A $945 truck payment, two previous bankruptcies and more than $1,500 a month in gas costs pushed one Arizona woman to the point where she said she is now living paycheck to paycheck.
During a recent episode of “The Ramsey Show,” Adrien said that she felt she had been “pretty good” with money overall, even while acknowledging years of financial mistakes.
“Not saying I’m the greatest,” Adrien said. “Obviously, I made bad choices.” But the situation she described painted a picture of financial instability that eventually exploded into a major crisis tied to a $52,000 truck.
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A Truck Payment Bigger Than Some Mortgages
Adrien said that during COVID, she was making a higher income while managing a restaurant. She also received an inheritance, bought a house and had money saved in the bank. Feeling more financially secure, she decided to upgrade her vehicle.
That decision quickly spiraled.
According to Adrien, a dealership rolled negative equity from a previous problematic vehicle into the new loan. Before long, she owed roughly $51,000 on a truck now worth only about $30,000 to $31,000.
“I literally pay $945 for a car payment,” she told the hosts. On top of that, she pays $310 a month for insurance and spends about $200 every four days for gas.
“You’ve got to think through this,” co-host George Kamel said, about her spending more than $1,500 a month on fuel alone.
Adrien admitted the truck completely changed her financial life.
“I was living a life before my truck,” she said. “I was not struggling as much.”
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Now, she said she is living paycheck to paycheck despite earning around $65,000 before bonuses.
The truck wasn’t the only issue weighing on the household finances. Adrien said she and her husband keep their finances separate because he also struggles with debt. She said he owes back child support, previously battled gambling problems and became dependent on payday advance apps.
“His train of thought is we’re going to die owing people,” Adrien said.
A Third Bankruptcy?
Co-host Rachel Cruze told Adrien the financial problems appeared tied to deeper issues in the marriage and described the situation as “chaotic.”
“We need to be learning how to create goals together,” Cruze said, adding that spouses should help stabilize each other instead of becoming another source of stress.
Still, the truck remained the immediate emergency.
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Kamel encouraged Adrien to check with local credit unions to see whether she could secure financing to cover the negative equity gap after selling the vehicle. If not, he said she would likely need to work extra hours and aggressively increase her income to escape the situation.
“The third time is not the charm in this case,” Kamel warned while discussing her previous bankruptcies.
Both hosts repeatedly stressed the same message …
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