I Stole From My Employer And Got Arrested

Summary

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The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode: I Stole From My Employer And Got Arrested
Date: August 3, 2026
Hosts: Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruze
Guest: Steven

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Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, a caller named Steven opens up about his journey through a series of life-altering financial and personal mistakes, including losing his job after stealing from his employer and getting arrested. The discussion centers around overcoming the aftermath—heavy debt, career setbacks, and emotional recovery. Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze guide Steven with practical steps and encouragement, emphasizing grace, fresh starts, and how to not let past mistakes define your future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Steven’s Financial Situation

• Total Debt: Over $70,000
• Debt Breakdown:
  • Credit cards: $4,300 (Amex), $6,800 (Capital One)
  • Auto loan: $25,000
  • Medical debt: Multiple bills totaling in the tens of thousands
• Income: $2,200/month, working full-time at a grocery store
• Limited savings: Only $300 left, having drained his 401k

2. Background – The Crisis Point

• Cause of Situation:
  • Lost job in January 2024 due to theft from employer
  • Worked as inventory manager at a furniture store ($53,000 annual salary)
  • Was arrested and fired, life declined rapidly after
• Medical Issues:
  • Required multiple surgeries under anesthesia for a rare throat condition, leading to significant medical debt

3. Legal Outcome

• Arrest Status: Did a pretrial intervention program
  • Charges dismissed and record expunged (03:18)
• Notable Quote:
  • "It was dismissed." – Steven [03:18]
  • "So expunged. Okay? So that's not holding you back because it's not on your record at all." – Dave Ramsey [03:26]

4. Current Employment & Obstacles

• Full-time at a grocery store, earning much less than before
• Holds real estate license, but as a new agent struggles to earn
• Side hustle as valet—"But that's not a career." (Dave Ramsey, [06:59])

5. Key Financial Advice

• Sell the Car:

  • Car (Toyota) worth $37,000–$38,000, but owes $25,000
  • Urged to sell immediately and buy a much cheaper vehicle with cash
  • Quote:
    • "You make $20,000 a year, $30,000 a year. You don't need a $25,000 car debt. It's killing you." – Dave Ramsey [05:07]
    • "Great first step. Seriously, selling the car... is going to relieve you so much." – Rachel Cruze [07:51]

• Career Direction—A Fresh Start:

  • Encouraged to pursue a career where he is valued and paid appropriately—potentially real estate, or elsewhere
  • Dave stresses not to allow a past mistake to create a “self-made prison” [06:21]
  • Quote:
    • "You're not defined by the worst thing you ever did. Thank goodness none of us are." – Dave Ramsey [06:08]

6. Emotional and Spiritual Recovery

• Perspective Shift:
  • Emphasis on moving past guilt and shame, seeing the future as an open road
  • Reference to personal growth and “redemption" through restored dignity and confidence
• Inspiration from Experience & Others:
  • Dave shares about a friend who recovered from alcoholism, using mistakes as part of one’s story, not identity
    • “You’re not defined by that unless you choose to be…” – Dave Ramsey [08:45]
    • Dave references his own bankruptcy, sharing lessons learned and focusing on forward momentum

7. Practical Steps Outlined

• Immediate:
  • Sell high-value car, buy a low-cost used car
  • Use proceeds to reduce debt and free up monthly cash flow
• Career:
  • Take a self-assessment (book to be sent to Steven: "Finding the Work You’re Wired to Do")
  • Spend time reflecting on future goals and possible career paths
  • Use side hustles to bridge the gap, but aim for a sustainable long-term career

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Mistakes and Identity

  • "You're not defined by the worst thing you ever did... It's a part of my story. I have a scar, I have a mark. It hurt. I feel guilt, I feel some shame from it, but it's not who I am."
    — Dave Ramsey [06:08]

• On Career

  • "You were valeting cars. That's not a career... you don't want to be that 10 years from today. So 10 years from today, who do you want to be? Now let's start taking the steps to be that."
    — Dave Ramsey [06:59, 07:08]

• On Redemption

  • "This could be seen as a completely fresh start, which is beautiful. That's the beautiful part about redemption."
    — Rachel Cruze [08:08]

• On Realistic Finances

  • "You make $20,000 a year, $30,000 a year. You don't need a $25,000 car debt. It's killing you."
    — Dave Ramsey [05:07]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Steven Outlines His Debt Situation: [00:06–01:15]
• Revealing the Job Loss and Arrest: [01:15–01:34]
• Medical Debt Explained: [01:53–02:22]
• Discussion of Legal Outcome (Expunged Record): [03:15–03:37]
• Current Work and Real Estate License: [03:50–04:17]
• Conversation About the Car and Selling It: [04:17–05:07]
• Dave's Advice on Not Being Defined by the Past: [06:08–06:53]
• Discussion of Career and Future Plans: [06:53–08:08]
• Rachel on Redemption and Building Confidence: [07:51–08:39]
• Dave's Story About a Friend’s Redemption: [08:45–end]

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Episode Tone & Takeaway

The tone is empathetic, supportive, and practical. Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze blend tough love with hope, pushing Steven to take decisive financial actions while reassuring him that redemption and dignity are available after personal failure. The essential message: Your past does not determine your future—your choices moving forward do.

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For anyone facing overwhelming debt or haunted by past mistakes, this episode provides both practical financial guidance and deep encouragement to start fresh and rebuild.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Steven]

I am about $70,000 in debt, and I just don't know how to get out of it.

[Rachel Cruze]

What kind of debt is it?

[Steven]

I. What kind of debt? Credit card debt and medical debt.

[Rachel Cruze]

How much is credit card?

[Steven]

I have it. I have it broken down. Amex is 4300 and Capital One is 6800. And then I owe on my car, 25,000. I have some of the debt enrolled in a debt consolidation program. It's been enrolled for about a year and a half, but I just. I'm just not seeing anything. Go away. Yeah, so I've got stuff that's on hold that's not anywhere.

[Rachel Cruze]

Uhhuh. What's the medical debt? How much?

[Steven]

So I don't have the whole total, but I have 1800, 3700, 500, 600, 4000, 2200, and 3600.

[Rachel Cruze]

Oh, wow. Okay. How much do you make a year?

[Steven]

Hardly anything. I make about $2,200 a month. I found myself in this situation because I. I lost my job January 2024, because of my own stupidity. I stole from my employer. So, you know, I was fired, I was arrested, and everything's just gone downhill since then.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, well, what were you doing? What was your job?

[Steven]

I was working for a furniture store.

[Dave Ramsey]

Doing what?

[Steven]

Inventory management. Okay. I was making about 53,000 then. And then everything was fine. All my bills were paid. I had no debt.

[Dave Ramsey]

What's the nature. What's the nature of your medical.

[Steven]

I had to go under anesthesia twice within a year just because I was choking. I have. I don't even know what the condition's called, something I can't pronounce, but had to go under anesthesia and in order to not be choking anymore.

[Rachel Cruze]

And they did a surgery, obviously, while you were under, but you're saying the bill was mostly the anesthesia. Okay. Yeah, I gotcha. What are you doing now for work?

[Steven]

I work for a grocery store.

[Rachel Cruze]

Okay. And how many hours a week are you working?

[Steven]

It's 40 hours.

[Rachel Cruze]

Okay. Full time.

[Dave Ramsey]

Were you convicted of a felony?

[Rachel Cruze]

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[Dave Ramsey]

ramsey, were you convicted of a felony?

[Steven]

It was dismissed.

[Dave Ramsey]

It was dismissed?

[Steven]

Yes. Because I did a pretrial intervention program.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. So expunged. Okay?

[Steven]

Expunged. All right.

[Dave Ramsey]

So that's not holding you back because it's not on your record back at all.

[Steven]

No, correct. That's not on my record.

[Rachel Cruze]

Okay.

[Steven]

And you know that took about to go entire year. Yeah, but so you're six months kind

[Rachel Cruze]

of out of all of that fog, really.

[Steven]

Yeah, yeah. And I have a license to sell real estate and I'm with a brokerage. But it's hard. I'm a new agent and so it's just hard. I don't, I can't make any money in it. So that's why I'm still at the grocery store. And I've got only 300 in savings, so I've got nothing. I. You know, when all this happened, I drained my 401k and any of the savings I was putting.

[Dave Ramsey]

What is your, what is your car worth?

[Steven]

The car worth? It's a Toyota. It's probably worth 37 or 38.

[Dave Ramsey]

And you owe 25.

[Steven]

I owe 25.

[Dave Ramsey]

On how are you paying that bill with all this other stuff going on?

[Steven]

I make it work.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. That car needs to be sold.

[Rachel Cruze]

That car.

[Steven]

I work, sell the car. Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And buy a car. Buy a car for cash with the difference for sure.

[Rachel Cruze]

You buy an eight thousand dollar car.

[Steven]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruze]

Because how much is your payment a month?

[Steven]

400, 543.

[Rachel Cruze]

Yeah. So that frees that up.

[Steven]

Yeah, it was, it was seven something because it was a lease. And then the lease came due or to an end, I think just this past April.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, Matthew, you make $20,000 a year, $30,000 a year. You don't need a $25,000 car debt. It's killing you. So you need to sell it and get an $8,000 car that you pay cash. And then the rest of your situation is all career oriented. And so it's a matter of lining yourself up with some kind of a career, whether it's real estate or whether it's something else. I don't care where your income goes up because you're worth twice what you're being paid in the marketplace. You have proven that in the past and you made a mistake. You paid for it. You went through all the hell associated with it. You lost your job. And now you get a restart and you start with, that's gonna be part of Your story in the past, but it doesn't. As a pastor friend of mine says, you're not defined by the worst thing you ever did. You're not defined by the worst thing you ever did. Thank goodness none of us are. It's a part of my story. I have a scar, I have a mark. It hurt. I feel guilt, I feel some shame from it, but it's not who I am. You see the difference?

[Steven]

I do, yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so that, that's. You've got to get that part emotionally, spiritually in your rearview mirror and then go, okay, I'm 18 years old again and the world says I can be anything I want to be. So now what do I want to be, Lord? And what's my next step? And, yeah, and that could be real estate. I don't care. But there's no, you don't have to live in the prison of working for half of what you're worth in the marketplace because of a past mistake. That's a self made prison.

[Steven]

And I was working seven days a week. I was valeting cars. I was making some good money with that. But no, you weren't.

[Dave Ramsey]

You were valeting cars. That's not a career.

[Steven]

That was the second. That was a side job I had.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, it was making some, some money to keep the wolf away.

[Steven]

Some money. But.

[Dave Ramsey]

But it's not, that's not your. You don't want to be that 10 years from today. So 10 years from today, who do you want to be? Now let's start taking the steps to be that and we'll work the side hustles or whatever to get there. But if we work side hustle, valet and cars while we're trying to get the real estate thing going, because real estate things the thing. Fine. But if the real estate thing was just a thing and it's not the thing, then move on. What is it you want to be when you grow up? You know, kind of thing. Right. So we're going to send you a copy of finding the work you're wired to do. It's got a, it's got an assessment in it. I want you to take that. I want you to sit and do some time in prayer about what you're supposed to be 10 years from now and get the car sold.

[Rachel Cruze]

Great first step. Seriously, selling the car. I'm like, that's from a financial perspective. Is going to relieve you so much. But also, yeah, for sure. And I think there is a freshness still. 18 months after all of this. For you, Steven, that's very Very real and very honest. But I do think the more confidence and the more wins you have out in the marketplace, the more that you're gonna find this level of dignity back to who you are. And. Yeah. And if you can find that intersection with your work of what you're passionate about, what you're naturally good at and gifted at, like all of that combined, this could be seen as a completely fresh start, which is beautiful. That's the beautiful part about redemption.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Rachel Cruze]

And grace is that you get that. You get that second chance. So we. Yeah, we're cheering for you for that.

[Steven]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I got a friend of mine who was in the bottle for about 15 years, and he just got his 15 year coin the other day. If you don't know what that is, if you're in 12 step, Alcoholics Anonymous or any kind of a program, you get a coin for so many days, so many months, whatever. And he just got his. He's been dry for 15 years. And, you know, he's extremely successful today, but he was truly at the bottom and just virtually homeless, virtually lost his family, everything. Completely turned this all around and changed everything. Changed everything. And now he's again. But, you know, he is not defined by what he used to do or used to be. Is defined. Not defined by it. You're not defined by that unless you choose to be defined. I'm not defined by the fact that I was stupid, went deeply into debt and filed bankruptcy when I was 28 years old. I learned from it. It hurt. I don't want to do it again. I don't recommend it to anybody. But it's not who I am. It's just part of my story. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.