A New Chapter with a Heavy Financial Burden
A young couple should be celebrating one of the happiest times of their lives. Brock from Kansas recently got married, and just weeks later, he and his wife learned they were expecting their first child. But alongside the excitement is a financial burden that shocked personal finance personality Dave Ramsey.
When Brock called into “The Ramsey Show,” he explained that his wife had already paid off her car and the couple had cleared her credit card debt. The only liability left was roughly $175,000 in student loans.
The Shocking Debt
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When Ramsey heard the size of the debt, his first question was simple.
“Is she a doctor or a lawyer?”
Brock replied, “I wish I could say either one, but she is neither.” Instead, his 23-year-old wife works as a freelance nanny after leaving college before completing her degree.
Ramsey was stunned.
“Who loans somebody $175,000 to get an almost degree?” he said.
According to Brock, his wife originally planned to become a teacher before switching to business marketing. She eventually left school without graduating. Today, she earns about $36,000 a year as a nanny, while Brock earns about $54,000 serving in the Army. His own college education is being paid for through the military.
The couple has also managed to build around $65,000 in savings and investments, which Ramsey said could play a major role in getting rid of the debt.
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Advice for the Couple
His advice was to continue saving until after the baby is born. If both mother and baby are healthy, he recommended putting roughly $75,000 toward the student loans and then aggressively paying off the remaining balance.
“I have bad news,” Ramsey told Brock. “Your wife is not going to be a stay-at-home mom. She’s going to be working.”
Ramsey said he understands that many new moms want to stay home with their babies, especially after having their first child. But he said the couple’s $175,000 student loan balance doesn’t give them that option right now.
Since Brock’s wife already works as a nanny, Ramsey suggested she may be able to bring her own baby to work while looking after other children, allowing her to keep earning money without paying for childcare.
Blaming Congress for the Student Loan Crisis
The conversation soon turned into a wider discussion about the U.S. student loan system.
Ramsey added that Congress created the conditions for situations like Brock’s wife’s by allowing young students to borrow enormous amounts of money.
“Congress has screwed Americans with the student loans,” he said. “[Millennials and Gen Z’s are] just screwed.”
He questioned why an 18-year-old could qualify for such a large amount of debt without earning a degree and criticized lawmakers for continuing to issue federal student loans while also calling student debt a national crisis.
He also said parents should do more to discourage their children from taking on six-figure student loan balances.
“Moms and dads, you ought to have your butt kicked up around your neck and wear it like a collar if you let your kid do this,” Ramsey said.
Millions of Americans can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense, making unexpected bills a constant financial challenge.
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A Growing Problem
Ramsey ended on a more sympathetic note, pointing out that Brock and his wife are far from alone. He said only 54% of students who start a four-year degree actually finish, meaning nearly half leave school without graduating.
In his view, Brock’s wife is one of many young Americans who ended up with massive debt but no degree to show for it. He thanked Brock for his military service and said it was unfortunate that a young couple expecting their first child had “this cloud hanging over their head full of knives that Congress set up.”
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