Financial Audit with Caleb Hammer

Episode: $500,000 In Debt To Be Failed OF Model
Date: October 17, 2025
Guest: Monica, 25, St. Pete, Florida

Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of Financial Audit features Monica, a 25-year-old registered dietitian from St. Pete, Florida, who amassed nearly $500,000 in debt through a complex journey in social media influencing—including stints on various subscription and soft-adult platforms—and significant personal expenditures like buying her mother a house. The episode explores the financial fallout from Monica's decisions, her current transition into a "normal" job, and how her views, values, and family obligations intersect with money management. Host Caleb Hammer delves into her financials, asking tough questions and providing candid advice, while probing her self-identity, lifestyle, and relationship with money.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Monica’s Background and Income Journey

• Social Media Start: Monica began as a health and wellness influencer on TikTok in 2020, ramping up her income significantly over four years.
  • Income Growth:
    • 2021: ~$50K/year (brand deals, training content)
    • 2022: $75K/year
    • 2023: $90K/year
    • 2024: $225-250K/year (with help from Snapchat and subscription services)
    • 6 months earning ~$200K ([05:16], [11:04])
• Platform Shifts:
  • TikTok: Info and dance content for a mainly female audience.
  • Snapchat: Shifted to posting selfie/gym pics to a 94% male audience; started monetizing via AdSense, brand deals, and eventually selling suggestive but non-nude photos.
• Further Monetization Attempts:
  • Took offers for posts promoting women’s subscription pages (e.g., OnlyFans proxies), started her own subscription accounts (no nudity).
  • Joined a platform called Fanfics, grossing $50-60K/month for several months ([10:57]).

Downfall and Personal Choices

• Why She Quit: Monica left lucrative subscription work because she felt it was “scammy” and out of alignment with her morals and faith:
  • “Just feeling like it was very wrong... because I felt scammy. I didn't want to sell that.” ([12:04])
  • “It was the sexual part. ... I went full Christian. Good girl.” ([12:16])
• Rapid Expenditure:
  • 15% to managers.
  • Traveled frequently (mostly domestic).
  • “I purchased my mom a house.” — $70K down payment, took out the mortgage in her name ([13:01], [13:18]).
  • Money quickly dissipated: “And I lived and didn’t really think about it because I figured that would last.” ([13:42])
  • Monica now works as a W2 registered dietitian ($6K/month salary).

Current Financial Situation

• Properties Owned:

  • Her House: Bought in 2023 for $247K, current mortgage $193K, rents for $2K/month ([42:45]).
  • Mom's House: Bought in 2024 for $327K, $70K down, $2,421/month mortgage at 8% (high for her mother's DJ income) ([19:11], [20:11]).

• Houses as Burdens:

  • Monica is responsible for both mortgages.
  • Mother’s payments sporadic due to unpredictable DJ income and hurricane impacts; Monica had to rely on her grandmother for help to cover payments ([24:25], [24:39]).
  • Plan is to move to Fort Worth, Texas, to reduce her own cost of living (rent: $1,300/month) ([27:28], [28:41]).

• Debt Load:

  • Total Debt: Approaching $500K (including mortgages, credit cards, IRS debt).
  • Credit Cards:
    • Several cards maxed or heavily used, balances upwards of $10K each; rates at 0% APR ending soon.
    • Notable: $8,945 on a Chase Ink card, $10,406 on another, $12,487 owed to IRS for 2024 taxes ([72:23], [82:36]).
  • Budget Imbalance:
    • Regularly spends $400-500 more each month than earned ([28:01]).
    • Significant overspending on eating out, “bullshit,” and business coaching/courses ($10K for a finance course, $12K in business coaching) ([50:48], [67:51]).

• Financial Habits & Discipline:

  • Did not track expenses until a month ago (“I had never seen my bank or credit card statements before” – [03:04]).
  • Large, unnecessary payments for online courses and coaching without guaranteed value ([50:48], [67:51]).

Family & Values Complexity

• Supporting Mom & Sister:

  • Bought house to prevent her mom and 17-year-old sister from moving into a trailer park ([20:22]).
  • “I said over my dead body you're going to move her into a trailer park.”

• Moral, Religious, and Cultural Threads:

  • Experienced tension between online persona and growing Christian faith; “From Tits online to Christian Christian” ([15:27]).
  • Tithes 10% of every paycheck despite financial strain ([64:27]).
  • Conversation lightly pokes fun at the intersection of religious belief, sexuality, and financial habits (including a “lesbian scale” joke with cohosts, [66:46]).

• Mental Health & Coping:

  • “Really bad OCD”—picks at her skin from stress ([14:49]).
  • Struggled with delegation, overwhelm as a solopreneur ([53:46]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Her Rise and Fall as an Influencer

• “I started watching your show... I had never seen my bank's, my credit card statements before.” ([03:04])
• “End of 2023, very beginning of 2024, a company called Fanfics...I ended up making $50,000 in my first month.” ([10:58], [11:04])
• “Just feeling like it was very wrong...scammy.” ([12:04])

On Buying Her Mother’s House

• “I bought your mom a house?”
  “Down payment was 70k...and then...I just lived and didn’t really think about it because I figured that would last.” ([13:18], [13:42])
• “You took out the mortgage or did she?”
  “I did. She pays sometimes.” ([19:08])
• “She lost all of her gigs for about two months [after hurricanes].” ([19:45])

On Debt and Overspending

• “All that combined, we're talking almost $500,000.” ([28:01])
• “You spent a thousand dollars on some bull online thing that probably doesn't have anywhere close to what we have.” ([50:48])
• “I was paying $1,000 a month on business coaching before I got into this career.” ([52:57])

On Faith, Change and Identity

• “It was the sexual part. ... I went full Christian. Good girl.” ([12:16])
• “Tithes 10% out every paycheck. It's hard. I know.” ([64:27])
• (On leaving Fanfics) “I realized I just, like, felt empty...what is literally all of this for?” ([61:48])

Classic Hammer Banter

• On Monica’s fluctuating plans:
  • “Are we trying to make a career after? Because that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” ([18:41])
  • “You have to decide—do I always want to film this show? Not necessarily. It's my career.” ([51:18])
• On finances:
  • “If you don't use a budgeting app it's impossible for me to help you.” ([86:07])
  • “With your minimum payments, including a thousand for the mom’s house, you’ve got about $862 left.” ([90:18])

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:47 | Monica’s introduction, income background | | 05:16 | Details on influencer income streams and rapid increase | | 10:58 | Joining Fanfics, making $50K in first month | | 13:18 | Discussing the decision to buy mother a house | | 19:11 | Mortgage details for mother’s house | | 24:25 | Using grandmother’s cash gift to cover missed mortgage payments | | 28:01 | Total debt breakdown reaches $500,000 | | 42:45 | Rents out her house, mortgage details | | 50:48 | Discussion of unnecessary course & coaching expenses | | 52:57 | Routine of spending $1K/month on coaching, family involvement in MLM | | 61:48 | Emotional moment: “felt empty...what is all of this for?" | | 64:27 | Tithing & faith practices | | 72:23 | $10,406 on 0% APR credit card | | 82:36 | IRS debt and tax penalties | | 86:07 | Budgeting, expense tracking, and lifestyle adjustments | | 90:18 | Budget math: Surplus, debt payoff plan, 4-5 year horizon estimate |

Tone and Style

• Candid, irreverent, but encouraging: Caleb intermixes jokes, ribbing, and tough love with practical financial analysis and planning.
• Monica: Open, self-critical, and vulnerable, with a streak of optimism and a growing sense of financial responsibility rooted in her faith and desire to move toward stability.

Conclusion & Insights

Monica’s story spotlights the precariousness of influencer income, the rapid erosion of windfall earnings, and the dangers of tying family responsibility and spending to temporary wealth. Her pivot toward a stable dietitian career, determination to budget, and willingness to confront hard truths signal hope for eventual recovery—albeit with considerable pain and sacrifice ahead. Caleb's final plan projects 4-5 years to pay off consumer debt (if Monica maintains discipline and a tight budget), with real estate serving as a buffer rather than an asset for quick liquid gains.

Hammer Financial Score: 1/10

“Technically, no. You spent more than you brought in. We saw.”

Standout Quotes with Speaker & Timestamps

• “Just feeling like it was very wrong … I felt scammy. I didn't want to sell that.”
  — Monica ([12:04])
• “It is what it is. It is. It is what it is. ... Do I have consent to objectify you?”
  — Caleb ([13:52])
• “I spent a lot of money on courses thinking that—wait, how much? ... I was paying $1,000 a month on business coaching.”
  — Monica ([52:57])
• “With your minimum payments, including a thousand for the mom’s house... $862 left. ... I think you’ll be out of debt, have a fully funded emergency fund in about four years.”
  — Caleb ([90:18])

For Listeners: Core Lessons

• High online income can vanish quickly if not matched with smart, forward-looking choices and restraint.
• Family financial help should fit within your actual, sustainable means.
• Budgeting, tracking, and self-discipline remain essential—especially after a windfall.
• Faith and personal values shape financial decisions in powerful ways, sometimes conflicting with financial self-preservation.
• Major course corrections are possible—but require humility, structure, sacrifice, and a willingness to unlearn bad habits.

If you haven’t listened, this summary walks you through Monica’s financial world, the personal choices and challenges at its heart, and the tough path back to stability.