a car. What would you. give yourself zero to 10? What's your. score? .5. It's funny. Person we just recorded. before you also said .5. They ended up. being a .5. Car, what what what what is this car? What is this car? It's a 2008 Acura TL. Thrilling. How many hour hours? How many. miles? Uh. 166,000.

Does it have a life in it, man? Oh, yeah. It does? Okay, cuz you're a car. dude, you understand it. I don't know. about cars. For sure. I mean they they. sell. are they still hold value like over. 200,000 miles. um. it's a Honda at the end of the day, so. Kid was born? Kid is here, yeah. Oh, okay. Congratulations. Only only one. child as of now? That's the plan, yeah. Oh, okay. Uh. year old? He's 6 months. 6 months? Yeah, no only on that makes. sense. I forgot you got to go through the whole.

pregnancy thing first. Yeah. Uh fun. fact, I don't I don't know if you knew. that. Apparently I didn't uh. in that moment. So, $7,252. and. is what is owed on this at an insane, insane 23.69 death stupidity interest. rate of just. Yeah. $269 is owed. What's the payment term of. this? it's 48 months. Uh 48, okay. Yeah. Oh, I can't believe.

I'm celebrating 48, but so many people. do the 70, 80, blah blah blahs of stupid. that I'm going to celebrate 48. Yeah. That's probably more the bank like this. car is 160,000 miles. What's the chances. of it Yeah, for real. I'd be thinking. that, too. Yeah. What is this? What is. this? What has a principal balance of. $7,252? Uh oh, that's just showing. um I don't know why I sent that. That's. the same thing. Oh, so it's on another. debt? I don't know why in my head it. made sense to send what the payments.

were on it cuz the interest on this, even though the interest rate is way. higher than the interest rate on my. my car, not my wife's, the interest per. month is so much more. What is this yours or your wife's? The. Acura is my wife's and I have another. Do I have one for yours in here? Is it the $35,821? Why'd you get this one? You couldn't. afford a car. You couldn't afford a car. It died, it. broken, you had to go into bankruptcy, so you decided to do this again. I'm.

losing my mind. That's okay. What is. this car? Uh it's a Dodge Charger. Oh, off. I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. Um I. get it. I'd be co-laughing, too, if I. had a Dodge Charger that had this debt. on it. Yeah, yep. Dodge Charger. Hey, spending. for a Dodge to have to drive around in a. Dodge Charger and no one think you're. cool when you pull up to them at a. stoplight you're paying $850 a month for.

that. To be judged. What year Dodge. Charger? 18. Okay. It's got car play. Oh my goodness. So, it's a car that's. existed in the last 5 years. Yay! That's worth $35,821. of debt. Sorry, that was very rude. That was very. rude, but Dodge Chargers and this kind. of debt after a bankruptcy that's still. that just blows my mind, man. It was. just So, the the fact that you made the.

choice to do that. You actively chose to. do this. Crazy. So, in my head. I've I've learned over the year and. that's why I'm here to get. more clarity and accountability to move. forward, but. in my head. I was like, it's only 1% more. than my last car. And I don't. that you couldn't afford. To fix, yeah. What is the interest rate. on this? Uh I think it was like.

14.9, but there was certain things that. I could do like. change my. bank account and pay for 6 months. I. think it's down to. like just under 14 or just about 14. So, it's still 14, yeah. Okay. I don't know. They were like, we'll take 20 uh 0.25% off for. each. side quest. new interest rate, but if you do this, we'll give you a new interest rate. Yeah, sure. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Sorry, I feel I feel like I'm bullying. you right now. I don't know if it's cuz. it's later in the day or because you. went into bankruptcy cuz you couldn't. afford to repair a car and then you. decided to go get a car that was just as. expensive as the repair you couldn't. afford on a car. Which one's driving me crazy? I don't. know. Maybe it's both combined. And the term on this? Mhm, 72 months. That's what it is. It's coke laughing, sure. It's not funny, but it's.

I just know the answer is not good. Yeah, 72 months. Thank. everything that you have a high. income and a high household income cuz. this $850 for 72 months at that interest. rate Oh my goodness. Yeah, it's like 20. grand if the loan matures. Yeah. Just in interest. Yeah. Oh, Credit One. The moment I see Credit. One, I'm just like ew. Yeah. It's so bad. Credit One's just a.

predatory. This is so sh. I suppose for more context, I don't know. if this. This probably has a balance on it, but. it's paid off as of now. Good. Yeah. Cuz you did. have interest charges of $2. Close this. Close this cuz you've also had fees this. year of $40. This thing is going to be. fee and fee and fee and cuz Credit One's. just a. And just just close it, man. Okay. Just. close it. If you're going to get a card, use like the Fizz card or something that.

I talked about. You're You've watched. the show, so you know how it goes. Yeah. But uh you know, you know what that card. does. But if you're going to use your. credit card, use one that just. automatically gets paid off from your. debit card. Checking account, sorry, like a debit. card. And we have a Mission Lane. Mhm. Well, this doesn't make sense, does it? What What part? What do you think. doesn't make sense? Multiple credit cards? No. Come on. You're a fan of the show. Uh-huh. What. doesn't make sense? What's going on. here? I spent more than I paid on it. Not only that, but you just spent money.

in general. Uh. Why would we spend money on a card that. we are losing interest on and you are. not being able to able to fully pay off. and it's very close to the credit limit? Yeah. Why? Why why why? You said you've. been like watching the show for You made. it sound like you've watched the show. for months. Uh. a month, month and a half, yeah. I've. seen. Why is this in the most recent. statement? Um. learn from other people's mistakes. Uh. Um. with. So, with our son,

um there's a transition period where my. wife went from maternity leave. to work from home, but in between that. she had to go to work, so we had to find. care. Um And that's expensive. Yeah. Um. So, my my grandma came and stayed with. us. She didn't charge us anything, but. as like kind of a payment, I was. like paying for like food and outings. whenever I could. on. Was that agreed upon, or was that. just you being pleasant? Pleasant, for sure. Yeah, you don't be pleasant. You don't. have money. What's pleasant is you be.

What's pleasant for your child, fun. fact, is you getting out of debt having. enough money to retire, so they're not. morally obligated to take care of you. when you're in your 70s and don't have. any money saved up in retirement. Mhm. Uh that is being pleasant, not taking. granny out for some meals. We can take granny out to some meals. when you're out of bad debt and have a. fully funded emergency fund. I will say. though, I encourage that. Live that. life, man. You know, 50/30/20, live that. 30%, man. That's great. I fully support. that. You're just not in the position. for it right now, and we are adding to a. credit card that you are losing money on.

and you're not able to pay You're not. able to pay off, and it's pretty much at. at the credit limit. $659.19. is owed on this with a $26.01 minimum. monthly payment, and $19.01. of interest is being accrued. Mhm. And. $82.54. of purchases were made. Doesn't make sense. In fact, your. balance, even though you made a $100. payment, went up. by $2. Even though you you made a $100 payment, but the balance went up. Um Okay, yeah. Does it Does it Is it.

helpful. to say where these things are? Cuz I. think when I gathered all these, it was. in between statements. Well, um we're. just going to go off the statements cuz. that's how we built the whole picture. We can adjust closer to the end, Yeah. but with what's here, some tavern thing. So oh shoot and LA dive. Great. And $60. of interest loss this year so far on. this card. Now we have another card. Now. it looks like this credit card, the. Capital One Platinum card, it looks like. you paid off every month. Is this.

correct? Both the Capital One's were. uh are between me and my wife and we. pretty much use them for like bills or. But are they paid off every month? That's the question. Yes. Okay. Cuz we made cuz there was no. interest accruing this month. There's uh. one one of them is paid off every month. The other one I used for bigger purchase. in That are financed. I saw that. Right? Um I don't know if it showed up on. there. We'll get to that. It's not this. card. $173 balance but it looked again.

it looks like you paid off. There was. $274 $2 of purchases. Chiropract- chiropractic's a little. expensive and most medical doctors I've. listened to agree that it's pretty much. like. bad. But I don't know. You do you. Feels. good but that's been canceled so Yeah. No longer. I love cracking my bones. I've cracked. my bones in this mic too many times. I. get it. Just so I don't know. I can't I can't. speak educatedly on it. I just like to. surround myself with information from. people who are smarter than me and a lot.

of the people in the medical field who. are smarter than me are like. chiropractic's not good. So I'm just. like they know more than me. I'm going. to listen to them. And then we got some wings as well. 40. bucks of wings. Come on. And then yeah. there are some utilities. I don't know. what target was. You know it can be. groceries or it can be books. Now you don't you did pay this card off. But you don't always pay it off cuz. you've lost $40 of interest in this. year. If I see that on a statement that. immediately means you're not a credit. card person. You lose that status if. you've even paid a cent in interest. Yeah. Yeah.

So I would just wouldn't do these credit. cards. I'd budget as a household than in. a checking account. Such as this is 30%. interest. It's not worth even having. that on a single cent. Now this other card. Again look at this. 50 cents of. interest. That's not crazy, but it's. just demonstrating that you cannot. you know, actually manage credit cards. So, don't do it. We have current balance. $276 on here. You've pretty much paid. off on a monthly basis. We held a little. over. $376 of purchases were done on here. Amazon, and then it looks like Okay, so.

she swipes through You swipe through. James. Mhm. Gotcha. So, some Amazon. Prime on hers, and some gas, Whole. Foods. It's an expensive way to grocery. shop. And Go Forward. What's Go Forward? Uh it's my doctor. Okay. You have a health insurance? I do. So, they're like uh kind of a. startup. They're trying to get away from. insurance, but I just like. But you have health insurance. I do, yeah. So, why haven't you Why didn't you.

utilize it? Cuz that's Um their services. are just way more thorough, and They. don't accept your insurance? No. I I. guess I could maybe submit for. reimbursement, though. Yeah, might be. might be worth looking into whatever. your insurance provider is. Uh 150 bucks, I mean, 150 bucks on your. income is not a make-or-break, but when. we're trying to pay off debt, I want. that $150 to be going towards debt, you. know? But, that's not saying deny. yourself medical care, not even close. I'm just saying if the insurance that's. already being taken out of your check. before you receive money is going to.

health insurance on a monthly basis, you. know, I'd want you to have to like a. copay type thing, and not like a full. bill. Yeah. So, if it's available, you. might as well have it. Now, in a savings. account, we have $1.43. That is up from. 38 cents. I mean, moving moving up in this world. Yeah. Once you do have a savings. account, what's the yield on this, do. you know? Um so, right. 2.19. So, I I mean I got to go to SoFi, I know. Dude, it's 4.5. I mean, it's just it's.

just like the top top of the game. It's. just so good. Plus, $250 signing up, direct deposits. It's so good. Mhm. And. then, $185 in checking account. Is this. your joint checking account between both. of you? No. Just you? Just me. Um. Do you have a joint checking account? No. Do you know how much is in her. checking account? No. I'm saying with a. kid, I'd be nervous only having $185 at. any point in a checking account. That's. scary. Yeah. Too low. We do have another checking account $500.

in it though, which helps. It makes up. Mhm. Now, lots of Amazon gift. You and your Charger. Charger. Like why. a Charger? I think we know why it's a Charger. I. look down on no other car more than a. Charger. Really? I just I see them go by and I'm. embarrassed. Really? Yeah. Charger or. Challenger? Both. Maybe both. Sure. It was just like it was four. doors, sounds good. Do you know how many cars have four. doors? Uh most cars in America.

especially. Yeah. I'm just uh Sounds good. Sounds. good. You're noise pollution for all. your neighbors is what you are. Sounds. good. Well well uh. I can tell we won't see eye to eye on on. the choice of car, but I do agree that. the. your pretty little car that you care. about so much, you must really care. about getting it pretty cuz you go to. the car wash every single day of your. life. It's black. I would never get a. black car again. It's so hard to keep. clean. Who cares if it's dirty? Who actually. cares? It is a car. It is getting you.

from one place to the other. Who gives. if there's something on it? I don't. care. Unless it's obstructing your view, man. When you are getting out of debt, I. do not care if that car goes from black. to brown from dirt. You are trying to. get out of debt. Who cares? Do you really care what the person. thinks about you that you're pulling up. next to at the stoplight? Uh. I mean of course like a little bit, but. It's mostly. They're living their own life. They. won't remember you.

at my dirty car. Well, don't. Get in it, then you won't see it. Just move quicker to get in the car. Dude, you're in your car like 5% of your. life. Yeah. I don't give a if it's a little. mucky. Yeah. Is that a word? I don't know. But, I think we all understood what I at. least meant. Mhm. I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed at the car wash. You're disappointed at the car wash of a. Charger of all cars. I'm not a car. person, but I at least understand. Chargers are terrible.

That was good. That was good. I I thought it was going to go the other. way. Like, I'm not a car person, but I. understand Chargers are kind of cool. But, you just You just killed me. But, yes, you go to car washes a lot, man. And it's not like it's a cheap. thing. So, we're spending way too much there. that could be going off paying off the. debt to make sure your life is secure. Yeah. For the sake of your child if not, you. know, anyone else up. No. But, you know,

like you said, who cares what people. think? I know how I feel about my. finances and how I want to move forward. Well, listen. I mean, in any part of the. YouTube comments and internet comments, faceless name is people are going to be. dicks. There's going to be those people. I think for the vast majority watching, you are putting a situation on display. that many people are headed towards or. many people are in. And that's why I. think you're an absolute mother for. being here sitting in that chair, getting in the grill and cuz I know it. can be tough, but mostly to put make a. point of how bad the debt is for you and. those out there. But, you're a better.

and a very helpful person for being an. example for so many people, which is. really cool, which is why you should. give him love in the comment section. below. Appreciate it. Yeah. Um I mean, don't get me wrong. You up with. your debt. Of course. But, it's a learning It's a learning. thing. Amazon, car wash, car wash, Apple Cash. sent out $1,671. I. Rent? Uh. So, my wife and I split payments, and. she like makes all the payments. I'm. going to adjust that, but go ahead.

Um and so I just send her whatever my. half is. Apple Apple Pay Apple Cash. Amazon. Tahoma Express. We don't need to be. taking a toll. No one needs to hear your. car go even quicker. It doesn't need to. happen. a gas station, so. Tahoma Express $2? So, it's the Kitos. You went in and got. both You didn't get $2 of gas. No, that's probably like the air for. your tires. Oh, okay. Well, that's fair. That is. safety. Hmm. Some cow place car wash cuz, you know,

haven't had enough of those yet. Apple. sending out. And canteen canteen canteen Amazon. Amazon McDonald's Starbucks Amazon. Amazon Prime Video car wash haven't had. enough of those McDonald's cash Apple. Cash money sent out to the wife probably. I'm guessing $848 Starbucks vapor and. smoke. It says an expense of addiction. I try to milk it for what you like a. month.

Yeah, it's it's. If I didn't do it, it's. How do I say it? It's more money than I should be. spending on vape. Like a dollar is more. I don't judge someone for being addicted. cuz if you're addicted you're addicted. That's not something to judge someone. for. I mean, I'll if someone sits in. front of me and they take their first. puff out of choice to and knowing that. they'll wind up in addiction. Okay, I'll. judge that, but I'm not going to judge. you for being an addiction. If you have. the choice, I highly recommend going. through the pain and that is quitting.

Yeah. And trust me. I mean. Uh I know people in my family who've. gone through So many people in my family. have gone through the nicotine quitting. You know, one of my good friends here. has stopped vaping within the last year. So, I get it. It's very difficult. It's. very very very difficult. Um this is it's something worth. considering for your future health, and. something worth considering for your. future wallet. So, but I mean that's the that's the I. it's an addiction, so I get it. That's.

the the rant is over there. Stack burger, Mickey D's, Amazon Dude, this is your. checking account and every one out of. every. four out of every five things I'd say. six out of every seven things. are just. you don't need. Things you don't even. need at all. Amazon. and Apple cash sent out, canteen, canteen, brown bear car wash, Amazon, Apple cash sent out, DoorDash, and.

Mickey D's. I mean Mickey D's can't even. be good by the time it gets there. Those. fries are a time bomb the moment. they leave the fryer. Apple and canteen. and canteen and Apple and Apple cash. sent out $300, Apple cash sent out $50, Apple cash sent out $60. Getting some taquitos or you're just. refilling your air every single day of. your life. And. um oh, you know, I highlighted optical. That doesn't make sense. Obviously, take. care of that vision if that's what that. is. Yeah. And Apple cash, Apple cash.

Okay. That's. so much money spent on bull. It's a lot. It's ridiculous. If you. started again watching the show, why are. we doing that versus prioritizing debt? If you know you're in debt and you've. had bankruptcy in the past, I need to. get into your logic a little more. Um. not out of a judgmental like you for. spending that kind of money, but like. why do you think you are in that place. of spending that money knowing how bad. your debt is and having that bankruptcy. previously? Um. So, it would start with.

what my idea. before taking the time to think about my. finances and watching the show. Um. of what bad debt or like a bad financial. situation was. In my head it was like. if you could. um. At first it was like credit cards or. people giving you money, which is not. true. It's people. requesting to take money from you. because they hope that you overspend and. don't pay back and pay them interest and.

pay them in fees. So I have a better understanding of that. now. and like you need to pay your credit. cards every month. before the interest gets charged. And I didn't realize I was like just. carry a balance as long as it's under. 30% it's good it's good for your credit. to like carry over balance. That's not. true. It's best for your credit to have. credit card usage and no balance. Yeah. Um. and then. when. Technically there's some finagling.

someone can do by earning a little. getting a little interest, but whatever. either either way you're you're correct. and for the average person they should. just not have a balance, but go ahead. Yeah. Um. for like eating out so much um. we we were doing HelloFresh for a time. and like. between our work schedules we didn't. want to cook anymore. Um. It's kind of a journey cuz it's circled. back to now we are cooking pretty much.

six some days a week, but. we just figured like with what we spend. on food cuz we shop at Whole Foods. um KFC whatever. We're like it's not. that much more to just eat out every. day. That's not true. Yeah. So that but. that's what we did and we were we. that was like the go-to like. we would have some lunches maybe. breakfast at home and then it was just. we're always eating out. That's what. we're going to do. And then So what's where we are now? Yeah. And what's our mindset on that cuz.

you were still doing that until you know. like until right now. So what's our. mindset on that and Yeah. Um. so we grocery shop now. Um. still a little bit more expensive than. going ourselves, but um I think. so we get Amazon Fresh delivered. Mhm. Okay. Um. I don't know anything about that. It's. like. between the delivery fee and tip, it's. like 20 extra dollars. Just go in. Yeah.

Um I get the pleasure of going to the. grocery store right after this, and it's. late, and I'm tired. Yeah. But I'm going to do it. Um. and things like HelloFresh and Factor, stuff like that, I I actually really. like those services. They're good. I've. had I've accepted them as sponsors on. the show. I'm good with that. It's just. everything is situation to situation. In. your situation, where you're trying to. pay off debt, it's not the right avenue. It's more for the people who can afford. it in their budget. For you guys, I. think the key is.

we create kind of these weekly menus. that we're able to meal prep throughout. That's what's going to help you guys. accurately budget Mhm. your overall. grocery situation. Now, we do have USAA. checking $500. It's most This is transfers. What's the point of this? It went from. 200 to 500. Um I just wanted like a separate account. to. put a little money into, so it was. um.

I guess harder to get to. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. But I since I've since. taken it out, and I put it in BCU. Oh, okay. Yeah. USAA. 500 went in, 500 went out, and there was. nothing. Yeah. It was $3, but you know, it's just. transfers. So, I had two accounts. One. would be like I would save cash, and the. other one I would be putting money into. stocks from USAA. Oh, yeah. Robinhood is. next, so that's what you're doing there. I wouldn't be doing that right now, by. the way. Right. It doesn't make any. sense to do. We have $638 in there, which obviously isn't crazy, but.

Mhm. and it's Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Tesla. Uh you know, most of those I mean, I own. shares of Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft. And then you have S&P 500, Vanguard, and. I love that as well. Um, so. Good choices, just not right now. Well, not right now, and I think your. your portfolio is heavily. I don't give investment advice, but just. for myself sitting over there, that. portfolio is way too weighted in.

individual stocks for me versus overall. market indexes. So, this is the risk. level is a bit too high. But, for me. personally, but I wouldn't be into doing. it now. Do you have investments through. work, like a 401k? Is it offered? I'm sure. I would take whatever the match is, because it's 100% return on your. investment, but I wouldn't take anything. above that right now until you get out. of debt, because again, it's a 23.64%. interest rate on one of the cars, 14% on. the other one. Mhm. And.

the Mission Lane, what is that, 15 to. 30% interest, something like that? 30. Yeah. So, even if you invest in the. general stock market up years, down. years, since historically provided, you're getting 7-8% on an annual basis. What's the bigger number, 30 or seven? Yeah, I'm net negative 22%. doesn't make any sense to invest right. now. This is a math thing. But, we do. want to get you to a place where you. are. And so, that's your only investment.

at all? The $800 or $600 in Robinhood? Mhm. So, you're dramatically behind. So, we need to aggressively get you to a. place where you're catching up, cuz we I. need you to be able to retire, cuz. especially cuz you have a kid, and I. don't want your kid to be responsible. for taking care of you when you're. older, cuz who knows what benefits are. going to look like at that point. Who. knows what Social Security will look. like if it's even around by the time you. and I go to retire, you know. That whole situation is a completely. different conversation, but. Okay, is that all the debts? Are there.

any other debts? Nissan Lane, Dodge, Acura. There's the. There's a Capital One card. I thought. you said you paid them off. No, so. there was. um. there was one that is paid off. The. other one I made a big purchase, but. it's like. the big purchase? Oh god. Why? It um. Yeah, this it's an it's embarrassing, but. What was it? I was Drake tickets.

They're. uh. Yeah. What's the balance on there? Mhm. Should I pull it up or just from memory? Well, do you know the balance? It's like. 650. Ugh. What's the minimum monthly payment on. there? 30? know. We We always put 100. We'll call it 30. Sure. And that's probably 15 to 30% No, didn't. we say it was 30%? So, 30% for Drake. Great. Yeah.

This is kind of a difficult part of the. conversation cuz the wife's not here. This only This conversation only makes. sense if we can go about it together. Like the three of us? Well, no, no, no. Like you and your wife. Full steam ahead. as a partnership financially. Yeah. First of all, you guys should get on a. combined checking account. That's it. You're You don't need that other. checking account. She doesn't need that. other checking account. Just get in the. combined checking account where her. payroll's going to, where your payroll's. going to. Boom, combined checking. account that we're budgeting from.

instead of splitting these payments and. Venmoing and all this stuff back and. forth. Mhm. So, that's step number one. What. are your thoughts on that? Haven't looked into it. I think. uh. since dating and we dated for so long, um. that we were just always like. separate. Which makes sense to do while. dating, but we're married now, so Yeah. Are you Are you open to that? Oh, yeah, for sure. be open to that? I don't I'll why not, yeah. I mean, we. share like both the cars are in both of. our names, apartments in both of our. names, credit cards, so So, we have a.

monthly pool of money, then we budget as. a household. This will be the budget. I'm going off of your 145. Washington. does not have income taxes, but it has. aggressively high property, which is. calculated into your rent, if I'm not. mistaken, and then a pretty high sales. tax as well, right? Yeah, 10.1. Yeah, that is It's high. Mhm. 2% 1 1.5%. higher than Austin. But, there is no income, right? I don't. think. Income taxes. income tax, yeah. State income tax. So, I'm guessing.

20% give or take. Yeah, It's between like all the like L&I. and. social security and whatnot. Yeah, and then and then benefits. I'm guessing that you guys are bringing. home. on average as a couple. $9,000 a month? As a household? Yeah, give or take. Does. that sound about right? Does this sound. high? Does this sound low? Does this. sound right? I mean, I'm on commission, so it always it fluctuates, but the What. you gave me was average, so 8 8,000 a. month.

So, 9,000. $62.50. a month. Good. Rent. 1890 as a household, so 1890 for rent. Utilities? 150. Does that include like Wi-Fi? Yeah, that's include rent as well or that's. include internet as well. Uh like 250. Okay. And car insurances both?

200. Really? Only 200 for both? Yeah. Very good. Let's call it. 220 for renters insurance as well. Uh so, car insurance and renters. insurance together. Yeah. Groceries. We have a kid. The kid is. young. That that is more expensive. It's 300 for each. So, we budget 300 for. him like diapers, random stuff that he. needs and.

or no, 600 for us. So, 900 total. 900 total. Yeah. And I'm. not exactly down with that. Sure, 300. for him. Mhm. And then I'm going to give. you guys it's only it's it's $100 less, but you're going to be meal prepping and. stuff like that. Mhm. It's. 500 for both of you. So, 800 total. And then what you need to survive around. the house, again you said his diapers. and everything were covered in that. So,

what you need to survive around the. house, I'm giving you guys $150. That's. makeup, that's a shampoo, that's soap, that's blah blah blah blah blah. What. you need to survive around the house, $150. Not a penny more cuz we're not. putting luxury items above paying off. the debt right now. Is there any other. debt that she has that you're not. calculating this since we're a little. separated right now? Uh she has one credit card. I think she. has like 400 on it. Okay, and that is a. debt? It's a debt, yeah. Okay, we're going to. call that another 30 down minimum. monthly payment, probably 30%. That's. what we're seeing these days.

Yeah, she had it a while ago. I think it. I think it's like 18, but Okay. Well, it's variable, so it's probably gone up. It's probably variable. yeah. But either way, it did it doesn't really. matter, honestly. But we're putting that in the debt. So, debt minimum monthly payments, we're. looking at. Oh my gosh. $1,206. It's crazy. Any other ongoing expenses that you guys. have on them? Phone bills?

What are we looking at phone? Yeah. Uh. All right, phone. is 270. Those phones are financed, aren't they? Cuz that's not just two lines of. coverage, yeah. Yeah. Let's not finance phones going. towards Buy a phone in cash. Okay, so. You have therapy? Yeah, but that's uh like. as needed. sort of deal. Well, what do you think that is? Like. once a month? Uh yeah, probably once a.

month. Okay, how much? Cuz I want to put it in. the budget. Therapy is good. I highly. encourage. Yeah, uh 150. What about her? Uh any. ongoing medicals? Any therapy? That kind. of stuff? Um just co-pays between her. and the baby. Which what are we going to calculate for. a month? Uh. maybe 100. Okay. Um so the the utilities. are actually 150 electric and Wi-Fi. Wow. What about gas, trash, sewer?

Uh it's in our rent. Okay. Yeah. Oh yeah, and then. gas for the cars. Yes, what what is that? Um right now. it's 600. What? And. yeah. Gah, why? Uh I think my car gets like. 14. This stupid car, the stupidest car. that's ever existed, 600? Yeah, but. commute? Uh it's probably 20 miles round. trip.

So it's like six bucks a day. But um. You better subscribe with all this pain. I'm going through with this charger. Um she works from home now, so it's. probably like closer to 450 or 500. Oh, great. So cheap. Uh I'll take 100. bucks a month. We're canceling all entertainment. subscriptions. You watch things with. ads, I don't care. YouTube, man. Best place in the world, and it's free.

Anything else before I fully add this. up? Uh. Yeah, we're we're paying off the. midwives still. But it's like 150 bucks left. And we pay 50 a month. No interest on that one. Oh, we have a nanny. Yeah. You guys need that? A nanny? Mhm.

Uh yeah. Okay. Yeah. How much is that? 1,500. A. month? I mean, still about 1,000 less than. daycare. grandma? She lives in Virginia. Yeah, she does. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Having a child is. expensive and she's Yeah. I'm assuming. too young for. all the Well, I mean, I don't know. When. can you start sending the kid to. school? Not school. Like what about just. like No, you guys don't make enough for.

public assistance. Okay. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I can't think of any alternative on the. top of my head. Oh, this is one of the largest. necessary to survive budgets I've seen. in a very long time. 6,836. dollars on a monthly basis to survive. Luckily, you guys have a powerful. income, but you do not have as much. money left over as you should with that. income, for being completely honest. Yep. Cuz even getting this even getting the.

situation started and having a 2-month. emergency fund, which is what I want you. guys to have because you have a. little stinky loud. creature in your house. Smelly. Too. Yeah, oh yeah. Oh, you said stinky. 2,200. 26,000 is what you guys have left over. on a monthly basis and you don't spend. anything outside of this budget. You. really don't. Friends take you guys out. if you're going to go have paid for fun, but. it doesn't exist outside of that. What I need you guys to do.

for 3 months is. This sucks. This sucks. This sucks. This sucks. For 6 months, you have to save up a. 2-month emergency fund before you even. start attacking the debts. Yeah. 6. months because your guys' necessary. budget to exist. is so much, but the midwife is paid off. by then anyway. Which I didn't even put. in the budget, but either way, it's. going to be 6 months. And you have a.

2-month emergency fund. 6 months. Okay. So, month number seven, you and your minimum monthly payments. until you get there, you don't do the. extra towards Drake. I need you to have. a 2-month emergency fund. Okay. And you have $500 going towards. that right now. So, yeah, it's going to. take 6 months. 6 months, 2-month emergency fund, high-yield savings. You leave it there. Don't touch it unless an emergency. happens. Now, in month number seven, $2,226. is left over. You're paying off $650.

from Drake. That balance is going to be. a little lower at the time. Don't spend. more on this card, but either way, we're. just using an example just in case. anything pops up. $400 for the wife's. credit card. Okay, so you have $1,176. left over. We're still in month number. seven. We're paying off the. $659 from the Mission card. Again, it'll be a little less, but I'm. just taking into account you never know. what happens in life, so we're just. keeping it that balance. So, that card's paid off and you have.

$517. uh sorry, that one's $450 right now. So, a little bit. Okay, so you probably. have like $600 left at this time, month. number seven. So, we've paid off three. debts in that situation, which is great. that first month. That's awesome. There's no reason they should exist at. this point with that kind of income. But, we're immediately putting the $600. towards the. wife's car. Now, of the probably $6,500 that's left. in the wife's car, you are going to have. a little more money to put towards it,

but not much. It's going to be like. 2,600. on a monthly basis. You ask what high yield savings account. I use, and that is SoFi's high yield. savings account. The rate recently went. up to 4.5% and I'm taking advantage of. that high rate all day. And with bonuses. all the way up to $250 when signing up. and getting direct deposit, I mean, I. had to take advantage of that, and so. can you. So, check out my affiliate link. in the description below. It's the one I. use, and you can use it as well. It's. going to take 2.5 months. So, we did 7. months, so that's 8 9 9 and 1/2 be.

conservative 10 months. Her car is paid. off. All the cards are paid off, including hers. The the. uh. midwife is paid off. Lovely. Now, what is good? 2,000. 300. We're going to add. 2,000 or $270 that you get a month now. $2,570. is now what you have left over on a. monthly basis. Mhm. And we're starting. month number 10, or did we.

No, we finished month number 10. So, we're starting month number 11. $2,570 is what's left over on a monthly. basis now. And we're going to just say cuz the. interest rate is insane. 13,000 left on the gross car. Divide that by 2,570. Now, they're 5 months. So, 13 a year and. 4 months. A year and 3 months. Mhm. A year and 3.

months and you are you guys are. completely debt free. Year and 3 months, that's incredible. Wait, how do we how. do we pay off the Charger? What do you. mean? You paid it off in 5 months. With your extra $2,570 you have. But, I owe. uh 35 on it now. Oh, 35? Okay, I wrote. 13 down. Scratch that. it was 13. Yeah, that'll take. a year and two months. So,

it's going to take two years, two. months. Mhm. Two years, two months and you guys are. completely debt free. Or just sell that. car, man. Borrow Yeah, actually what I. would do in your situation, just because. I care about your child's future and I. care about your future, I'd sell the. car, borrow out a personal loan, whatever that gap is between it, plus an. additional five to ten thousand dollars, and get a car What do you think you. could sell for that car right now? Sell. that car for? You've taken care of it, at least. Mhm. It's been washed a few times.

Um. maybe 26, 27. Yeah. And I I think because of my. bankruptcy. it would be hard to get the personal. loan. loans. But it was like a. not You're not wrong, though. I guess it. was a special thing that they work with. people in bankruptcy type of. up to you, man. You can look down that. path and if it's not even possible, or. you can go down this path. And. two years, two months and you guys are. debt free. What I'm going to need you to.

do. the car and no. And you keep the car. that way. I I think. in my head it was save up enough to. offset the difference and have a little. bit money down, like you were saying. And then um. like get something as cheap as possible. If you if you want to do that, you can. do it. It's about a $15,000 difference. in this scenario if we're going to get a. $10,000 car and there's a $10,000 gap. between you selling it. Of course, the. value's probably going to continue going. down. We've seen some movement these. past couple months in used car values. going down. more than these last couple years.

Who knows if that'll maintain. Couple. months doesn't tell a whole story, but. either way, two years, two months in. this scenario. Okay, take another six. months, have a fully funded Fully funded. is six months? Yeah, take another year. and you'll have a fully funded emergency. fund. So, three years, three years, two. months, debt free, fully funded. emergency fund, you'll be 31. Yeah. But honestly, with the message you've. gotten in, going to bankruptcy, putting. yourself back in a mess again, Mhm.

that's not that bad. I'm okay with 3 years 2 months. Yeah, debt-free. sacrifice, and I'm allowing you to have. a nanny throughout that situation. So, It's cheaper than daycare. It is. Yeah. It is. Maybe there's. programs you can find along the way that. are cheaper. Just look cuz 3 years. a lot happens in the child development. in 3 years. 2 months. So, see what can be done. around that time. But, what's crucial. for this? You and your wife need to be on the same. page cuz her money is going to this just. like your money is. We're having a.

combined pile, and her debt is the first. one we're paying off. Uh well, we're having a We need to save. up a 2-month emergency fund in her. Yeah, no, her debt's the first one we're. paying off. So, um. it's a big It's a big thing. It's a big thing. It's going to feel. like a really long time of sacrificing. cuz you guys can't eat out. You really. can't. It's just taking away from this. You're meal prepping the whole time. It's going to cause stress. So, if you. need to put in the budget some couple. therapy every here and there, you know,

whatever is best for you guys, highly. encourage that cuz even if it stretches. this to 3 and 1/2 years, I'd rather you. do 3 and 1/2 years and have a higher. percentage chance of getting all the way. through it than, you know, a little less. time but less chance of getting all the. way through it, you know? Yeah. So, this is going to be hard. Don't get me. wrong. It's easier said than done, but. you have a plan here. I would follow. that plan because what you guys do in. 32, I need you guys each contributing. 25% to retirement after having that. fully funded emergency fund in 3 years 2. months, 25% to retirement until you guys.

retire on a monthly basis. But, as long as your needs are fit less than. 50%, which they should be, 50% or less, cuz you guys have a very strong income, you can have 25% of that big income go. towards fun, which means by the time. your kid is finally able to build core. memories cuz they don't remember. when they're just stinky nasty soft. heads. So, like it's at that point you. can actually go do cool things, have. experiences for the kid, you guys can go.

have more fun. 25% of your really. powerful income can go towards both. That's great and we can celebrate that. I want you to do that. We're not doing. it for 3 years 2 months though. But, in this scenario, you're able to. retire and your kids kid, potential. kids, are not forced to have to take care of. you. and your wife. Is that worth it? Yeah. I mean, 3 years out of the next. hopefully 50 plus. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.

And yeah, that's a good point about like. my son might remember bits and pieces, but he won't won't remember that we were. like on tight budget. He won't. Dude, I. don't think memories start until what? Until around that age. five or six, yeah. Yeah, so it's just like Yeah. Um You guys are going to be sacrificing. and he's not going to know if you're. going to Mickey D's or not. He's not going to remember. No. He's not going to remember if you have a. nasty Dodge Charger anyway, so you could.

get rid of your if you want to. Nasty in a good way? Nasty in terms of. he's going to make fun of his father for. having it when he grows up and is able. to perceive things around him. I thought you meant like nasty like, oh, that's a sick nasty. Charger you got that's fully paid off, Dad. Yeah, you'd have to be sick to. think that way, but yeah, that's the. sick part of it. Okay, either way, do you think you guys can get on the. same page and attack this as a team? Um. it'll take some conversation. She she's.

for it, but I think that. when I give her the numbers of like, all. right, this is what we're actually going. to be doing, um and then. doing it, um it'll be adjustment period, but I. confident we can do it. Yeah, I mean to. be clear if you guys don't get on the. same page and it's only you taking care. of it or if you guys are on the same. page but you just around the whole time, you extend this to 5 6 7 10 years then. you guys are entering your 40s and you. have nothing for retirement and then you. have to put aside all of a sudden like. 40% of your income on a monthly basis in. order to retire for the rest of your.

life. Mhm. And that gives you like 10%. for fun. So you guys can live the. greatest most fun life. It's better than. almost anyone around you, probably. better than any of your family members. just by sacrificing the next 3 years 2. months. It's so worth it. Please do it. for your not just your future but your. child potential child's future as well. Right. So our children I guess would be the. plural but yeah. Any final thoughts? Um, can I change my. score to a zero? Sure. Okay.

Um, yeah. I mean I knew it wasn't going. to be. I knew it was going to be hard to like. go through it all and there's going to. be a lot out there. Um, but it has to happen in order to take. accountability for it. You have to see. where you're going wrong in order to. change it so. Now you have it man. Now. it's just up to your actions. Yeah. Going forward. Tough conversations. to be had between the couples but I. really think if they get on the same. page they can, you know, beat this debt.

down and get out of it and have a fully. funded emergency fund and be in a good. place for their future and for their. kids future. So it's going to be long. hard work but I believe them. I believe. them. We had a good conversation. afterwards and you know, I really. believe in this guy. So. Hammer financial score that right now. He gave himself a 0.5 and then a zero. I. would do a zero out of 10 for spending. out of budget cuz that was ridiculous. and debt zero out of 10 with the. bankruptcy and this interest rate is. absolutely crazy. Emergency fund, hey, we did start. Not much but we did start. One out of 10. Retirement, not much but.

again, we did start. One out of 10. Real. estate, not there yet. Zero out of 10. So for right now I'm going to be. generous. and refine the score 0.5 out. of 10. Don't forget to check out the. resources linked in the description. below. They are what I use or would use. in specific situations. Also, whoever. has the most viewed TikTok or YouTube. short using a clip from this video, I'll. send you $100. Post however many times. you want, but you must tag my. YouTube/TikTok at and put YouTube Caleb. Hammer in the title/description.