Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey guided a 28-year-old North Dakota caller away from a courthouse wedding, despite the couple’s substantial debt burden of $205,000 against their combined $240,000 income.
What Happened: The caller, who referred to his 25-year-old fiancée as his “old lady,” sought advice on The Ramsey Show about combining incomes to accelerate debt payoff. He proposed a courthouse ceremony followed by a delayed celebration after becoming debt-free.
“I want to do it as cheap as possible,” the caller told Ramsey and co-host Jade Warshaw. “You are such a guy,” said Ramsey.
Ramsey rejected the extreme budget approach. “You’re in North Dakota, so you have a chat for the weekend and have a nice weekend in Vegas and spend $3,000 to $4,000 out of 240,” he advised, suggesting a middle-ground celebration costing roughly 1.7% of their annual income.
Warshaw cautioned against framing the decision purely around debt acceleration. “I just wanna make sure you’re doing it because you wanna get married. Not because you wanna pay off debt faster,” she said, noting the proposal lacked romantic appeal.
Why It Matters: Ramsey emphasized long-term relationship value over short-term savings. “I appreciate what you’re trying to accomplish mathematically. Long-term you’re gonna tell the story for the rest of your life and it needs to be a better story,” he said.
The advice aligns with Ramsey’s established philosophy, prioritizing marriage quality over financial optimization. In previous shows, he has criticized callers who hide assets from spouses or make major relationship decisions based solely on mathematical considerations.
The caller’s situation reflects broader debt trends among high-income earners. Recent data shows many households earning above $200,000 annually still carry significant consumer debt loads, often exceeding 80% of their income.
Read Next:
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
