My Husband Wants To Quit His Job To Drive Uber

Summary

The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode: My Husband Wants To Quit His Job To Drive Uber
Date: November 21, 2025
Host: Dave Ramsey
Co-Host: Jade Warshaw
Caller: Bri

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Episode Overview

In this episode of The Ramsey Show Highlights, Dave Ramsey and Jade Warshaw field a call from Bri, a stay-at-home mom expecting her second child. Bri’s husband wants to quit his salaried assistant manager position at a trucking company to drive for Uber—a move that would require taking out a new car loan in her name. The discussion centers on concerns about debt, budgeting, job transitions, and how to have challenging financial conversations within a marriage, especially under the pressure of growing family responsibilities.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Assessing the Uber Plan & New Debt

• Situation: Bri’s husband believes he’ll earn more driving Uber ($2,000+/week, per a friend) than his current $1,800 weekly salary.
• Immediate Concerns:
  • To do Uber, he wants to buy a new car on credit, in Bri’s name, due to her better credit score.
  • The couple already carries $40,000 in debt.
• Dave’s Summary:
  • “He wants to quit his salary job to do Uber and take out a car loan to fund this quote unquote business.” (00:42)
  • Both Dave and Jade express concern, especially about taking on new debt for an untested venture.

Key Quote:

“Here’s what’s going to happen. He’s going to drive that car into ground and the depreciation is going to hit it so hard that you guys are going to be underwater on this car within the first week.”
— Dave Ramsey [01:17]

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2. Family Situation & Why Now Is Not the Time for Risk

• Bri reveals: She is a stay-at-home mom with a one-year-old and another baby on the way.
• Jade’s advice: Now is not the time to introduce instability.
• Dave’s advice: Explore “Uber on the side” using the current car (“try it out” first), but Bri explains their only car is a 20-year-old Lexus unsuitable for Uber.

Key Quote:

“Now is definitely not the time to put our income in flux and rely on people who need rides downtown.”
— Dave Ramsey [01:58]

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3. The Case Against Going Into More Debt

• General message: It’s not wise to solve one stressful job with a risky, debt-driven side hustle.
• Jade’s analogy:
  • “There’s a lot of jobs that have prerequisites to be able to do it... If you want to be in the NBA, you got to be like 7 foot tall or you got to be able to shoot like Steph Curry. And if you don’t have that, you can’t do the job. … If you need a brand new, you know, Lexus truck that you don’t have, you can’t do the job. And I think it’s just as simple as that.” [02:30]
  • Encourages boundary setting: No more debt, wait until after the baby, and prioritize a stress-free transition.

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4. Budgeting, Transparency & Debt Management

• Current finances: The couple makes about $7,000/month, but is “barely managing.”
• Budgeting struggles:
  • They lack a clear, unified budget; Bri and her husband use separate credit cards.
  • Overspending is evident—Bri reports $1,000 in excess spending in September.
• Jade’s takeaways and advice:
  1. No new debt for job switches.
  2. Postpone job change until after baby is born.
  3. Improve financial transparency—one joint checking account, debit cards, end reliance on credit cards.

Key Quote:

“You want to talk about a more transparent way of handling finances that doesn’t include credit cards. Like, I want a one checking account. We both have a debit card. We both spend the money that we have on the debit card because I am freaking out because of our debt.”
— Jade Warshaw [05:29]

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5. Cultural Background & The “American Dream” Trap

• Background: Bri and her husband are both immigrants (from Ukraine and Uzbekistan, respectively).
• Dave’s warning:
  • Reject the narrative of “the American dream” equaling maxed-out credit and consumer debt.
  • Focus on building real stability, not “a fake lifestyle so that hopefully we can impress people.”

Key Quote:

“The American dream is not going into as much debt as possible to fund a fake lifestyle so that hopefully we can impress people.”
— Dave Ramsey [07:00]

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6. Navigating Marital Conversations & Setting Boundaries

• Approach: Lead with feelings and logical boundaries (especially about debt).
• If husband refuses to listen:
  • Jade suggests counseling if the situation escalates.
  • It’s a relationship red flag if he proceeds without Bri’s input.

Key Quote:

“If he doesn’t respect that, you have a marriage problem.”
— Dave Ramsey [08:07]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Did I just sum that up?” — Dave Ramsey [00:54], restating Bri’s situation with dry humor.
• “That’s a no.” — Jade Warshaw [04:39], bluntly diagnosing the lack of a real budget.
• “You helping so many people right now.” — Jade Warshaw [04:53], affirming Bri’s openness will benefit listeners.
• “He needs to find better friends who aren’t like, ‘Dude, you got to do Uber, man. I’m making great money over here.’ They don’t live your life. They don’t know your stress.” — Dave Ramsey [08:28]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:05: Bri explains husband’s job-switch plan and desire for new car loan.
• 01:10: Dave and Jade respond to the friend’s Uber earnings claim and sound warning bells.
• 01:48: Bri shares she’s a stay-at-home mom with a young child and another on the way.
• 02:30: Jade offers analogies and boundary-setting advice for the job change decision.
• 03:40: Bri raises the family’s need for a bigger car after the baby is born.
• 04:35: Budgeting and credit card confusion; Jade highlights dangers of opaque finances.
• 05:29: Jade gives her three takeaways for next steps.
• 06:32: Discussion of cultural background and how it impacts financial views.
• 07:00: Dave’s warning about “the American dream” and rejecting excessive debt.
• 08:07: Clear boundaries and what to do if the husband does not listen.
• 08:28: Dave’s humorous close regarding “better friends.”

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Summary Takeaways

• Do NOT quit a stable job or go into debt for an untested business idea, especially with a growing family and existing debt.
• Any career change should be made from a position of stability and only after careful trial, open communication, and clear boundaries.
• Get out of debt before making risky financial moves; transparency and jointly managed finances are crucial.
• Don’t buy into myths about debt being a means to success in America—true stability and financial progress come from discipline, openness, and intentionality.
• If mutual agreement can’t be reached on major decisions, seek counseling—marriage comes before money.

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Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Bri]

Today I had a talk with my husband and he thinks that he want to change his job. He's right now assistant manager in a truck company. So it's a big load of work and stressful work talking with truck drivers, mechanics, towing trucks and everything like that. And he thinks that we need to take a car on credit and preferably on mine because my credit score is better than his and it will be like Toyota Sudan. So he can do Uber.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, he wants to quit his salary job to do Uber and take out a car loan to fund this quote unquote business.

[Bri]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Did I just sum that up?

[Bri]

Basically he's making right now a week 1800. And his friend at work told me, told him that on Uber they can make like 2000 and more a week. So that's why he's thinking about it.

[Dave Ramsey]

No, I would not listen to this friend.

[Jade]

Especially, especially if you're thinking about going into debt for this.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, here's what's going to happen. He's going to drive that car into ground and the depreciation is going to hit it so hard that you guys are going to be underwater on this car within the first week. Do you guys have any debt now?

[Bri]

Yeah, we have like 40,000.

[Dave Ramsey]

Oh, perfect. Well, let's just add to the pile then and pretend it doesn't exist.

[Jade]

Okay.

[Bri]

To be honest, but like I don't know how to tell him that. He doesn't even know that I'm calling right now.

[Jade]

What do you do for work, Bri?

[Bri]

I'm a stay at home mom. I'm having a baby one year and nine months and also we having a baby on the way.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow, congrats.

[Bri]

Okay, okay, so.

[Dave Ramsey]

So now is definitely not the time to put our income in flux and rely on people who need rides downtown.

[Bri]

Like he need to stick to it. Like maybe ask maybe at work he can do work.

[Dave Ramsey]

Or riddle me this, why doesn't he on the side after work go out and drive with the car he has if he wants to try it out?

[Bri]

He cannot because we have 20 year old Lexus that doesn't have major issues with the engine. Okay, so he cannot do it.

[Jade]

And then I think that's a great indicator that this is not the job for you. There's a lot of jobs, Bri, and this might be the way you frame it to him. I don't know what kind of guy is, but there's a lot of jobs that have pre, prerequisites to Be able to do it. Like if you want to BE in the NBA, you got to be like 7 foot tall or you got to be able to shoot like Steph Curry. And if you don't have that, you can't do the job. And in this case, if you need a brand new, you know, Lexus truck that you don't have, you can't do the job. And I think it's just as simple as that. You could go out and, you know, pull all these strings and pull all this debt to try to force this in, but that there's no guarantee there. Okay. And so I think that if he doesn't enjoy his job currently, that's fine. I'm all, I'm all for him looking for different jobs that he enjoys more. But if I were in your shoes, I would say, honey, I want you to do work that you love. But we, here's my, my, my boundaries. We can't go into debt for it. And if possible, I'd like to wait until this baby is born so that we can have some solidity going through that. And then once the baby is born, you know, go do your thing. Do you think he would listen?

[Bri]

I think he will. Like I was trying to think like logically, is it a good idea even to get a new car? Because like we were planning after giving birth, of course we need more space, especially with the car. I don't have a car.

[Dave Ramsey]

But yeah, you definitely need a new to you car, but that doesn't mean we're going to go into debt. Yeah, and you should be. You need a different car, but what you don't need is another $25,000 loan on top of your 40,000 in debt. And so what I would do if I was in your shoes is go, all right, we need to save up to get a reliable car. And then we're going to clean up this 40 grand of debt and we're going to. He's not going to be switching jobs. He's going to be working extra.

[Bri]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because you guys make seven grand a month right now.

[Jade]

Yeah, seven. Yeah. You guys have a fine income.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so how quickly can we pay 40,000 income?

[Bri]

I think, but still we barely managing to cover everything.

[Jade]

Do you guys have a budget?

[Bri]

Kind of.

[Jade]

That's a no.

[Bri]

I'm trying to keep up. But to be honest, I don't know what is going on in his credit card because basically all that we put on his credit card. So this is mine, all of that.

[Jade]

This is a very. Bri, you're helping. So thank you for calling in because you're helping so many people right now. You're right. When you're on credit cards and you know the spouse has a credit card in their wallet that's different from what the, the, the other spous in their wallet, it does, it makes it very hard to stick to a budget because unless that person is going to bank connect all their credit cards to the budget so you can see every transaction coming through, you're right. You have no idea what you're spending. And it's very easy to overspend on credit cards so that at the end of the month, if you plan on paying it off. Yeah. You're spending up ev. Every bit of extra margin that you had to pay down this credit card.

[Bri]

So I found out for September we overspent for $1,000.

[Jade]

Yeah. Yeah, you got, you have some big conversations that you need to have. Bri and I. I'll give you three takeaways that I think the first one I already gave you, which is you need to tell him that your, your boundaries for him switching jobs cannot include debt. And the second thing is it needs to happen after this baby is born. And then the third thing is you want to talk about a more transparent way of handling finances that doesn't include credit cards. Like, I want a one checking account. We both have a debit card. We both spend the money that we have on the debit card because I am freaking out because of our debt. So those are the three things you have to tackle. Write them down and you can, I mean, you know him better than we do, so you know the best way to kind of be tactical about that. But those are, those are your non negotiables.

[Dave Ramsey]

Do you guys, do you guys come from the same cultural background?

[Bri]

No, like, similar.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, where, where's. What's his background?

[Bri]

He's from Uzbekistan and I'm from Ukraine.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. And are you guys immigrants or are you born stateside?

[Bri]

Here we are immigrants. Everything clear.

[Dave Ramsey]

Great. My parents were immigrants as well. And here's what I want to remind you. You guys came here for a better life, I assume, whether you chose to or your parents chose to. Right.

[Bri]

We chose both.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so here's what I want to remind you. The American dream is now going to as much debt as possible to fund a fake lifestyle so that hopefully we can impress people. And I don't want you guys to.

[Bri]

Fall into that trap in our young twenties.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah. They say, hey, come get a credit card. It's the American way.

[Jade]

You'll love it.

[Dave Ramsey]

Over here. Get your credit score up. We'll give you more line of credit. Hey, we can get you into a brand new car. Wouldn't that be nice? Do you see how insane this is?

[Bri]

It is.

[Dave Ramsey]

And so that's what you need to convince him of. Remind him of what he's doing on this earth. He's got a little baby, A little baby on the way. We need to take care of our family first, and that means getting out of debt and staying out of debt. That's gonna. That's what's gonna cause some actual peace. That's gonna cause a real American dream to happen. Not trying to do Uber full time with a car loan that's supposedly gonna put yourself in a better financial position. I can guarantee you it's not. He's going to be calling the show a year from now saying, how do I get out of this? I'm $20,000 upside down on my car loan. So I hope that helps you with the conversation Again, like Jade said, you know how to convince him better than anyone. And I think your feelings and emotions around this should be the first thing you lead with. And if he doesn't respect that, you have a marriage problem.

[Jade]

Yeah, that. And that's so true. This is a good indicator when you bring this to him. If he starts flipping out or does it anyway, if he does this Uber thing anyway, your next step is. We need to get into some counseling and spend some money on that. That's the tough part. Oh, my goodness. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.

[Dave Ramsey]

So sorry you're going through this.

[Jade]

Break, too. Me too.

[Dave Ramsey]

And he needs to find better friends who aren't like, dude, you got to do Uber, man. I'm making great money over here. They don't live your life. They don't know your stress. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.