A recent confession on Reddit served as a stark reminder that a high income is no guarantee of robust financial health, and sparked a discussion on the perils of frivolous spending.
The post, titled "My husband and I dug ourselves into a big hole and want out," appeared on the r/DaveRamsey subreddit, a community dedicated to the popular financial personality known for his debt-free philosophy. The couple's conundrum quickly garnered more than 1,600 comments as users evaluated their financial quagmire.
The post's author, a 31-year-old woman, explained that after two years of marriage, she and her husband had finally decided to combine their finances and create a budget. The reality check was swift. Despite a combined monthly net income of $9,283 – translating to a six-figure annual net – they had amassed a staggering $81,000 in debt, split between credit cards, student loans, a car loan and taxes.
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But what really got the comment section in a tizzy were the hundreds of dollars in discretionary spending folded into the couple's new "drastically" reduced budget: $200 in "fun money" for each of them, $120 for nails, $100 for nicotine, $200 for cannabis, $180 for gifts and $300 in miscellaneous expenses. The poster added that in less than three weeks in September, they had already spent more than $1,000 on restaurants.
The Internet Doles Out Some Tough Love
The couple, who had no children but expressed a desire to start a family before she turned 35, said they wanted to follow Dave Ramsey's teachings to escape their predicament. The Reddit community responded with a mix of detailed advice, practical calculations and tough love that zeroed in on the discretionary spending. "My immediate advice is that neither of you gets fun money anymore until you’ve paid off the credit cards entirely," wrote one commenter. "This may seem harsh but you have already spent your fun money for the next 10 years. You’ve had the fun. Now pay for it."
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Some wondered if the post was "rage bait," or a post designed to provoke anger, due to the seemingly tone-deaf budget items amid the massive debt. "I can’t tell if it’s rage bait or pure ignorance of what living on a budget means," one commenter wrote..
Amid the myriad comments of snark and scorn though, several users also stepped up to lay out a clear, mathematical path to financial solvency. The top-voted comment noted that after accounting for their stated expenses and minimum debt payments, the couple had more than $3,400 per month to throw at their debt. The commenter calculated they could be debt-free in approximately 23 months with discipline.
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Other practical advice included adopting Ramsey's "envelope system" of cash-based budgeting, selling their $8,000 in stock, and using a portion of their $5,000 in liquid savings to immediately reduce the debt principal.
One commenter offered a succinct summary that encapsulated the thread's sentiment. "Please don't have children before you learn how to be adults," they wrote.
The conversation served as a public financial intervention, and cautionary tale for high earners everywhere: without a budget and shared financial goals, a six-figure income can quickly be eroded by lifestyle creep and debt.
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