When Jelani from New York called into The Ramsey Show about his financial problems, he didn’t sugarcoat his situation.
"I owe over $100,000. I’m kind of lost right now,” he told finance personality Dave Ramsey in a clip posted May 28. “I don’t know if I should file [for] bankruptcy. I just need some advice," he told celebrity finance personality Dave Ramsey.
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Jelani shared he owed around $80,000 in credit card debt, $8,500 in student loans and $11,500 on a car loan. His debt accumulated rapidly since Thanksgiving, when he only owed $30,000.
A truck driver earning between $110,000 and $140,000 per year, Jelani revealed his debt stemmed mostly from gambling via an online dice game.
A way out
Ramsey and co-host Jade Warshaw warned Jelani about the mental and financial toll of gambling and the mental traps it creates.
"Typically, when you have something that’s been such a big part of your life and your habits, just removing it is not enough — you have to replace it with something else," Warshaw said.
Jelani admitted he quit gambling cold turkey and hadn’t yet sought help through therapy or Gamblers Anonymous, prompting Ramsey to urge him to get support from someone who understands the sobriety process.
As for a financial recovery plan, Ramsey laid out a no-frills approach:
- Create a “scorched-earth, no life” recovery budget where all spending halts except for necessities and tackling debt. “Eat peanut butter and jelly. Eat beans and rice. That’s it,” Ramsey advised.
- List debts from smallest to largest and use the snowball method to pay them down aggressively.
- Pick up extra shifts at work and aim to increase income as much as possible.
Ramsey emphasized the urgency of his plan: “You need to do this in a year to 18 months because that indicates the intensity by which you’re running straight into the problem and from the thing that caused the problem — the gambling.”
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
The rise of online gambling
Online gambling has grown in America. The American Gaming Association reports online casino revenue increased 28.7% in 2024 from a year earlier in the seven states with full-scale legal iGaming. That figure represents $8.41 billion in growth.
Sports betting also went up nationwide in 2024, with revenue increasing 25.4% up to a record revenue of $13.71 billion. Sports betting’s rise in recent years may largely be attributed to increased accessibility as more states have legalized the practice.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), an estimated 2.5 million adults in the U.S. meet the criteria for a severe gambling problem in any given year. The organization also notes around 85% of adults have gambled at least once in their lives, while 60% have gambled within the past year, and that some form of gambling is legal across 48 states and the District of Columbia.
The NCPG outlines several key warning signs of gambling addiction, which include:
- Increasing thoughts about, or time and money spent on, gambling
- Feeling out of control, or continuing to gamble despite negative consequences
- Chasing losses, or continuing to gamble in an attempt to win back money
- Feeling restless or irritable when not gambling
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
