I'm 24 and Can't Get Ahead

Summary

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The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode: I'm 24 and Can't Get Ahead
Date: May 22, 2026
Host: Dave Ramsey, Chris Hogan
Guest: Joseph, 24-year-old caller

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan advise Joseph, a 24-year-old stuck in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, struggling to accumulate savings despite working since age 18. The conversation centers on the root causes of Joseph’s financial challenges, the dangers of debt-driven living, the importance of changing money mindsets, and practical steps to break free. The hosts employ tough love, humor, and real-world examples to highlight the power of budgeting and intentional spending.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Joseph’s Financial Struggle and Income Journey

• Joseph opens up about perpetual financial stagnation:
  • “I am 24 years old, living paycheck to paycheck, have been since I was 18. Can't never seem to get ahead.” (00:13, Joseph)
• He works as a service technician, earning $22/hour (~$45k/year), with income staying flat over six years. (00:49–01:02)
• Joseph sees potential to earn $100k in his field, but only after several more years and with significant effort. (01:07)

2. Debt Breakdown and the Real Cause of “Emergencies”

• Joseph’s total debt: $26,000
  • $15k (truck loan)
  • $6k (boat loan)
  • The rest: “Amazon Affirm stuff” (buy now, pay later) (01:40)
• Chris Hogan challenges Joseph’s narrative of emergencies always being the culprit:
  • “I've never heard of a boat coming at you...The problem is I want some stuff and I can't wait till I have the money to buy the stuff. So I'm going to borrow money…” (02:00, Chris Hogan)
• Dave and Chris press Joseph on differentiating needs and wants:
  • “You did not have to...No one had a gun to your head...That was a want.” (04:02, Dave Ramsey)

3. Mentality Shift: “Needs” vs. “Wants”

• Hosts stress that Joseph’s financial emergencies stem not from fate, but from choices—especially the belief that replacing major possessions is a necessity.
  • “When you start separating needs and wants from a very extreme degree it causes you then to say, okay, this is not a, this is not a need. I now have to make other decisions if debt is not on the table.” (04:39, Dave Ramsey)

Notable Quotes:

• “You could get a ride from a friend. You could bike...I know those are not realistic. You can get a good canoe.” (04:27, Dave Ramsey & Chris Hogan, humor)
• “Every purchase you make, you're going to be thinking, do I need this?” (05:17, Dave Ramsey)

4. The Real Impact of Monthly Payments

• Monthly minimum payments drain Joseph’s income:
  • $426 (truck)
  • $160 (boat motor)
  • $60, $80, and another $60 (various)
  • Totals $750+/month (06:41)
• Chris and Dave emphasize the transformational impact of eliminating these payments:
  • “If I gave you a $700 raise, would that help you get out of this paycheck to paycheck cycle?” (06:43, Chris Hogan)

Notable Quote:

• “Do me a favor, never say ‘only’ in front of a payment again. Joseph, you hear that? Because that was you justifying the payment.” (06:03, Chris Hogan)

5. The Cost of Bad Asset Decisions

• Joseph admits his boat is worthless aside from the new $10,000 motor he just put on it.
  • “You put a $6,000 motor on a piece of junk.” (07:21, Dave Ramsey)
  • “$10,000 motor on a piece of junk.” (07:26, Joseph)
  • “No, Joseph.” (07:28, Dave Ramsey, exasperated)

6. The Cycle of Debt, Risks, and Life Changes

• Ramsey and Hogan warn that debt is manageable—until life inevitably changes (job loss, illness, etc.), and then it all unravels.
  • “That's what happens with debt. Everyone’s fine. Everyone can afford the house payment, they can afford the car loans...Everything's fine until...Life happens.” (07:56, Dave Ramsey)

7. Path Forward: The Debt Snowball and Mindset

• Chris Hogan shares his own experience: he owed $40k in debt at Joseph’s age, on less income, but got out by slashing expenses and working extra jobs.
  • “The way I did it was by cutting my expenses down to nothing and working two, three extra jobs...that margin I created...I threw only at my smallest debt. The rest you're gonna make minimum payments. That's called the debt snowball method.” (08:25, Chris Hogan)
• Hosts offer Joseph the “EveryDollar” budgeting app and Chris Hogan’s book, emphasizing daily engagement and discipline as keys to breaking the cycle.

Notable Quotes:

• “Hang on the line. I'm going to give you EveryDollar. It helps you create margin to throw at your debt.” (08:56, Chris Hogan)
• “Hey Joseph, call us back...I really do believe in two years, your life could look so different.” (09:08, Dave Ramsey)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On justification of debt:
  • Chris Hogan: “Do me a favor, never say ‘only’ in front of a payment again. Joseph, you hear that?” (06:03)
• On difference between needs and wants:
  • Dave Ramsey: “You did not have to. No one had a gun to your head...That was a want.” (04:02)
• Humor about boats:
  • Chris Hogan: “I've never heard of a boat coming at you...You know what I mean?” (02:00)
  • Dave Ramsey: “You could get a good canoe.” (04:39)
• Blunt reality check:
  • Dave Ramsey: “You put a $6,000 motor on a piece of junk.” (07:21)
  • Joseph: “$10,000 motor on a piece of junk.” (07:26)
  • Dave Ramsey: “No, Joseph.” (07:28)
• Encouragement for the future:
  • Dave Ramsey: “I really do believe in two years, your life could look so different.” (09:08)
  • Chris Hogan: “You're going to be a success story. Hang on the line...” (09:16)

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Key Takeaways

• Emergencies are often the result of poor planning and debt-fueled lifestyle choices, not just bad luck.
• Separating true needs from wants—and being brutally honest about them—is crucial to escaping financial quicksand.
• Monthly debt payments are the biggest barrier to getting ahead; eliminating them is like getting a massive raise.
• Radical budgeting, multiple income streams, and the debt snowball method are proven tools for turnaround.
• Long-term success requires a shift in mindset: learning to say no to impulsive wants, living below your means, and planning ahead.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:13 — Joseph describes his financial struggle
• 01:32 — Break down of debts
• 02:00 — Chris Hogan challenges the “emergency” narrative
• 04:02–05:56 — Dave and Chris stress separating needs/wants
• 06:41 — Calculation of total monthly payments
• 07:21–07:28 — Boat/motor money pit revelation
• 07:56 — Ramsey warns about life changes and debt risk
• 08:25 — Chris Hogan’s personal debt story and “snowball” method
• 09:08–09:16 — Hosts offer resources and encouragement

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In summary:
The hosts show empathy, tough love, and humor to help Joseph—and listeners—recognize that financial freedom is possible with a relentless focus on priorities, budgeting, and a changed mindset. Joseph’s story is positioned as a relatable warning and a hopeful challenge: anyone can turn things around with the right plan and discipline.

Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

Brought to you by CHM, a budget friendly faith based alternative to health insurance. Chministries.org budget I am 24 years old,

[Joseph]

living paycheck to paycheck, have been since I was 18. Can't never seem to get ahead. I'm just trying to figure out some way to get ahead.

[Chris Hogan]

What do you think is the cause of that? If you look back over those six

[Joseph]

years, I've just, just been one thing after another. Every, every time I get ahead, get money saved up, whatever else, something happens, something breaks, something and I just, I can't never seem to get ahead.

[Chris Hogan]

So you got a lot of emergencies. Murphy's moved in with you, is it, what's your income right now? Has it been going up over those six years?

[Joseph]

No, not really. I'm making 22 an hour right now, which would be what, like 45 a year?

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

What are you doing in that career or that job?

[Joseph]

Right now I am a service technician.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Chris Hogan]

What does the latter look like in that world? If you were to move up and

[Joseph]

up and up, I can, I can move up pretty well within, within probably the next. I've only been doing this for six months now, but majority of the time within about eight years I can move up to a position where I'm making hundred grand if I work really hard at it. But right now it's just trying to make it to that point. Yeah.

[Chris Hogan]

How much debt do you have?

[Joseph]

I'm sitting at $26,000 in debt.

[Chris Hogan]

Break that down for us. What's what types of debt? What's the balances?

[Joseph]

I have 15,000 in debt on a truck, truck loan. I have 6,000 in debt on a boat loan. And then the rest of it is stuff I did when I was younger, dumb and stupid. And it's like Amazon Affirm stuff.

[Chris Hogan]

Buy now, pay later. Okay, so what I'm hearing is you said, man, life's just been coming at me. I've never heard of a boat coming at you. You know what I mean?

[Dave Ramsey]

Like that's, that could be kind of scary, but you know what I mean?

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah, that's true. But you see what I'm saying here? If I looked in the mirror, I go, man, yes, life has happened. There have been some emergencies, but that's not the problem. The problem is I want some stuff and I can't wait till I have the money to buy the stu. So I'm going to borrow money from other people. And so if we can get out of that mentality, then we can get you out of this cycle. But it's going to have to start with you saying, I'm done with debt. I'm never touching this stuff again. Tried it. Got burnt. I'm going to sell the boat. I'm going to work those three jobs. I'm going to live on nothing in the meantime so that I can get an emergency fund so that it's. I never get into debt again. Insurance plan.

[Joseph]

Well, the thing about that is. So when I turned 18, my. My grandma had had some money she left to me. It paid for my truck and my boat. I didn't know anything on them. I bought them right out in cash. My truck broke down five years later. I had to buy another one. It was that big of a money pit. Had to buy another one. My boat motor that I had, it blew up. Had to buy another one. I'm in my boat any and every chance I can get.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph. We got it. We got to change our language. Okay? You did not have to. If you're serious about budgeting, you can't ignore healthcare for most families. It's one of the biggest line items, y'.

[Joseph]

All.

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Joseph]

Well, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, so just. I'm being for real, though, because when there's a mentality of this thing breaks. So that means I immediately. And you're normal. We get calls like this all the time. People. This is people's mentality. Well, there's no other option. I have to go. I have to go and get a car and I have to go and buy a new boat. I have to. No, you don't. You really don't.

[Chris Hogan]

I mean, you'd like to.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, I mean, you. Like, you could. You could get a ride from a friend. You could bike, like, see what I'm saying? Like, I know those are.

[Chris Hogan]

Get a canoe.

[Dave Ramsey]

I know those are not realistic. You can get a good canoe. Those are not realistic. I get that. But the point is, when you start separating needs and wants from like a very extreme degree it causes you then to say, okay, this is not a, this is not a need. I now have to make other decisions if debt is not on the table. So that means I have to go buy a two thousand dollar truck that barely puts, puts, puts down the road, but it's gonna, but that's what I can afford. I don't have money for a boat, so I'm gonna have to say no. I'm gonna say no to myself. I can't get a boat. So, so there are this. You do have to filter through some of these decisions because that is what's caused you to be here. And when you go that extreme, Joseph, which it sounds extreme, but when you do, I'm telling you, every purchase you make, you're going to be thinking, do I need this? And in this point of you getting out of debt and all of it, a lot of it's going to be like, nope, I don't need it. Nope, I don't need it. And Saturdays I'm going to be working. Sundays I'm going to be working because I need to be making some extra money to pay all this stuff off. And then once we have money, then we can start saving towards goals of things that we want. Because boats are not bad and trucks are not bad. But the way we've gone about them has caused a lot of stress in a paycheck to paycheck living because you have payments. Like if all those payments were freed up every month, you wouldn't be paycheck to paycheck.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah. What's your truck payment?

[Joseph]

My truck payments? Actually it's only $426.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay. Do me a favor, never say only in front of a payment again. Joseph, you hear that? Because that was you justifying the payment.

[Joseph]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

You don't have, you don't have that money. You're living PayCheck to Paycheck, $425 that changed your life. That was just sitting in your account month to month.

[Chris Hogan]

So we got 425 on that. What's the boat payment?

[Joseph]

The boat payment is 160 on the motor.

[Chris Hogan]

What are the rest of those payments for? All the other stuff you mentioned, one

[Joseph]

of them's $60, the other one's $80. And I think the other ones, there's one more that's like 60 bucks.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay, so we're over $700.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, 750 is what I have.

[Chris Hogan]

So if I gave you a $700 raise, would that help you get out of this paycheck to paycheck cycle?

[Joseph]

It definitely would.

[Chris Hogan]

You see where we're going with this? It's time to aggressively attack the debt with no other folk. You don't need to be on a boat. You don't have time. You're going to be working too much. That's the great news. What could you sell the boat for today?

[Joseph]

Not much. It's a bit of piece of junk. Honestly, the motor is the only thing that's worth anything, and that's because it's brand new.

[Chris Hogan]

I'm so confused. Did you buy it as a piece of junk?

[Joseph]

So, no. I bought it in 2018 as a decent boat. And over the years, it has proven to be a piece of junk.

[Chris Hogan]

It sounds like you destroy everything you touch.

[Dave Ramsey]

You put a $6,000 motor on a piece of junk.

[Joseph]

$10,000 motor on a piece of junk.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, Joseph.

[Joseph]

See?

[Chris Hogan]

Bad, right?

[Dave Ramsey]

Not good. Would you agree?

[Joseph]

I do not.

[Chris Hogan]

Okay, great.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm glad.

[Joseph]

I'm glad.

[Dave Ramsey]

We're like tracking some people, you know, you don't really track. We're tracking with Joseph.

[Chris Hogan]

We love Joseph.

[Joseph]

At the time. At the time.

[Chris Hogan]

Continue. This is gonna be good.

[Joseph]

60 to 80 hours a week. I was making the money. It wasn't a problem. But.

[Dave Ramsey]

But life happens and you have risk in your life. And suddenly it does become a problem when things change. That's what. That's what happens with debt. That's what happens with debt. Every. Everyone's fine. Everyone can afford the house payment, they can afford the car loans. Everything's fine until there's a job, until a kid gets sick, until whatever. Life happens. And you've built your life on risk and it all comes tumbling down. So, Joseph, I'm excited for you. I feel a lot of work in Joseph's future. And I wait and I really think, Joseph, you can get out of this.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah, Joseph, here's the truth. When I was your age, I was $40,000 in consumer debt, and I wasn't even making 45 grand like you are. And I got out. And the way I did it was by cutting my expenses down to nothing and working two, three extra jobs. And then all that margin I created by doing that, I threw only at my smallest debt. The rest you're gonna make minimum payments. That's called the debt snowball method. Then once you get rid of all the debt, now we can focus on savings and our emergency fund. So hang on the line. I'm going to give you every dollar. It's our budgeting app. That's the one thing it does, is it helps you create margin to throw at your debt, but you've got to actually do it. You got to look at that budget every day because that's going to be your ticket to saying no to the next thing that's going to be happening to you that you had to do.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey Joseph, call us back, though. We're cheering you on. If you need help through this process, we are here because we I really do believe in two years, your life could look so different.

[Chris Hogan]

You're going to be a success story. Hang on the line. We're going to get you every dollar and a copy of my book, Breaking Free From Broke. That'll give you the roadmap to getting out of this thing.

[Dave Ramsey]

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