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Dave Ramsey
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Shelby
I am calling today with a bit of a moral and financial question. And I'm calling to see what is the best way for me to help my husband pay off his credit card debt that we have discovered recently.
Dave Ramsey
We have discovered. What does that mean? Well, you have discovered.
Shelby
Yeah, I found, unfortunately, I found some screenshots of sports betting and he ended up having to come forward with three credit cards that added up to about $17,000. And unfortunately, this isn't the first time that I. The last time I didn't find it, he came to me and told me about it. But this isn't the first time we struggled with credit card debt.
Dave Ramsey
Other time regarding sports betting.
Shelby
No, it was not the last time. His company had used his credit card for on a trip and they paid him back and he just never paid the card off. He just spent the money and.
Dave Ramsey
How old are you guys?
Shelby
So we're 25.
Dave Ramsey
How long you been married?
Shelby
Going on four years.
Dave Ramsey
Okay.
Rachel Cruze
I'm so sorry.
Dave Ramsey
What's his. What's his reaction to having lost $17,000 of the family money, sports betting?
Shelby
Well, he was hiding it from me for a really long time. And then when I found it, I grabbed our two babies and I got in the car and I left and I told him to fix it and we came back pretty quickly. But he has gotten. He's doing great, honestly. He's got two jobs. He's working a full time job during the day and then a job in the evening, a part time job in the evenings. And he's been working his butt off. I found it about six months ago. So he's been working his butt off for six months and he's got three cards down to one, and there's still quite a bit left on it, but.
Dave Ramsey
So it was originally $17,000 or now it's $17,000.
Shelby
It was originally 17,000. Now he's got it down to under 15. Just under 15,000. Okay.
Rachel Cruze
But in six months he's only paid 2,000 of it.
Shelby
Yeah. Because of the issues that we were having, we were really behind on bills and payments. And so we spent a couple months catching up. And then we had just a couple things. Our hot water heater went out, we got in a car accident. We had to go get a new car. There's just a few things those first couple months that took up the extra income that he was spending.
Rachel Cruze
You bring in Shelby, when you just mentioned that you guys were behind on bills, were you Aware of that or did that come out with this secret credit card and the gambling and everything?
Shelby
Yes, I. I was aware of how short. So he was actually unemployed at the time. I was the only one bringing in income. I work from home, and usually I work from home and I keep our kiddos. But he was. He was in between jobs, and so I knew we were short. I just didn't know how short we were. And I didn't have access to the bank account I used to, but I just hadn't logged in and so long that.
Dave Ramsey
What does he do for him?
Shelby
Well, right now he works at a school, and then in the evenings he works a retail job at a school. Yes.
Dave Ramsey
Doing what?
Shelby
So he does. He's a teacher's aide at a school.
Dave Ramsey
Okay. All right.
Shelby
So part of the reason I'm calling is because I was approached by my in laws and they were kind of telling me that it would be better for us all around if I just took out a loan and we paid off the card because the interest on this card is over 30%. And they said if I take out a loan and cover it and then we just pay back the bank with a lower interest rate, what do you make? I make 50 a year.
Dave Ramsey
And what does he make?
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Dave Ramsey
And what does he make
Shelby
now? Within the last few months, he brings home, with the two jobs combined, about $4,000 a month.
Dave Ramsey
Okay, so you've got about $90,000 coming in. And you said you bought a car in the middle of this. Did you take out a car payment in the middle of this?
Shelby
I actually have just recently found you guys, and I've just realized how dumb that was. Okay, but we now you already knew
Dave Ramsey
how dumb it was. You were behind and you had a 30% credit card and then you went and took out a car payment. You already knew that.
Shelby
True.
Dave Ramsey
So how much do you owe on this stupid car?
Shelby
It's. We've got 30,000.
Dave Ramsey
Okay. Okay. So there's a lot of things that need to happen here for you guys to get healthy financially and relationally and career wise. There's a whole lot of negative things going on in this house. And the 30% loan interest on the credit card is not your problem. It's the symptom of all these other problems. So what would I do if I woke up in your shoes? Well, I do a lot of different things. The first thing is the two of you are going to start an every dollar budget tonight on our app, and we're going to give you a free trial on it so you guys can put it all together. And you're going to lay out exactly where every dollar of your income is going to go this month before it comes to you. You're going to have a plan for every dollar. You're not going out to eat. You're not going to see the inside of a restaurant unless you're working there as an extra job. You're not going on vacation.
Shelby
You.
Dave Ramsey
You're not doing anything. You are broke and screwed with your money. And you both have got to lean into this and clean it up as fast as possible. Okay? That's thing one. Thing two is with your marriage counselor. You need to get commitments from him that he's never on threat of ending your marriage. Going to do any betting. Sports betting, ever again. And he's never going to hide any debt from you ever again. And we're going to be working together, so it's going to be very difficult for him to hide anything because we both are going to see every single thing that's going on.
Rachel Cruze
Yeah. And pulling credit reports every year. You know what I mean? And I would almost have him. I mean, I don't know how engaged this is because the sports betting world, it can be such a downward slope so fast.
Shelby
But.
Rachel Cruze
But what? I would be wondering. Shelby too, maybe. You guys have talked about this. I just wanna make sure that he's healthy in that way, that there's not some level of addiction. Addiction there. And that itch he was trying to scratch that excitement that he was doing sports betting. Like, what is that about? Right? So, like that doing that work in the marriage counseling office is.
Dave Ramsey
Could be that you were behind on your bills and he was trying to make some money fast to get the bills paid up.
Rachel Cruze
Yeah, that's true, too.
Dave Ramsey
He could have been desperate. Stupidity.
Rachel Cruze
Yep. Yep.
Dave Ramsey
Okay.
Shelby
Yeah.
Dave Ramsey
So I want a solid foundation laid. The things he's never gonna do again. And the two of you, every single dollar, every month for the rest of your lives, neither one of you are in control. Both of you are in control. Okay. Lastly, you need to sell the car. That was suicide. You put a bullet in the gun and put it to your head. You need to sell this car immediately. Stupid. On steroids. You cannot afford a $30,000 car. You have got to get rid of this now. Oh my gosh. Girl, that makes his sports betting look smart when you put it up beside this car. Oh my gosh. Neither one of them are smart. Oh, I hate them too. And who. Who's it? Who's the number one victim of sports betting? 25 year old males.
Rachel Cruze
Yes. You got this.
Dave Ramsey
25 year old males.
Rachel Cruze
You got this.
Dave Ramsey
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Title: I Found Screenshots On My Husband's Phone - We're In More Debt Than I Thought
Podcast: The Ramsey Show Highlights
Hosts/Experts: Dave Ramsey & Rachel Cruze
Date: May 5, 2026
Main Theme:
A young caller, Shelby, seeks guidance after discovering her husband’s hidden sports betting credit card debt and realizing the family is much deeper in debt than she knew. The episode tackles the challenges of financial transparency in marriage, the risks of betting, and practical steps to reclaim financial and relational trust.
Shelby recounts finding screenshots of sports betting on her husband’s phone, which led to the revelation of three hidden credit cards totaling $17,000.
The couple is 25 years old and has been married for nearly four years.
Shelby clarifies this isn’t the first time there’s been credit card debt, but the previous instance was not related to gambling.
Her husband initially hid the debt and only came forward when confronted.
“He was hiding it from me for a really long time. And then when I found it, I grabbed our two babies and I got in the car and I left and I told him to fix it and we came back pretty quickly.” — Shelby (01:28)
Despite financial turmoil, the family recently took out a $30,000 loan for a car.
This decision is acknowledged as a major misstep now that the couple has discovered Ramsey’s advice.
“You were behind and you had a 30% credit card and then you went and took out a car payment. You already knew that.” — Dave Ramsey (05:16)
“You're not doing anything. You are broke and screwed with your money. And you both have got to lean into this and clean it up as fast as possible.” — Dave Ramsey (06:21)
“You need to get commitments from him that he's never, on threat of ending your marriage, going to do any betting… And he's never going to hide any debt from you ever again.” — Dave Ramsey (06:21)
“...the sports betting world, it can be such a downward slope so fast...I just wanna make sure that he's healthy in that way, that there's not some level of addiction there.” — Rachel Cruze (07:01)
“You need to sell this car immediately. Stupid. On steroids. You cannot afford a $30,000 car. You have got to get rid of this now.” — Dave Ramsey (07:39)
“Who’s it? Who’s the number one victim of sports betting? 25 year old males.” — Dave Ramsey (08:30)