A 26-year-old woman from Austin, Texas, with two degrees in economics and a father who works as a financial advisor, stunned viewers of the “Financial Audit” show when she revealed she spends hundreds more than she earns every month, has no real budget, and didn’t understand that a gig platform’s fees were not tax withholdings, among many other things.
Reality Hits Hard In Austin
Paige works at Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU), making $17.50 an hour and averaging 30 hours a week. She also walks dogs on the side through Rover (NASDAQ:ROVR). Altogether, she pulls in around $3,900 a month before taxes, but spends over $5,200.
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Despite her background, Paige couldn't explain how much she really makes. “Maybe I just did my math wrong,” she said when her income didn't line up, and straight up answered “no” when asked, “You don’t know how much you make?” Even more surprising, she believed Rover was withholding taxes from her earnings, to which host Caleb Hammer replied, “When have we ever seen taxes being taken from us with the company's name and the word ‘fee’ after it?”
Paige also admitted to spending $717 on a flight to Switzerland for a ski trip while already deep in credit card debt. When asked if she planned to cancel the trip to get her finances in order, she smiled and said, “But I want to go.”
In his typical style, Hammer didn't hold back. “Are you dumb?” he asked after hearing her excuses. “I’m sorry, like, legitimately, are you not smart?”
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Misguided Priorities And Emotional Detachment
Paige describes herself as frugal but regularly thrifts, dines out, and racks up credit card charges. In one month, she spent over $2,600 on a credit card from her day job income alone, more than she actually earned.
When pressed on why she keeps overspending, she replied, “I just didn't realize I was spending so much money.” Hammer told her, “You have a master's degree in economics. You're not stupid. So stop acting like it.”
Her budgeting problems are compounded by a $17,000 car loan on a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek, for which she pays about $350 a month. She also has a Chase credit card and a Citi Double Cash card, both maxed out, one accruing interest.
“I think you can only spend on a debit card. You don’t know how money works. You need to close your credit card,” Hammer told her. “With your credit card, you just overspend and you’re destroying your life.”
On top of that, Paige admitted she hadn't been applying for jobs seriously despite holding a master’s degree. Hammer pulled up her LinkedIn and found very few recent applications and told her that six job applications a week is not even close to enough. “Minimum six a day, 10 a day,” he said.
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Retirement And Parental Help
In a rare bright spot, Paige revealed she has about $15,000 saved in a Roth IRA and 401(k), thanks to earlier contributions and guidance from her dad–five years ago. “My dad invested it for me,” she said. “So why were you in a better place at 21 than you are at 26,” Hammer said. “What made you regress to a child?”
She admitted he covers her phone bill and occasionally sends her $100 “sweet treat” money when she’s had a tough day, dismissing it as not being a big deal. Hammer said, “Hundred bucks is a lot of money. You have no respect for the dollar.”
Hammer told her to save $400 per month for taxes, limit grocery spending to $300, cut all non-essential purchases, and close her credit cards. He also told her to start applying for at least six jobs a day if she wants out of retail.
He gave her a financial score of just 1 out of 10.
Despite the brutal audit, Paige appeared to take some of it to heart by the end of the episode.
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Image: Shutterstock
