Are you hearing what you are telling me?

I was visiting with someone the other day about money, or lack of. This person told me that he recently combined all of his credit cards on to one that had 3% interest. He is currently sending $68/month (the minimum) to this card and he was upset that his principle was never going down. In fact, he called the credit card company and complained. (What? Anyway…)

He told me that he was worried that his monthly payment would eventually go up. “What will I do if it goes up to $120 per month?”

He then went on to tell me where a lot of his money goes. Annual ski pass for his daughter. Weekly gas fill-ups for his son in college (who doesn’t work during the year and barely works during the summer). Weekly spending money for his college son, which amounted to hundreds per month. A top-of-the-line cell phone (way fancier than my freebie one) for his daughter because the old one “didn’t really have the functions she needed.” New basketball shoes for his daughter, costing $130. (these are sometimes on sale, right?). A new laptop for his college son because the one he bought right after high school, mearly 3 years ago, wasn’t good enough for him. Nightly trips to the grocery store because they never plan their meals ahead of time. Blah blah blah.

I looked at him and said, “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed my Dave Ramsey book and said, “You need to read this. Today.”

He replied, “Oh I’ve heard about him. I really like what he has to say. Can I borrow the book this winter, like maybe after Christmas when things slow down?”

Okaaaaaay. And how much further in debt will you be by then?