If you've ever wondered just how far Dave Ramsey would go to avoid a car payment, wonder no more. The personal finance guru recently declared on "The Ramsey Show" that he'd literally ride a bicycle before taking on another "freaking car payment." And he wasn't kidding around.
The Dream Job, the Long Commute, and the $23,000 Problem
The conversation started with Jay, a staff sergeant leaving the Army in Portland, Oregon. He'd landed his dream job, which sounds great until you hear about the 70-mile commute. A child custody agreement meant he'd be living far from work for at least a year, and he needed wheels. With $7,000 in savings and $3,000 still hanging over his head from divorce debt, Jay figured financing a $23,000 Toyota Corolla made sense.
Co-host Jade Warshaw shut that down immediately. "You can't solve a problem while simultaneously creating it," she said. Ramsey was even more direct: "Buy a $4,000 car."
Jay pushed back, insisting he wouldn't go into debt. But Ramsey wasn't buying it. "You're going to go buy it, though. I kind of think we can't talk you out of it in 30 seconds. But no, there's no chance. I'll ride a bicycle before I get a freaking car payment again." Warshaw wrapped up the call with a suggestion that Jay take the bus instead.
When Fear Drives Financial Decisions
Right after that call, the show tackled a letter from Jesse in Texas. This one had a different flavor but landed in the same place. Jesse pulls in $100,000 a year, has $18,000 in student loans, and sits on $25,000 in savings. The problem? He was terrified of using his savings to buy a car outright because he'd watched his parents struggle financially.
Ramsey and Warshaw diagnosed this as fear masquerading as prudence. "If you paid cash for a car, it did not cause them to struggle for decades," Ramsey explained. "Going into the car payment... that caused them to struggle."
Warshaw added, "This is just fear operating unchecked in the background. And you don't even know what it's based off of."
Their prescription? Buy a reliable $6,000 car and knock out those student loans. Ramsey delivered his signature tough love: "Dude, you're 27. You make $100,000 a year. Here's an idea. Stop being broke. Get off your butt and fix this."
The Math, the Behavior, and the Feelings
What ties these two very different situations together is Ramsey and Warshaw's core philosophy: getting your finances right isn't just about running the numbers. "There's an emotional side to personal finance," Ramsey said.
Warshaw spelled it out even more clearly: "You want to change your money, you have to consider three parts: the numbers, your behavior, and your emotions."
In both cases, the callers had the money to avoid debt. Jay had enough to buy a cheaper car. Jesse had more than enough in savings. What they didn't have was the willingness to embrace a less-than-perfect solution in service of long-term financial health. And that's where Ramsey's bicycle-riding comment hits home. Sometimes the best financial decision feels uncomfortable, unglamorous, or just plain annoying. But according to Ramsey, it beats a car payment every single time.