My Mom Spent $1 Million On Cruise Ships

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Ramsey Show Highlights — "My Mom Spent $1 Million On Cruise Ships"

Date: July 13, 2026
Featuring: Dave Ramsey, Chris Hogan
Caller: Jack

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Episode Overview

This episode features a call from Jack, who shares a unique and troubling family financial story: after his father's passing, Jack's mother spent $1.1 million on art bought during cruise ship auctions over several years. Jack and his brother are now grappling with the aftermath, trying to sell the art (at a dramatic loss) and seeking advice. Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan react to the story, explore root issues, and offer practical guidance for handling both the art and the family dynamics moving forward.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jack's Story: Cruise Ship Art Spending

• Jack explains his mother went on six or seven cruises after his dad died, buying over a million dollars' worth of cruise ship art.

  • "On cruise ships they have art auctions... my mother, on a series of six cruises, spent $1.1 million on cruise ship art." (Jack, 00:06)
  • The art has overtaken her home, and they can only recoup about 10–20 cents on the dollar at auctions.

• Family Reaction:

  • Initially, they noticed some excessive spending but thought it was a small indulgence.
  • The extent was hidden; escalation became clear only over time.
  • "We saw some art there, but she had it in the garage... She just kept doing it." (Jack, 01:10)

2. Questions About the Mother’s Situation

• Financial Status:

  • She is not broke but now lives only "comfortably," not "super comfortably."
  • "She’s living comfortably as opposed to super comfortably. So she's getting by... the little extras, that's where... she's struggling." (Jack, 01:40)

• Does She Recognize the Problem?

  • Began to realize towards the end.
  • Previously very frugal, so this was especially shocking.
    • "She was a use the same tea bag twice type of person." (Jack, 02:04)

• Root Cause:

  • Spending began around a year and a half after the husband's death.
  • Dave and Chris suggest this was an unhealthy coping mechanism—a "wicked weird way of grieving."
    • "So this was her wicked weird way of grieving. Wow, man, I’m sorry." (Dave, 02:36)

3. Handling the Aftermath: Advice from Dave and Chris

Selling the Art

• Jack and brother face massive losses; art is not holding value.
  • "We're only getting 10 cents or 20 cents on the dollar." (Jack, 00:20)

Dealing with the Cruise Line

• Dave suggests approaching the cruise line, highlighting the ethical dilemma and potential PR implications:

  • "We have a widow here that you all accidentally took extreme advantage of... We're gonna ask you to buy it back and put it on the cruise ship and resell it and make your money back as a PR decision." (Dave, 04:31)

  • Dave notes this approach aims not to accuse, but to appeal for mercy and corporate responsibility.

  • Notable Quote:

    • "You don't really want me telling the whole world on social media that your cruise line took a million dollars from a widow. And I'm getting ready to." (Dave, 05:04)

Mental Competency & Family Management

• Was she in her right mind?

  • Jack says yes; she was just "dumb," not incompetent.

  • Dave discusses the need for family intervention if a loved one loses judgment, even if not legally incompetent.

  • Notable Quote:

    • "If you love somebody and they're doing something stupid, you stand between them and stupid. But... Bozo has no backbone." (Dave, 03:50)

• Role of the New Husband:

  • Jack’s mother remarried; new husband did not intervene.
  • Chris notes this complicates efforts for financial guardianship.

Preventive and Remedial Steps

• Chris recommends, if possible, the family co-manage finances to protect her from further issues.
  • "If she wasn't married, I would... sit down with mom and say we would like to take ownership of your finances." (Chris, 07:00)
  • With remarriage, more complex—family should still try to offer help.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chris Hogan’s Reaction:

  • "This is a new one for me, Jack. Well done, brother." (00:48)

• Dave’s Candid Take on Intervention:

  • "If you love somebody and they're doing something stupid, you stand between them and stupid." (03:50)
  • "The net result is you caused something wrong to happen and we're going to ask for some help." (06:47)

• Cruise Ship Auctions as a Risk for Lonely Grievers:

  • Dave reflects on a pattern he’s seen with lonely people overspending for companionship or attention, but notes,
    • "The art auction on the cruise ship... this is the First 1 [in] 35 years." (07:29)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jack’s Initial Story — 00:06–01:30
• Mother’s Financial Status & Behaviors — 01:34–02:36
• Root Cause Discussion (Grieving) — 02:26–02:36
• Debate on Competency and New Husband’s Role — 03:19–04:00
• Dave’s Advice: Appeal to Cruise Line — 04:31–06:00
• Discussion of Family and Remedial Steps — 07:00–07:29
• Dave’s Reflection on Unique Case — 07:29 (end)

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Conclusion

This episode of The Ramsey Show packs a heartfelt and cautionary tale about how sudden loss and loneliness can trigger unexpected, even destructive, financial behaviors. Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan respond with empathy and realism, offering listeners and Jack’s family strategies for advocacy, both with the cruise line and within their own family. It’s a memorable, unique case—showing the importance of support, vigilance, and intervention when loved ones are at risk of financial exploitation, even self-inflicted.

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Transcript

[Dave Ramsey]

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[Jack]

My mother, after dad died, went on a series of cruises. And as you may or may not know, on cruise ships they have art auctions where basically you're buying overpriced art after you've had a few drinks and everything. And my mother, on a series of six cruises, spent $1.1 million on cruise ship art. You can't get into our house. There's so much cruise ship art in the bedrooms and everything. My brother and I are trying to sell it at auctions and stuff. We're only getting 10 cents or 20 cents on the dollar. And I know you good folks have seen it all. I thought maybe you could give me a suggestion or something.

[Chris Hogan]

This is a new one for me, Jack. Well done, brother.

[Dave Ramsey]

Wow. Wow, that's disturbing.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

So how many cruises?

[Jack]

I believe six or seven cruises. And she kept it from the family.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, like, you guys didn't go inside of her house for six or eight months?

[Jack]

Oh, no. We would go in and we saw some art there, but she had it in the garage. And after time went on, it got worse and worse. So we did see some of it when we went into her house and we said, okay, mom spending five or six grand, she's worth a lot of money, wants to have a little fun. And then she just kept doing it. And we kept trying to get her to stop, but she would just disappear and go on cruise ships and keep buying all this stuff.

[Chris Hogan]

Is she. Is she. Is she broke now?

[Jack]

Good question. She has. She's living comfortably as opposed to super comfortably. So she's getting by. She's not worried. We're no worried where next meals coming from, but the little extras, that's where she know she's struggling with.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, we're not. There's not another million dollars to buy art with.

[Jack]

No, thank goodness. No, there is not.

[Chris Hogan]

Does she recognize she has a problem?

[Jack]

She did towards the very end. And we had no idea she was spending that kind of money. Again, we thought, that's not good. It's sloppy. But she saved all her life. She was a use the same tea bag twice type of person. And she just. I think she lived with her parents, got married to my father, who would have squashed it in two seconds. How long passed away?

[Dave Ramsey]

How long after he passed did this go on?

[Jack]

It started about, oh, I'd say a year and a half to two years after he died.

[Dave Ramsey]

So this was her wicked weird way of grieving. Wow, man, I'm sorry. You know, I've been on cruise ships. I've seen those art auctions. I have purchased precisely zero dollars in that stuff. I'm not an art critic. I don't know anything about art, nor would I know where to move it. You know what I would do is this. Do you. Do you. Is she mentally incompetent or just. Was just dumb?

[Jack]

I think she was just dumb. She had, like. It's almost like.

[Dave Ramsey]

Because otherwise she. I mean, like, if she met with her medical doctor, he would say she was in her right mind. She was just grieving in a very inappropriate way.

[Jack]

Well, she was remarried at the time.

[Dave Ramsey]

Where did he go?

[Jack]

But he just didn't do anything. He just didn't do anything. He's kind of. He's kind of not the type of guy that would tell her what to do. And keep in mind, that was her money. My father. It was their money to get.

[Dave Ramsey]

I got that. I got that. But still.

[Jack]

Yeah.

[Dave Ramsey]

I mean, if you love somebody and they're doing something stupid, you stand between them and stupid. But. So Bozo has no backbone. All right? The only thing that pops into my head and I have no idea is if I were you guys, I would get in touch with the cruise line and try to work your way into the publicity side of the cruise line or the customer service side of the cruise line and say, you know, here's what has happened on your cruise line. Was it all on one line?

[Jack]

I think so. Maybe two different. But it's the same company.

[Dave Ramsey]

And I would just say, here's what's happened on the line. So we have a widow here that you all accidentally took extreme advantage of. We're not saying there was malicious intent on the part of the crews, but the crews just took a million dollars from her for art that's not worth a million dollars. And we're gonna ask you to buy it back and put it on the cruise ship and resell it and make your money back as a PR decision.

[Jack]

Okay?

[Dave Ramsey]

Because you don't really want me telling the whole world on social media that your cruise line took a million dollars from a widow. And I'm getting ready to. And I honestly don't think you guys did it on purpose, but I do think you need to do something about it because you should have had some kind of checks and balances in place, because you've got widows and old people cruising with you every day. And if you guys are taking advantage of the other people at this level, even if you don't mean to, you should stop it, it's wrong. And so like if my company had done this accidentally, but we would probably consider at least at some percentage, 50% or something, taking the inventory back in and trying to help the lady out because obviously she's out of control. And we were contributing. Not knowing it, but we were contributing. If my company did that or one

[Chris Hogan]

thing about our company is we want people to be better off after they've been with us than before. And if we find out somebody was exponentially worse off.

[Jack]

Right.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah, we would try to help fix that. But. And I, and I do, honestly, I, you know, it's not like it's a gambling thing. So if it's a gambling thing and your name shows up on the watch list of problem gambler, they shut you down and keep you from gambling. But they don't have that for art auctions.

[Jack]

Right.

[Chris Hogan]

Especially on cruise ships.

[Dave Ramsey]

Right. It's so it's. There's, they, there's no way to, there's no database to that they should have been accessing to protect them. I mean it's just a customer. They got millions of customers and this customer just liked art. And so our cruise ship art in

[Chris Hogan]

particular, but also wasn't well or healthy at the time.

[Dave Ramsey]

Yeah.

[Chris Hogan]

The.

[Dave Ramsey]

I'm going to ask for some mercy from and some help. Some help. And I'm not going to do it with accusing you guys of having done something wrong. But I am going to say the net result is you caused something wrong to happen and we're going to ask for some help.

[Chris Hogan]

Yeah, The. If she. It's a new wrinkle that she's remarried. If she wasn't married, I would Jack, I would, I would get with you and your siblings and sit down with mom and say we would like to take ownership of your finances. We want to help out from here on out and we'll make sure you got a roof over your head. We'll make sure this money is managed. Well, it's complicated now that she's got a new spouse that they may want to co manage that together or whatever. But I would sit down and at least offer the help you can.

[Dave Ramsey]

I've never, I mean I've heard, I've never heard this one seen hundreds of thousands of dollars on shopping network seeing that they're sitting lonely and just keep calling so they can talk to somebody and buying whatever stuff. They got a basement full of stuff they don't need. I've seen that multiple times over the years. The art auction on the cruise ship. This is the First 1First 135 years. You gotta have a new one every day. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.