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Accountant With $190,000 Salary Still Living Paycheck To Paycheck Calls Dave Ramsey Asking For Advice — ‘We Just Spent $3,000 On Food’

By Elena Cordelia

Published on: June 27, 2024

In a recent episode of the Dave Ramsey Show, Preston, an accountant from Dallas, Texas, shared his struggles of living paycheck to paycheck despite earning $190,000 a year. Let’s break down Preston’s situation and see what lessons we can learn about managing money effectively.

Contents

• 1 Who is Preston?
• 2 The Food Budget Problem
• 3 Lifestyle Creep
• 4 Budgeting Struggles
• 5 Dave Ramsey’s Advice
• 6 Additional Income

Who is Preston?

Preston is married with three kids. Even though he has a good income, his family has a hard time managing their finances. They have several debts, including:

• A $12,000 car loan
• $6,000 in medical debt from the birth of their child
• $4,500 in student loans
• A $200,000 mortgage

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In total, they owe $222,000.

The Food Budget Problem

One of the biggest issues Preston mentioned is their spending on food. They plan to spend $1,500 to $2,000 a month on groceries and eating out, but they often end up spending around $3,000 instead.

Lifestyle Creep

Preston pointed out that as their income has increased over the years, so has their spending. This is known as lifestyle creep, where people start spending more as they earn more but don’t save any extra money.

Budgeting Struggles

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It’s ironic that Preston, an accountant trained to manage finances, struggles with his own household budget. This shows that knowing how to handle money and actually sticking to a budget are two different things.

Dave Ramsey’s Advice

Dave Ramsey’s team gave Preston some advice to help him get back on track:

1. Act Like You’re Making $80,000: Create a budget based on this amount, which means significantly cutting back on expenses. For example, cancel unnecessary subscriptions and stop the kids from attending extra classes.
2. Use a Budgeting App: This can help track spending and stick to the budget.
3. Cut Unnecessary Expenses: By doing this, they can save more money.
4. Pay Off Smallest Debt First: Start with the $4,500 in student loans and use that money to pay off bigger debts, using the debt snowball method.
5. Eat at Home More Often: Plan weekly meals, shop with a list to avoid impulse buys, and cook at home to save money.

Additional Income

Since Preston is good with numbers, Ramsey’s team suggested he pick up freelance accounting work to bring in extra money and help pay off debts faster.