A 20-year-old recently came on the financial and budgeting podcast “Financial Audit” to discuss his many debts, including a $64,000 Ford Mustang payment plan that host Caleb Hammer termed “objectively stupid.” Carlos, who resides in Texas, approached Hammer for budgeting help after incurring debt.
He stated that he worked in security at a soccer stadium, earning around $2,000 per month and that he also contracted as a DoorDash driver, earning approximately $1,000 per month. He said that his salary was almost entirely disposable, that his mother paid all of his taxes, and that he lived rent-free with his father.
Carlos stated that he wanted to be a Twitch streamer but gave up since he wasn’t generating any money. He also mentioned a big pile of family funds, $100,000 in cash and $400,000 for a future home, but stated his mum wouldn’t let him have access to it until he grew more financially responsible.
Carlos had no major credit card bills and roughly $2,000 in personal funds. However, he stated that he was spending half of his income, $1,245 on his electric car, a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. He stated that it was his second car, which he bought on credit. He had paid off his first one completely, but “it wasn’t meeting what I needed it to do,” he explained.
He stated that the current sum was $64,000 and that the interest rate was 12% for 72 months. “Why did you do that?” Hammer asked Carlos. “That’s objectively stupid,” Carlos stated that he intended to pay it off, with $1,245 deducted from his account each month.
“Dude, that’s stupid,” Hammer told him. “That’s almost half your income.” Carlos, according to Hammer, should spend his money on a house or investments rather than on an expensive car. He was inclined to shout at Carlos because of “how horribly stupid, dangerous, and risky” the car-payment scheme was.
Carlos suggested selling his second car, which he estimated was worth $42,000, and saving the extra money to pay off the loan total sooner than the 6-year term. He also stated that he expected to get $100,000 from his mother, which he claimed came from his grandfather’s sale of his firm for “hundreds of millions” of dollars.
Hammer advised Carlos to use his inheritance to pay off the car and then invest the remaining $40,000. “Just don’t go fuck around with this money when you get it,” he said.
He also advised Carlos to buy a $350,000 starter house and pay cash. He said that in a decade, he would be able to buy a much finer home. “Just don’t rush all these things,” he said.