Financial Audit Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Cheating Gold Digger Is Destroying His Life | Financial Audit
Host: Caleb Hammer
Guests: "Chad" (27, oil field worker) & "Stacy" (25, aspiring realtor), El Paso, TX
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Caleb Hammer sits down with married couple Chad and Stacy to conduct a financial "audit" and dig into the core of their relationship and financial dysfunction. The conversation rapidly steers into deeply personal territory, including infidelity, emotional cheating, psychological dynamics, uncontrolled spending, and the reality of living paycheck-to-paycheck despite high household income. Hammer maintains his trademark blunt, irreverent tone while guiding the couple—and the audience—through a sobering look at their finances, lifestyle inflation, and communication failures. The episode is equal parts intervention, roast, and cautionary tale.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Background & Relationship Dynamics

• Chad works in a hazardous oil field role, claiming a gross income of $110,000/year, with post-tax and overtime variance ($4,000-$7,500/month).
• Stacy pushed Chad to get a higher-paying job, delivering an ultimatum: "Get a job, get your money up, or I'm leaving." (00:33, 05:50)
• Power dynamic: Stacy now controls the household finances, with Chad sending his entire paycheck to her.
• Stacy: “He has no control over money…if he were to keep the check, it would go straight to credit cards.” (09:20)
• The couple shares a turbulent six-year relationship marked by emotional volatility, frequent arguments, and both admitting to emotional and digital forms of cheating.
• Both admit to resenting certain behaviors in the other; neither seems fully equipped or willing to take accountability.

2. Income & Job Satisfaction

• Chad hates his oil field job but feels trapped due to financial obligations and relationship pressure.
  • Memorable Quote: "I work 12 hours a day...one single move, I can kill somebody...I hate it." (02:16, 06:13)
• Stacy, a new realtor, earned $40,000 in her first year but hasn't had consistent employment in several years: "Basically, I'm unemployed until I get employed again." (12:20)
• Hammer notes that both could earn similar or more money in lower-stress work, given their spending habits and income mismanagement.

3. Infidelity (Physical and Emotional)

• Stacy's Sugar Daddy Incident: While dating Chad, Stacy took money and gifts, visited a sugar daddy's home, and exchanged messages that Chad later discovered.
  • “She went behind my back and, like, had a sugar daddy.” (00:44, 18:38)
  • Stacy insists no physical cheating occurred: “I did not get sugar or give sugar. I just got money.” (19:03)
• Chad admits he’s afraid to set boundaries, fearing Stacy would seek out other men for money again.
  • Memorable Quote: "Big reason why I've never really put my foot down is because...she went behind my back and, like, had a sugar daddy." (00:44, 18:38)
• Both parties have flirted, messaged, or interacted with others online. Chad admits to using video chat sites and downloading Tinder, while Stacy engaged in long-term emotional affairs.

4. Financial Structure and Overspending

• Chad’s pay is funneled to Stacy, who is described as a "spender" and has a history of blowing through cash on shopping, restaurants, trips, and luxury goods.
• Monthly spending grossly exceeds their income. In one example, $13,256 went out vs. $7,500 coming in. (37:53)
  • Hammer: “You overspend. You beyond overspend. You guys have nothing.” (37:53)
• Major debts include maxed-out credit cards, a $357,000 mortgage, $72,000 in non-mortgage debt, and a car loan deeply underwater.

5. Debt, Credit Cards & Loans

• Stacy and Chad have accumulated severe bad debt:
  • Over $72,000 in non-mortgage debt, including credit cards, a $5,000 collections item from Chad’s old apartment (eviction during COVID), and personal/401k loans.
  • Chad took out two 401k loans (once to pay for shopping in Cancun at Stacy’s insistence).
  • Both have repo history and poor credit management (multiple cards over the limit, accounts accruing high interest, and two lay fees already in the current year).
• Buying habits reveal impulsivity and lifestyle inflation; the couple jumped from struggling with bills to splurging as soon as Chad’s income increased.

6. Lifestyle Inflation & Household Mismanagement

• Major household purchases post-income boost: new house, new dogs (now four), expensive Airbnb getaways, name-brand clothes, luxury beauty items, high-end gym & pet expenses.
• Savings are rapidly draining ($11,500 to $4,000 in recent months, now using “tax savings” money for spending).
• Hammer: “You're draining your tax for bullshit fun spending. Oh, you guys are ruined.” (85:04)
• Stacy admits to “manic spending” (bipolar episodes), tried meds, but quit: “I try my hardest.” (74:00)

7. Communication & Boundary Issues

• The couple fails to communicate meaningfully about money, boundaries, or emotional needs.
• Stacy admits “the check gets sent to me” because Chad would otherwise blow it all on credit. However, her spending is unmonitored and equally unrestrained.
• “It doesn't get communicated...his idea was just paying off the credit cards each time with his whole check...I told him you need to send me [the] check.” (42:05)

8. Parenting Aspirations Amid Chaos

• Despite enormous financial and relational instability, the couple is “actively trying” to have a baby.
  • Hammer: “You’re spending more than you make...Your friends applying for you to come on the show because you’re a complete mess. And you guys are trying to have a baby.” (38:51, 40:00)
• Hammer sharply criticizes the irresponsibility of bringing a child into this chaos.

9. Host’s Analysis & Guidance

• Harshly direct, Hammer points out the lack of trust, internalized power imbalances, and self-destructive behaviors.
• Urges them to hold off on children, radically cut discretionary spending, and dedicate 2.5 years minimum to paying off all debt before considering parenthood.
• Recommends closing all credit cards (“You guys are not credit card people. Close these. You already have a house. So what do we need credit for?” [60:35]), using cash/debit, and focusing on building an emergency fund.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Get a job, get your money up or I’m leaving.”
— Stacy, (00:33, 05:50)

“I hate it, cuz I work 12 hours a day... one single move, I can kill somebody.”
— Chad, (02:16, 06:13)

“I basically told him, you don't get to see these tits anymore unless you're out in the oil field.”
— Caleb, mock-summarizing Stacy's ultimatum, (09:01)

“That’s you being mother. Not you serving cunt, it’s you being mother.”
— Caleb, calling out Stacy's controlling behavior, (09:35)

“The main reason why I don’t like telling her no... she went behind my back and had a sugar daddy.”
— Chad, (18:38, 24:50)

“You seem like the fakest... I’m not, I promise. Like, I really do regret it. Seriously.”
— Stacy, on regret after the sugar daddy incident, (25:43)

“You guys are trying to have a baby... this kid is not consenting to come into the world, you are choosing to put the burden on this child that you guys are enjoying all your entire life. So when it comes to you retiring, that child is going to have to put their life on hold.”
— Caleb, (41:08)

“You overspend. You beyond overspend. You guys have nothing. What are you talking about?”
— Caleb, (37:53)

“My manic episode is... spending. Like, I’ll go to TJ Maxx.”
— Stacy, on her spending binges, (72:33)

“You can’t even agree on whether you fight or not!”
— Caleb, as Chad and Stacy contradict each other, (59:09)

“You’re draining your tax for bullshit fun spending. Oh you guys are ruined.”
— Caleb, (85:04)

“Hammer Financial score, that is going to be a… three out of ten.”
— Caleb, (90:54)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:33 – Stacy delivers her job ultimatum to Chad
• 06:10 – Chad admits to hating his oil field job, pressured by ultimatum
• 09:14 – Chad describes sending his paycheck to Stacy; reason for control
• 18:38–26:00 – Sugar daddy & cheating discussion explodes; emotional fallout
• 30:41 – Chad admits to his own "video chat" boundary-crossing
• 37:53 – Bombshell: Monthly outflow exceeds income by thousands
• 41:08–41:54 – Hammer condemns plans to have a child amid financial chaos
• 60:26 – The couple explains their cascade of credit card spending and debt
• 72:33 – Stacy talks about bipolar, manic episodes, and financial consequences
• 90:54 – Final Hammer Financial Score: 3 out of 10

Tone & Language

• Conversation is blunt, irreverent, and darkly humorous.
• Both Caleb and guests use explicit and colloquial language.
• Host frequently uses sarcasm and direct confrontation to cut through denial and rationalization.

Summary Takeaways

• Extreme lifestyle inflation: Despite a household income that could provide stability, persistent overspending, debt mismanagement, and impulsiveness have left Chad and Stacy in a precarious state.
• Power and trust issues: Stacy’s financial control is a response to Chad's prior financial recklessness, but she’s equally undisciplined. Both partners express mistrust, partly rooted in unresolved and repeated emotional betrayals.
• Unfit for parenting (for now): Their current dynamics—financial, emotional, and communicative—would make responsible parenting nearly impossible.
• Urgent need for behavior change: Hammer’s core message is that both must address personal issues, spending addiction, and communication patterns if they hope to achieve stability or long-term happiness.

Hammer's Game Plan for the Couple

1. No children for at least 2.5 years.
2. Cut out all discretionary spending and close all credit cards.
3. Use a strict budget (recommendation: Dollarwise or similar tools).
4. Devote all “want” money to debt repayment.
5. Stacy should resume therapy and medication adherence; both should consider counseling.
6. Long-term: Build a six-month emergency fund and increase retirement savings.

Conclusion: This episode is a masterclass in self-imposed financial disaster fueled by poor communication, boundary issues, and unresolved relationship trauma. Hammer does not mince words in his assessment, and the episode serves as a compelling warning about the risks of unchecked spending and partnership dysfunction.