Dave Ramsey says 'it's stupid' that Seattle man has $180K in debt despite making more than six figures a year

Ryan has a basal wage of $140,000 per year, though helium usually makes anyplace from $180,000-$220,000 per twelvemonth — that is until helium had a setback. Ryan had a workplace wounded that near him retired of enactment for a year-and-a-half and connected worker’s comp payments. The effect is that events successful his beingness present mean helium owes a combined full of $181,000 connected his recognition cards, idiosyncratic loan, car indebtedness and pupil loans, successful summation to his $767,000 mortgage. The caller has a stepson and a woman who lives with him and makes betwixt $60,000-$70,000 herself.

Ramsey tends to beryllium captious of indebtedness and this clip was nary exception: "I'm talking to a azygous feline who makes $180,000 and owes $180,000," helium observed, pursuing with blunt proposal for however the caller could hole his situation.

Unfortunately, the caller didn't look excessively funny successful taking this advice.

• Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you tin present go a landlord for arsenic small arsenic $100 — and no, you don't person to woody with tenants oregon hole freezers. Here's how

• I'm 49 years aged and person thing saved for status — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you tin drawback up (and fast)

• Want an other $1,300,000 erstwhile you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step program ‘works each azygous time’ to termination debt, get affluent successful America — and that ‘anyone’ tin bash it

Ramsey was dismayed astatine however overmuch the caller owed, particularly comparative to however overmuch helium makes; some the caller’s indebtedness and his wage are acold greater than the magnitude astir radical have. Yet, the caller managed to excavation himself into important user debt. But stats archer us, helium isn’t dissimilar galore different Americans.

While the Federal Reserve Board says Americans collectively owned $18.20 trillion successful the archetypal quarter, information from Experian published successful January of 2025 shows that consumers connected mean beryllium a full of $105,056. The caller, with his owe and different debt, owes a combined full of $947,000 — adjacent to a cardinal dollars.

As the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, the median play wage is astir $1,194 oregon $62,088 per year, which means the caller earns astir 3 times that magnitude and inactive can't get his finances successful order, leaving Ramsey to declare, "You've fixed your beingness distant and the mode you get it backmost is you're gonna person to springiness up immoderate stuff."