A father named Corey recently called into “The Ramsey Show” to ask for financial guidance. He and his wife make $200,000 a year, but lifestyle creep and $50,000 in debt have complicated their goal of cash-flowing their son’s college tuition. Now that financial aid is off the table, Corey expects to cover up to $30,000 for the coming year if his son lives on campus.

Let The Kid Work

Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey pushed back on the idea that parents need to cover everything for their college-age children.

“Junior could go get a job delivering pizzas and pay for his own dorm,” he said. “I worked when I was in college. Did you go to college, Corey? Did you work?”

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Corey responded that he had been a full-time father and full-time worker during school. “Yeah. Me, too. I wasn’t a father, but I was a full-time worker,” Ramsey answered. “It’s not child abuse. It’s actually very good.”

Ramsey then emphasized that experience matters more than grades.

“I would rather hire a B- student who worked 40 hours a week and knows what a callous is than I would an A+ student who’s never worked a dime and doesn’t even know what it means to show up eight hours a day,” he said. “So, it’s okay if the little boy  goes and gets a job.”

Research backs this up, co-host Rachel Cruze added. Students who work 15 to 20 hours a week often have higher GPAs and better graduation rates. Ramsey also noted that many student-athletes maintain high academic performance despite demanding schedules.

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Ramsey: You Can’t Prioritize Everything

Ramsey also called out Corey's attempt to balance debt, college costs, and an upgraded lifestyle all at once. “You can't have three goals at once. You have to have one,” he said. Ramsey urged the couple to get clear on their priorities.

Instead of maintaining vacations and restaurant outings, Ramsey suggested a temporary scorched-earth approach. That means cutting all non-essentials, pausing retirement contributions, keeping the kid at home, and paying tuition with cash.

“You knock this debt out,” Ramsey said. “If you want to do it even faster, sell the car. But otherwise, keep the car and pay it off.”

Cruze agreed. “It's just like one year, the year of 2026. This is our year of just getting everything cleaned up,” she said. With their income, the couple could be debt-free and still pay for college, if they live on $70,000 for the year.

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Adults Make Plans

Ramsey cut straight to the point. “You can't get away from this until you deal with the person in your mirror,” he said. “Adults devise a plan and follow it. Children do what feels good.”

He challenged Corey and his wife to have an honest conversation. “We're going to decide what we're going to be when we grow up,” Ramsey said.

While the advice may sound tough, Ramsey's message is always that discipline now pays off later. “Live like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else,” he said.

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