I Asked People How Much Debt They Have (Chicago)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: George Kamel – "I Asked People How Much Debt They Have (Chicago)"

Podcast: George Kamel (Ramsey Network)
Episode Date: November 5, 2025
Host: George Kamel
Episode Theme:
George Kamel hits the streets of Chicago to ask everyday people the simple, revealing question: “How much debt do you have?” With his signature down-to-earth humor and practical advice, George explores Americans’ real-life debts, their plans (or lack thereof) to pay it off, and offers snappy, actionable tips for listeners to start getting out of debt and take control of their financial futures.

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Main Theme & Purpose

George brings the Ramsey Network’s debt-free philosophy to the pavement, highlighting how debt touches everyone—from students to professionals—and why tackling it head-on is crucial for financial peace. The episode busts money myths, touches on generational attitudes, and mixes in tough love, humor, and encouragement as George talks through each guest’s story, offering both practical suggestions and moral support.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Real People, Real Debts – Stories from the Street

[00:25-01:37] Student Debt, Cynicism, and Reality Checks

• Interviewee B owes $20K–$25K in student loans, admits:

  "I had no plans on paying it off, so."

• George’s reaction:

  "You know, you can't bankrupt on student loans … they're gonna come after you. They're gonna garnish your wages." (00:54)

• B jokes about dying with debt; George counters with his own story—he paid off $38K in student loans in 18 months through “side hustles” and “living broke.”

[01:39-03:31] Medical Debt and the Weight of Six Figures

• Interviewees C & D: Homeowners, some medical debt ($4,500-$5,000), and C’s husband has six figures in dental school debt.
• C acknowledges the constant stress:

  “You have to be very on top of it so it doesn’t get even worse ... anything could make or break you.” (03:01)

[03:34-05:01] Emergencies, Car Loans, and Evasive Debt

• F has $14,000 (car loan + personal loan from emergency).
  • Plans: Extra payments, strict budget, rebuild emergency savings.
• G (no debt):

  “Grew up pretty poor. That was enough to traumatize me.” (04:23)

  • Avoids debt altogether by avoiding car ownership and living below their means.
• On family: “My parents are pretty broke. They're still really bad with money.” (04:35)

[05:12-06:03] Chosen Debt and 'Building Credit'

• H carries $10K car loan, calls it “intentional debt” to “build credit” for future home purchases.
  • George is skeptical: “Just never know when you might need more debt.” (05:32)
• H admits to having the cash but purposely took the loan.

[06:05-07:21] Blue Collar Wisdom and Debt Aversion

• I (no debt in 30 years):

  “You have to keep your expenses at the cost of life or below. If you can't, go earn more money.” (06:22)

  • Advocates for apprenticeships, union jobs for upward mobility.

[07:21-08:59] Scholarships, Credit Unions, and Customer Care

• D (student w/ full ride, no debt): Rates their bank (Bank of America) a “7”—
  • George retorts: “If this was a man on a dating app, you would swipe left.” (08:15)
  • Suggests switching to a credit union for better service and higher interest rates.

[09:13-10:23] Hard Work, Athletics, and Dedication

• E, a debt-free college athlete, credits a full-ride scholarship and discipline for staying out of debt.

[10:28-11:26] Young Professionals, Student Loans, and Savings

• J (software developer): $20K student loans, currently working, has $16K in savings.
  • George pushes: “You could almost pay off the student loans today.” (11:10)
  • J prefers to budget it out and keep some savings for independence.

[11:32-13:10] CNA Success: No Debt, Early Homeownership

• G: CNA earning ~$8K/month, bought a $20K car with cash, owns a $100K home at age 20 with only $90K left on the mortgage.
  • George in awe:

    “You're just making everyone look bad at this point.” (12:58)

[13:15-14:16] Turning Cynicism into Action

• B (freelancer) admits to low income, gets a free Ramsey budgeting app from George.
  • George encourages a mindset shift:

    “We got to drop the cynicism. You got to start betting on yourself instead of going, well, the system's broken, just die underneath it. That's no way to live, man.” (14:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Student Loans:

  • B: “I'm gonna die with that.” (00:38)
  • George: “You know, you can't bankrupt on student loans. … It's like the mafia, dude.” (00:55-01:05)

• On paying off debt:

  • George: “If you could throw a thousand bucks a month at your student loans, it'd be done in two years.” (01:24)

• On Credit:

  • George (to H): “Just never know when you might need more debt.” (05:32)

• On Family and Trauma:

  • G: “Grew up pretty poor. That was enough to traumatize me.” (04:23)
  • “My parents are pretty broke. They're still really bad with money.” (04:35)

• On Debt Attitudes:

  • G: “I feel like you shouldn’t get into it if you can avoid it.” (12:23)

• On Work Ethic:

  • I: “Go get a union job, go do an apprenticeship, work 1 1/2 jobs until you're not in debt.” (06:32)

• On Mindset:

  • George: “We got to drop the cynicism. You got to start betting on yourself instead of going, well, the system's broken, just die underneath it. That's no way to live, man.” (14:05)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:25-01:37] Student loan reality and plans (or lack thereof)
• [01:39-03:31] Medical and dental school debt, impact on life and health
• [03:34-05:01] Emergency debt, avoiding debt, family money values
• [05:12-06:03] Purposeful car loan for credit, debt philosophy debate
• [06:05-07:21] Blue-collar advice on avoiding debt
• [07:21-08:59] Credit unions vs. big banks, practical banking tips
• [09:13-10:23] Hard work, full-ride scholarship, and staying debt free
• [10:28-11:26] Young professional’s approach to debt and savings
• [11:32-13:10] CNA, no debt, and homeownership at 20
• [13:15-14:16] Budgeting app giveaway, shifting out of cynical thinking

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Tone and Delivery

George keeps the conversations light, candid, and often humorous, but always grounded in solid financial advice—peppered with empathy and no-nonsense truth bombs.

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Takeaways

• Debt is widespread but not inescapable; mindset and hustle are key.
• Avoiding debt early (via scholarships, living below means) gives huge advantages.
• Intentionality with money—budgeting, paying more than the minimum, “every dollar has a job”—is the fastest route to financial freedom.
• Building good money habits is more powerful than relying on credit as a tool.
• There’s no shame in any starting point—only opportunity to write a better money story.

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This summary gives you a front-row seat to how real Americans think about, battle with, and break free from debt—no sugar-coating, just real talk mixed with hope.

Transcript

[A]

What's up, guys? George Camel here, and today I'm taking the show on the road. Cause I want to know, how is America doing? Because I found out that a third of Americans are struggling or in crisis with their money, and over half are living paycheck to paycheck. So today I'm in beautiful Chicago to ask total strangers about their total debt. Let's do it. How much debt do you have?

[B]

Right now I'm down probably 20,000 to 25,000 for school. I take out about 5,000 a year.

[A]

Okay, what's your plan to pay off 25 gr?

[B]

That's a good question. I had no plans on paying it off, so.

[A]

What do you mean you have no plans to pay it? You're gonna just die with it?

[B]

Yeah, I'm gonna die with that.

[A]

How old are you?

[B]

I'm 22, bruh. So I might be 77 with that.

[A]

So you said in 50 years, I can't even pay off $25,000 in debt.

[B]

I could, but do I want to? Probably not.

[A]

You know, you can't bankrupt on student loans.

[B]

Yeah, you can't, bruh.

[A]

So, like, they're gonna come after you. They're gonna garnish your wages. You know what that means? They're taking your paycheck.

[B]

They taking my all. True.

[A]

You can' these people. You know what I mean? It's like the mafia, dude.

[B]

True, true. So, wait, how did y' all pay yours off now?

[A]

I. I had 38,000 in. Yeah. And I just worked my tail off. I did side hustles. I lived like I was broke well after college, and I knocked it out in 18 months.

[B]

18 months.

[A]

So you got 25. You think you'll be making, you know, 40, 50 grand out of college?

[B]

Yeah, I want to. I hope so.

[A]

Well, think about this. If you could throw a thousand bucks a month at your student loans, it'd be done in two years.

[B]

It would.

[A]

But do I got instead of 50.

[B]

But do I got a thousand to give right now? Probably not.

[A]

Not right now, but once you have a job.

[B]

Yeah. When I got a job, though. Yeah. Truth.

[A]

All right. Who's better with money out of the two of you?

[C]

Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty responsible in my relationship. I mean, I have a husband, so I feel like we keep each other in check.

[A]

Can you tell us how much debt you have?

[D]

I'm not in debt. I'm just paying things off kind of as they come. Like, I'm not. Like, I have medical bills that I'm paying off currently, so that's kind of like what I've been working on.

[A]

And what's the balance of the medical debt now?

[D]

Mm. I think the last time I checked was around maybe it was like 5,000 in the, like, late four thousands. 4,500. Between. 4,500. 5,000.

[A]

Okay. Okay. And how about you?

[C]

At this point? I think it's just my home that we bought.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Amazing.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And same for your husband. Your husband has.

[C]

He has some medical debt, or not medical debt, but student loan debt from medical school. Yeah. Dental school.

[A]

It's an expensive field as far as student loans go. What's left? Do you know?

[C]

Oh, yeah. I mean, big digits. Like six digits.

[E]

Six.

[C]

Did I say that right?

[A]

Yeah, six figures. So we're talking $500,000.

[C]

It's probably in that range. Yeah.

[A]

How long is it going to take to pay off his dental school debt?

[C]

15 years.

[A]

15 years?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Is that just. If he makes minimum payments, you're saying?

[C]

I think that's going hard on it. I think that's going even heavier on the loans.

[E]

Wow.

[A]

Okay. Are you worried about it?

[C]

I mean, who wouldn't be? Yeah, I mean, I'm worried about it. Just overall, like, it's very sensitive. Anything could happen. I mean, I need to keep a job, he needs to keep a job. But, yeah, you have to be very on top of it so it doesn't get even worse than it.

[A]

Balance could balloon if you just make minimum payments and the interest rate's high.

[C]

Plus, if anything else were to happen, like, for you talking about, like, health issues, like, anything could make or break you in those moments on top of whatever you're already experiencing. So.

[A]

Yeah, well, I'm rooting for you, getting rid of the medical debt and hopefully getting a handle on your health.

[E]

Thank you.

[D]

Appreciate it.

[A]

Okay, tell me, how much debt do you have?

[F]

About 14,000.

[A]

Okay. What kind of debt?

[F]

Car loan and a small personal loan because of an emergency that I did not have a big enough emergency fund for. So I'm paying that off right now.

[A]

That stings. Okay, how much is left on the car loan?

[F]

10,000.

[A]

All right. What's the game plan to pay the 14 grand off? Like, how fast is it you're trying to put extra on each one?

[F]

I'll have it paid off before the end of the year. So just kind of cutting out extra expenses and stuff like that to get it paid down and then kind of build back up the savings that I should have had in the first place so that I wouldn't have been put in that position.

[A]

How about you? Do you have any debt? No. Very emphatic. Just cool, calm, collected. Have you just avoided debt your whole life?

[G]

Grew up pretty poor.

[A]

That was enough to traumatize me. Wow. So you're like, no, thank you. I don't want to have less money.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

Was that a way that you were raised? Like, did your family? What were their values?

[G]

My parents are pretty broke. They're still really bad with money.

[A]

Do they know, like, how you're doing now? Are they proud of you? They do, they do know.

[D]

I hope they are.

[A]

Do you have a car living in Chicago?

[G]

I don't. That was one of the reasons why I chose Chicago.

[D]

It's one less expensive.

[A]

Okay, so she's very fiscally responsible.

[F]

Yes, yes, it's very.

[A]

It's a good reason to clean up the act and go, let's clean up this mess a little faster.

[F]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

That's awesome. Plus, dates can be expensive. Oh, yeah. Chicago ain't cheap, people. Can you tell us about your personal finances? Like, how much debt do you have right now?

[H]

Right now? Pretty minimal, actually. I'd say somewhere right around 10 grand.

[A]

Okay, what kind of debt is that?

[H]

Most of that's intentional debt. So I have a loan out on a vehicle right now. It's through that. It was a choice. I could have paid off car in full, but I decided to just build some credit, have that loan going.

[A]

What do you need the credit for?

[H]

Just, hey, anything, you know, buying a house.

[A]

Just never know when you might need more debt.

[H]

Yeah, exactly. I don't know, you know you had.

[A]

Ten grand or like how you know you had the ten grand to avoid the loan.

[H]

Yeah.

[A]

But you chose to take on the debt?

[H]

Well, I. So I paid off. I paid. I put 50% down on the vehicle.

[F]

Okay.

[H]

So I intentionally took out the remaining amount that I needed to via loan.

[A]

So what's your plan to pay it off? Are you going to make minimum payments?

[H]

Make minimum payments? Sometimes I make above. Just kind of depends. I don't know. I guess I don't really put that much thought into it.

[A]

Any plans to go further into debt at this point?

[F]

No.

[H]

No plans to go further into debt.

[A]

Can you tell us how much debt you currently have?

[I]

I never carry a balance on anything for the last 30 years.

[A]

Okay. What advice would you give to young people out there who are about to go into debt? They have a bunch of debt. What do you say to those people?

[I]

Well, do you have to go into debt? What are you going into debt for.

[A]

If you can't afford life?

[I]

Oh, you have to keep your expenses at the cost of life or below. If you can't go earn more money.

[A]

The cost of living and the wages.

[I]

The economy, go find better wages. Go get a union job. Go do an apprenticeship. Work 1 1/2 jobs until you're not in debt.

[A]

What did you do for work most of your life?

[I]

I've always been blue collar.

[A]

That's your advice? Find an apprenticeship in the trade?

[I]

If you want to work blue collar, go get a union apprenticeship and work and work your tail off for four or five years. The whole time you're making good money. And you will know every six months that you're smarter than before.

[A]

That's beautiful. Speaking from a guy who literally is wearing a blue collar, I think this is very true.

[I]

Huh?

[A]

That's perfect. How much debt do you have?

[D]

None.

[A]

Zero. Zero. No car payment?

[D]

No car payment? No.

[A]

Credit card debt?

[D]

No. Credit card debt?

[A]

No. Student loans?

[D]

No.

[A]

How did you do that?

[D]

I'm gonna have a full ride with financial aid.

[A]

That's the ticket. Do you plan on going into debt for anything anytime soon?

[D]

I hope not.

[A]

Correct answer. Congratulations, you won the prize. All right. Rate your relationship with your bank from 1 to 10.

[D]

Honestly. Like a 7. Who are they? Bank of America.

[A]

Boo.

[H]

Boo.

[A]

How much does bank of America care about you as one of a zillion customers?

[D]

I mean, probably a little. Because every single time I, like, try to talk to them about any of the issues I'm having, it takes them a couple days.

[A]

Takes them a couple of days. And that's a good thing?

[D]

No, definitely not.

[A]

What if you could just, like, contact your bank, talk to a real human here and go like, oh, they solved it, like, immediately.

[D]

That would definitely be like, perfect.

[A]

Can I turn you on to that bank?

[D]

What bank is that?

[A]

It's called Fairwinds Credit Union. Okay, here's the deal. They have a smart Bundle with a SpendSmart checking account, save Smart High Yield savings account. So you can actually earn money on the money you're saving. How much are you making off your savings account right now?

[D]

Like a cent. In interest? Like a. I don't know.

[A]

And you're okay with that? You're giving this bank a 7? I mean, if this was a man on a dating app, you would swipe left.

[D]

Oh, definitely.

[A]

Well, you know what? Let's swipe right on Fairwinds. How about that? Give it a try. Just go to fairwinds.org Ramsay you can sign up for free within minutes on your phone and you can be earning way higher than one measly red cent. You're worth more than that. Can I tell you that right now? And they have 33,000 ATMs where you can use for free 5,000 credit union partners across the nation. And credit unions, they'll care about you because it's owned by their members, AKA you, not by Wall street, which is bank of America. Oh, goodness. I can't believe I just convinced you to switch banks. I feel pretty good about it.

[D]

No, you definitely did.

[A]

I just feel like you deserve better. You know what I mean?

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, go check it out. Fairwinds.org Ramsey. That applies to any of you out there who are earning a single cent with one of these nasty national gigantic banks that don't care about you. Okay, how much debt do you have?

[E]

I'm in no debt.

[I]

Wow.

[A]

What do you attribute that to? Just hard work and obviously talent. And being 6:3.

[E]

For college athletics, it takes a lot of hours of dedication. Like for an example for today, for my sport, I had to get up at 5:30am we had. You had to be in the locker room by six. Practice starts seven to nine. I had a lab where I had a commute to the zoo. That was at 9:30. I got to get back by 12:30 for a lecture. And then I don't get out of.

[A]

Class until 4 today. That full ride cost you in, you know, energy, time, dedication, sacrifice. But it's worth it because you're debt free today. You ever Google yourself and you're like, how? How did they know? Why is my address on here like that creepy stuff?

[E]

I mean, not really. When I Google myself, basketball show up. But I would get how that would be same.

[A]

When I Google myself, tons of just shots of me hooping show up. Well, if you want to delete yourself from the Internet, there's a site called Deleteme that does it all for you. So they go into all these data broker websites that are selling your information for profit to scammers and spammers, which could lead to fraud. And it helps you stay safe on the Internet. Okay, so you can check it out. Go to JoinDeleteMe.com, you can get 20% off their annual plans with code George. Go to JoinDeleteMe.Com George. Stay safe out there.

[E]

All right, I will do.

[A]

And keep hooping. Always be hooping. That's what I always say. Do you have any debt?

[J]

Yeah, some school debt.

[A]

Okay, how much total in student loans?

[J]

I think about 20,000.

[A]

All right, are we going to continually go further in right now or are we done?

[J]

I'M done. I'm going to. I'm already paying it off.

[A]

Heck yeah. Are you working?

[J]

Yeah.

[A]

What are you doing for work?

[J]

I'm a software developer.

[A]

What is that field pay these days? For a starting salary? Out of college?

[J]

Right out of college. You'll probably make 80k if you can get a good job.

[A]

That's awesome. And that'll be you?

[E]

That's the plan.

[A]

I mean, they already like you. You already have the job essentially, right?

[J]

They've kept me around for a while, yeah.

[A]

You're not going to get worse at software developing. How much do you have in savings right now? 16,000. 16 grand. You could almost pay off the student loans today.

[J]

Yeah.

[A]

Would you do it if you had 22 grand in there? No. Why not?

[J]

Because I can budget to pay it off and like I can line it up where I finish school, pay it off, and then also have a big chunk of savings to move out and kind of start my.

[A]

So it's a wash either way for you? Yeah, hopefully. Okay, tell us how much debt do you currently have? 0.

[G]

How I work and just pay it off.

[A]

So how much did you have debt and you paid it off or you just avoided it altogether?

[G]

Avoided it. I always pay like in full. I never go into that.

[A]

Okay, so you have no student loans. How'd you go to school debt free if you did go to school?

[G]

I'm a cna, so I worked.

[A]

And no car payment either?

[G]

No, I paid it full, so I just saved up.

[A]

How much was your car?

[G]

20K.

[A]

You saved up $20,000 as a CNA? Can I ask what CNAs make these days?

[G]

About 4K every two weeks.

[A]

Wow, you're crushing it. We're talking like 8 grand a month.

[E]

Yes.

[A]

So you just kept living on less than you made and put away thousands a month and saved up for that 20 grand car and went. All right. Was it a used car? What are you driving?

[G]

It was a used car. A Ford, a 2014.

[A]

Okay. Love it. So what are your views on debt?

[G]

I feel like you shouldn't get into it if you can avoid it.

[E]

Nailed it.

[A]

So what are your aspirational goals now when it comes to money?

[G]

I want to save up as much as I can and just live below my means.

[A]

Are you going to buy a house one day?

[G]

I already bought a house.

[A]

Let's go, Nancy. Okay. Where's the house at?

[G]

It's in Sebring, Florida.

[A]

What did it cost and how old are you? Because people want to know, like, how did she do this at this age?

[G]

So I'm 20 years old. Old, and it cost 100k, but I put down 10k, so I'm just paying it off every month.

[A]

And you're 20?

[G]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. You're just making everyone look bad at this point. 20 years old, making 8 grand, you're a homeowner, and you got, like, less than 90 grand left on this mortgage that you're going to knock out probably pretty soon, I hope.

[G]

So within the next two years, I've.

[A]

Got a budgeting app that'll help you make the most of the money you do have coming in, which right now is zero. Right?

[B]

Pretty. I mean, well, not zero dollars, but I'm having.

[A]

How are you making money?

[B]

Like I said, freelance photography. So it's pretty much depending on, like, how much. How much work I'm putting into my own stuff. So, like, you know, when you work for yourself, obviously you're gonna make pretty much as much as the work you putting in.

[A]

So what'd you make last month doing freelance work?

[B]

About 1500, probably.

[A]

I want to see you win financially, so I'm gonna give you our budgeting app for one year. This is like, you know, 90 value right here. Okay. So if you're gonna use it, I'll give it to you.

[B]

Appreciate it.

[A]

So here's how it works. You're gonna log on, you're gonna get the app, and it's gonna coach you, giving you recommendations on how to become debt free faster.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right. Based on your personal situation, based on how much income you have, what things you have to sell, all of that. So are you going to promise me, though, if you use it, you're not going to go to the grave with your debt?

[B]

I'm not going to go to the grave, but I think. I think after this conversation, you really tapped me back into reality.

[A]

So I love to hear that. We got to drop the cynicism. You got to start betting on yourself instead of going, well, the system's broken, Just die underneath it. That's no way to live, man.

[B]

No way to live. The best way to live is give every dollar a job. You know, coming from Ramsey himself, every dollar.

[A]

Let's go.

[G]

Let's go.

[A]

You got this, bro.

[B]

Hey, appreciate it, though, bro. I appreciate it a lot.

[A]

Rooting for you. Well, that was fun. If I learned one thing today, it's that debt never makes your financial situation better. So if you have debt, it's time to get out. It is robbing of your future income and your financial future, and. And it's time to say goodbye, regardless of what's happening in the economy. You can get ahead with money, but those payments are killing you. So if you want to learn how to get out, I'll drop some resources in the description below. And if you're not convinced yet, check out this video where I talk to more strangers about how much debt they have. Thank you guys for watching. See you next time.