‘Where the flip are you people spending money?’: Dave Ramsey couldn’t believe this LA couple who earn $300,000/year — but still drown in $119,000 of debt. Here’s where their income goes

Reckless spending habits

Since the monthly mortgage payments are not outrageous, Ramsey suspected Amber and her husband have a reckless spending problem that’s preventing them from paying off their debt. “Your lifestyle is eating you alive somewhere,” he said.

Amber said they had several unexpected expenses recently, like needing a new AC, furnace and fence, and she also admitted they like to take vacations since their work is taxing. Her husband even had to sell one of his cars to pay off a contractor to fix a leak they had.

But Ramsey wasn’t convinced. “A furnace doesn’t throw this thing off as far as it’s off. We’re off $100,000 a year.”

Their situation highlights how many high-income households succumb to lifestyle creep. About 36% of Americans who earn more than $200,000 annually report living paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2024 study conducted by PYMNTS.

Despite their high income, many individuals in this bracket seem to struggle to build savings or get ahead financially.

Among these high earners, 17% cited poor financial habits as the main reason they do not save.

To manage the debt, Amber said she’s considering a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) that could consolidate the remaining $119,000 balance. However, Ramsey is convinced that’s a bad idea.

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Debt consolidation is a "con"

Consolidating consumer debt with a HELOC may be considered a savvy financial move by some. After all, HELOCs tend to have lower interest rates than many forms of consumer debt and it’s easier for most people to make a single debt payment rather than manage multiple different forms of credit every month.

However, Ramsey isn’t a fan of this financial engineering maneuver. “No you should not try to borrow your way out of debt,” he bluntly told Amber. “It's a con, because you don't change a person in your mirror, your habits are still there. You're going to go right back into debt.”

Instead of consolidating, he recommended cutting back on spending to start setting aside $8,000 a month to pay off the debt.

Although it’s difficult to shift spending habits overnight, if Amber and her husband can manage to do so they might be able to achieve debt-free status in just 15 months.