Taylor, a 31-year-old nurse from Austin, Texas, appeared on Caleb Hammer’s show Financial Audit to get his advice on how to dig herself out of $530,000 in debt.
She makes $6,000 a month, but the single mother of four is feeling overwhelmed by her monthly $3,019 mortgage payments. She’s also drowning in payments and interest on $34,000 in student loans, a $26,000 car loan and legal fees for a divorce that went through in January.
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While Taylor admitted to having bad spending habits, she claimed most of her purchases were necessities for her kids. Hammer wasn’t having it.
“You are a bad adult,” he said (1).
Here’s why Hammer called her out.
Splurges versus security — Pick one
As he drilled down into her credit, debit and online purchases, Hammer uncovered a lot of what he described as “bullsh—t” spends — including purchasing some fan items at the Taylor Swift store.
“Taylor Swift store?!” he exclaimed, adding sarcastically, “It was all necessities, guys.”
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He also grilled her for buying a $950 bulldog mix so her children could grow up with a family dog like she did. She said buying the dog “put me over the edge” with mortgage payments. She’s now past due two months on the mortgage.
He said Taylor’s behavior is threatening her children’s current and future security.
“The choices you are making right now are hurting your children,” he said.
Hammer acknowledged her mortgage payments are a big concern, representing 50% of her monthly income. Housing costs should represent no more than 28% of your income, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
When Hammer asked about her selling the home, Taylor said she was not going to give it up.
“I’m not losing the house,” she said.
But he questioned how she’s going to avoid foreclosure with her ongoing splurges.
“Objectively, this is one of the worst financial positions I’ve ever seen a mother in on this show,” said Hammer, “And it is all your fault.”
Can Taylor get back on track and keep the house?
Do your own financial audit to rein in non-essential buys
Taylor isn’t alone. According to Capital One Shopping Research, nearly 40% of Americans say the majority of their purchases are impulse buys, with the average consumer spending over $300 a month on impulse buys (2).
And like Taylor, who spent around $400 eating out on the month she missed a mortgage payment, eating out is a common splurge.
If you find yourself in a tough financial position, the best place to start is by evaluating all of your income and expenses.
Track how much you spend on everything, from household needs to little splurges. As you do this exercise, make sure to be honest with yourself about what’s truly essential and what’s a non-necessity.
After tracking for a few weeks, the results might shock you. You’re likely spending more than you thought on non-essentials.
As you begin to track your spending, build out a budget that prioritizes your needs over wants.
One approach is to spend 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving and debt. But if you have extensive debts, you might need to slash your spending on non-essentials until you clean up that part of your financial life.
Another approach is to make sure that all of your essentials are covered before going forward with a discretionary purchase.
For example, make sure your housing costs, utilities and food are covered. Plus, you’ll want to make sure your retirement plans are on track and your credit card balances are paid off before any splurges.
After you’ve stabilized your financial situation, using the 0.01% net worth rule can serve as a gauge for what you might be able to afford in discretionary purchases.
The rule indicates that you can spend 0.01% of your net worth on splurges. For example, if your net worth is $100,000, you could spend $100 without worrying about how that might impact your financial future.
The 0.01% rule is not for everyone, and for people like Taylor, impulse buys may be off the table for a long time till she’s achieved financial stability for herself and her children.
Hammer told Taylor she can achieve stability within six years by paying off all her debts. To do that, he said, she must boost her income by $2,000 a month for the next 66 months — something she said she can easily do by taking on extra nursing shifts.
The goal is to have a framework rather than buying a lot of stuff and ending up with a lot of debt.
Article sources
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Caleb Hammer Financial Audit (1); Capital One Shopping Research (2)
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