"My Kids Are Going Without" (I'm $100,000 In Debt)

Summary

The Ramsey Show Highlights: "My Kids Are Going Without" (I'm $100,000 In Debt)

Date: March 1, 2026
Hosts: Dave Ramsey & Co-host (Jade Warshaw)
Caller: Peyton (Listener)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave Ramsey and Jade Warshaw take a heartfelt call from Peyton, a listener facing overwhelming personal and financial challenges, including $100,000 in debt, unemployment, disability following a train accident, and a deep sense of responsibility for his children. The discussion centers on taking ownership, actionable recovery steps, and the power of hope and discipline during dire circumstances.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Peyton’s Story and Current Situation

• Background Struggles
  • Peyton began listening to the show during incarceration in 2020. After getting out, he tried to turn his life around but encountered a series of setbacks: losing jobs, accumulating debts, and ultimately surviving a train accident. ([00:08])
• Financial Snapshot
  • Peyton and his wife jointly owe $100,000, with her earning $12.50/hour and struggling to maintain steady work.
  • Peyton faces significant child support arrears ($10,000 for one child, $5,000 for another) and an ongoing $750/month obligation, which he cannot keep up with, leading to hardship for his kids. ([01:40]; [02:35])
• Medical and Employment Barriers
  • After moving to Texas to join his wife, Peyton is now looking for part-time work due to a fused elbow post-accident, making manual labor difficult. ([03:57]; [04:11])
• The Train Accident
  • Peyton explains the accident was his fault: he tried to jump a train to avoid being stranded after a door-to-door sales job failed to deliver income or stability. ([04:30])

Candid Assessment and Tough Love

• Dave Ramsey’s Direct Questions
  • Dave challenges Peyton to look in the mirror and take ownership of his repeated employment setbacks:
    “If you were to look in the mirror and take full ownership here, why do you keep getting laid off of work?... Are you not showing up on time?” ([03:03])
  • Dave notes the abundance of available construction work in Texas and questions Peyton’s obstacles.
• Empathy and Encouragement
  • Dave acknowledges the gravity and vulnerability of Peyton’s call:
    "Hey brother, I want to applaud you for calling, man. This is a hard phone call, isn't it?" ([02:02])

Actionable Guidance from the Hosts

• Mental Health First
  • Dave’s first recommendation is counseling, specifically advising Peyton to reach out to local family services with sliding scale fees:
    “You gotta get in and sit with somebody. Okay. You got a lot of demons in your back, right?” ([05:33])
• Aggressive Job Search
  • “You can’t kind of look for a part time job. You’ve got to make it your life’s mission to get two jobs by the end of this week.” ([05:56])
  • Hosts emphasize Peyton will need “little wins” and to endure a year of discomfort to create change.
• Budgeting and Financial Tools
  • Dave and Jade gift Peyton and his wife access to the EveryDollar app and stress the importance of structured budgeting, especially with upcoming raises:
    “The worst thing that can happen is y’all get an eight dollar an hour raise or nine dollar raise and you don't budget it because it will disappear faster than you get it.” ([07:23])
  • Simple, free activities are recommended until their situation stabilizes:
    “...go for walks together... do stuff that doesn’t cost any money because that’s where we are right now.” ([07:33])
• Commitment to Change
  • Dave reframes Peyton’s struggle:
    “Commit to being uncomfortable in a direction that’s going to change your life.” ([07:54])
  • He reiterates the importance of both partners committing to new, harder work: “Your wife has got to either get the help she needs or she's gotta make a commitment... I can't just put her by on $12.50 an hour.” ([06:38])

Future Planning and Uplifting Support

• Career Development
  • Peyton is offered a copy of Ken Coleman’s Find the Work You’re Wired to Do and encouraged to take the included career assessment:
    “Begin to ask yourself, not just after a year of survival jobs, what do I actually want to do? What can I do in this local community...” ([08:27])
• Hope and Community
  • Dave ends with strong reassurance:
    “We're your number one and two fan.” ([09:00])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dave Ramsey (humorous relief):
  “Your life is a loving country song, man.” ([00:39])

• Peyton (on the accident):
  “I tried to jump a train home and it didn’t work. It was going faster than I thought and it caught me.” ([04:30])

• Dave Ramsey (on job search urgency):
  “You’ve got to make it your life’s mission to get two jobs by the end of this week.” ([05:56])

• Dave Ramsey (budgeting advice):
  “We're going to be militant in our discipline when it comes to our spending and our budgeting.” ([07:33])

• Dave Ramsey (hopeful encouragement):
  “Commit to being uncomfortable in a direction that's going to change your life.” ([07:54])

• Dave Ramsey (final words of support):
  “We’re your number one and two fan.” ([09:00])

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Peyton’s Background and Hardships ([00:08]-[01:40])
• Financial Snapshot, Child Support, and Wife’s Income ([01:40]-[02:35])
• Medical Limitations and the Nature of the Train Accident ([03:46]-[04:30])
• Dave’s Candid Assessment and Employment Challenges ([03:03]-[03:46])
• Action Plan: Counseling and Job Hunt ([05:28]-[05:56])
• Budgeting, EveryDollar App, and Discipline ([07:08]-[07:54])
• Encouragement, Career Planning, and Final Words ([08:07]-[09:00])

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Summary Takeaway

This episode delivers a raw, honest look at the struggles of personal failure, physical setback, and overwhelming debt—and the clear, practical steps to reverse course. Dave and Jade combine direct accountability, empathy, and tactical advice—counseling, aggressive job searching, budgeting discipline, and career development—to help Peyton set a new path for his life and family. The conversation is a spirited reminder that difficult circumstances demand not just hope, but action and commitment.

Transcript

[Zander Insurance Announcer]

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[Peyton (Caller)]

started listening to the Ramsey show in 2020 when I was incarcerated. And when I got out, I started doing things the right way. And then I lost my job and fell back into debt and found another job, but it didn't pan out. Fast forward four failed jobs later and I get hit by a train. This was last this past June and

[Dave Ramsey]

you got hit by a train, Moly.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Yes, bro.

[Dave Ramsey]

Your life is a loving country song, man.

[Peyton (Caller)]

So I'm used to doing mostly manual labor in my life. I recently got married, so that's a plus. My wife and I combine finances and I'm going through all of our debts the other day and I'm realizing that we're $100,000 in debt and I can't work yet. And so I started looking for a part time job recently. She only makes $12.50 an hour, so she doesn't really make a whole lot as far as income. She's had a really hard time keeping a steady job for the last four years. And I just don't, I don't know what to do. I don't know where to turn. I'm, I'm at a loss. I'm, I've, I've called my way out of debt three times in my life and I, I'm beside myself right now. On top of that, I have a $750 a month child support obligation that I am unable. So my kids are going without and I'm, I'm just beside myself.

[Dave Ramsey]

Hey brother, I want to applaud you for calling, man. This is a hard phone call, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, I'm grateful that you called.

[Peyton (Caller)]

So some of the debts are. She's got $5,000, almost $6,000 in student loans. They have been deferred until this year and so now she's having to start paying on those.

[Zander Insurance Announcer]

Okay.

[Peyton (Caller)]

And. Because I've been in and out of work for about two years now, I'm already got back child support, so how much? I've got about $10,000 on one kid and about 5,000 on the other.

[Dave Ramsey]

Let me ask you, dude, the way you're asked, you're telling us your story. You fell into debt, you got like the jobs went away. If you were to look in the mirror and take full ownership here,

[Peyton (Caller)]

why

[Dave Ramsey]

do you keep getting laid off of work? Are you not showing up on time? There's construction going. Like I was just in Lubbock a couple of weeks ago. There's construction projects all over the place,

[Peyton (Caller)]

so I recently moved to Texas. Okay. Like, I got hit by the train. My wife is from our little small town outside of Lubbock and so when I got hit by the train, she was already here. I just moved in.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. What's your medical status? When are you going to be able to. To get back? After it. There's. There's so much opportunity for those who will pick up a shovel and get after it in Lubbock, Texas.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Well, like I said, I'm already looking for a part time position abilities. I have a fused elbow and so.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Shoveling is not exactly.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, that's really challenging. Yeah.

[Ramsey Show Co-host]

Peyton, when that happened, I mean, I. I don't know any other way to say it, so I don't. I don't want it to sound rude, but were you at fault or was there. Was there fault? Is there. Is there anything that come up?

[Peyton (Caller)]

I was definitely at fault for the train accident. I was. I found myself making $50 a week at this sales position. It was a traveling door to door sales position where they promised the world and never delivered. So I was making $50 a week and barely able to have food. She was working the same job with me and she couldn't make it either, so she decided to go home. And I had seen what happens when people leave the company when they don't have anything. So I wasn't about to get dropped off at a bus station with nothing. And so you try to jump a train? I tried to jump a train home and it didn't work. It was going faster than I thought and it caught me.

[Dave Ramsey]

So let me ask you this. Are you ready to change everything?

[Peyton (Caller)]

Absolutely. If you only knew, my friend.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. All right, so here, here's my call out. Number one, when you get off this call, I want you to call over to family counseling services. I think they're off Avenue Q over there in Lubbock.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Okay.

[Dave Ramsey]

And they have sliding scale and they support folks who are struggling financially. But you got to get in and sit with somebody. Okay. You got a lot of demons in your back, right?

[Peyton (Caller)]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay. Number two, you can't kind of look for a part time job. You've got to make it your life's mission to get two jobs by the end of this week. And I'm. And I'm putting that pressure on you because I think you can. And they're not going to be fun and you're going to be exhausted and you're going to be sore. But I want you to Commit to it. Because what you need right now more than anything is a bunch of little wins. And these debt collectors can ask all day long, but, bro, you got kids. And I want to get those guys squared up. And you do, too. I can hear your voice, right?

[Peyton (Caller)]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

All right, so let the bill collectors keep calling you for a minute. You don't have anything anyway. And your wife has got to either get the help she needs or she's got to make a commitment. I'm going to go get a second job. I can't just. Can't just put her by on 12. 50 an hour.

[Peyton (Caller)]

She's. She's actually about to get a dollar nine an hour. Well, 850 an hour raise. Awesome as she's. Yep. As soon as she gets this test done.

[Dave Ramsey]

Okay, listen to me. Jade and I are going to give you and her the premium every dollar app because you know as well as

[Peyton (Caller)]

I do premium every dollar app because we're in financial peace University currently through our church.

[Dave Ramsey]

Sweet.

[Ramsey Show Co-host]

Good. Good.

[Dave Ramsey]

The worst thing that can happen is y' all get an eight dollar an hour raise or nine dollar raise and you don't budget it because it will disappear faster than you get it.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Right, Right. Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

So we're going to be. We're going to be militant in our discipline when it comes to our spending and our budgeting. And we're gonna have to go for walks. We're gonna have to go over there to Severe park and go for go. I mean, go for walks together. We're gonna have to get a. I don't know, a soccer ball and kick it. We're gonna do stuff that didn't cost any money because that's where we are right now.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Right?

[Dave Ramsey]

Right. And if you'll go get a job, you'll go get two jobs. And you commit to a year of being uncomfortable. You're already uncomfortable. Commit to being uncomfortable in a direction that's going to change your life.

[Peyton (Caller)]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

You get what I'm saying?

[Peyton (Caller)]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

Go sit down with the counselor over there who will work with you and say, I'm ready to change some of the stuff I've been put. Sit down. Some of that crap I've been carrying for all these years. You get what I'm saying?

[Peyton (Caller)]

Absolutely.

[Dave Ramsey]

We both think you can do it, man. Also, you know what? Hang on the line. We're gonna send you a copy of Ken Coleman's find the work you're wired to do. I want you to take the career assessment inside of it. It's incredibly insightful. And begin to ask yourself, not just after a year of survival jobs. What do I actually want to do? What can I do in this local community here in this great city of Lubbock, Texas? What can I do that's going to contribute to this city, that to the people who've been where. Like, who are where I used to be? And now you're talking about changing everything in your life. But you need some little wins, brother. Hang on the line. We'll get you hooked up with some resources. We're. We're. We're your number one and two fan.

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