We Make $200,000 And We’re Still Broke

My husband and I are both 50. We have a combined gross income of $200k, net $161k. We did not pay taxes in 2023. He owns his own business, an HVAC business, and with the accounting, we found out last October for 2024, which filed late, was $47,000 that we owed. Well, now, because we didn't find out so super late, we now did not get to correct anything for 2025, and so we owe an additional $25,000 for 2025. We also have combined current consumer debt, which, again, I am not real proud of this by any stretch, but it's about $137k. What is that, Jessica? What does that consist of, the $137k? Oh, the good stuff. It consists of credit cards, some small side loans to try to eventually re-buy, but then didn't necessarily re-buy, but then also, after we purchased our house in 2023, we had a really bad septic issue and had to replace that and our drain filled, which cost us $50k. All that. And so you took a loan out for the whole $50k? We sure did. Okay. Yeah. Can I ask a stupid question on behalf of America? Sure, maybe not. Well, for a couple that's making $13,400 a month in take-home pay, why were you turning to debt at every corner? Where was all that money going? I think, well, stupid. It was just all stupid. You're 100% right. We weren't making that at the time. That's just where we're at now. This is newer incomes. You guys have made more money over time and have probably spent it all, as most people do, as soon as they get a raise, they go, sweet, more money for us to make more bad decisions with. Right. We jumped on that bad decision train, absolutely. And again, not proud of that by any stretch. Well, that's normal, Jessica. You're not alone in this. And I think there's hope here. You have $137,000 in loans that cross consumer debts. You have another, let's call it $75,000 owed to the IRS. So it's a little over $200,000 that you guys have, right? Correct. That's the total mess to clean up. And that doesn't include your mortgage. How much of that is your mortgage? Our mortgage is $4,150 a month. Anyway, that's a monthly. So our mortgage is not even included in that. And so our mortgage is $575,000 total. Okay. That's what's left on that. Okay. Well, the good news is you guys have an incredible income. The bad news is you're going to- We also don't have any retirement either at 50 years old. Yeah. That's okay. We'll make up for that later. You guys are going to be working probably longer than you wanted to. But if you can keep making $200,000, this is a solvable problem. On napkin math, you go, all right, $50,000 a year. We're done in four years. George here. Look, your phone bill should fit your budget. Not the other way around. Enter Boost Mobile. Their low rates mean you can unlock up to $600 in savings over the so-called big carriers. So bring your phone, keep your number, and pay just $25 a month forever on their unlimited plan. Guys, stop paying more just because you always have. Head to BoostMobile.com slash Ramsey to make the switch today. Based on average annual payment of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile unlimited plan as of January 2026. See website for full details. $50,000 a year. We're done in four years. Yeah, if you guys can find a way, and I just took what you bring home a month minus the mortgage, you should have around $11,000-ish left. And if you guys can throw $6,000 a month at this debt, Jessica, which means you live on nothing. Your grocery budget's like $200 a week, if that. We are doing nothing but paying this off. Yeah, and if you can- That's under three years. Yeah, if you can be intense for three, three and a half years, you guys could get out of this. And that doesn't even include selling stuff, right? Or working extra or whatever that is. I mean, there's stuff in here that you can move. It's going to be a couple of years of grinding it out. I may or may not be wanting to cry right now because that makes me real excited because we're both on the same page. We both want to tackle this and- Are you guys both working full-time, Jessica? Are y'all both full-time? Yes, we are. Okay, and kids? Do you have kids? No, not how we do. Not in the home, though. Okay, so that's a good- I mean, honestly, that's great. And if you guys- Less mouths to feed. Yeah, and it takes a level of even a step of humility at 50 years old after two great careers to say, hey, we're going to go work nights. And you and your husband just handshake and say, all right, I'll see you at 9 p.m. tonight because we're going to leave at 5 p.m. our jobs. We're going to go work somewhere for four hours and we're going to come home. And that's going to be an extra $1,500, $2,000 a month that's added to this that shortens it. You know what I mean? Like you start to see a path out. It's just going to be hard, Jessica. I mean, but I think you guys are at it. I mean, even as you're explaining coming onto the call, how you're feeling, like the emotions are just right there. They're right there, which actually is a good thing because you're actually feeling something. And that's going to help in the motivation of it all. It really will. What was going to be your next step if you hadn't called? Well, I mean, obviously looking at the debt consolidation, just literally, I mean, we've already talked because we're like, all right, we got to get these baby steps started. We've already drawn out our spreadsheet, living that life. And then, yeah, calling debt consolidated, what can we do to shorten this pain that we both are anxious about? And neither of us like it. It's very weighty. And we've got kids that are getting married and all the things. And so it's just, you feel real handicapped in your abilities to really be progressively moving forward and trying to even bless them with helping to pay for all this. And so we don't like feeling this pressure either. And so we're definitely to that point of just being super overwhelmed. Well, I want to free you of feeling the obligation that you need to pay for everything or else you're a bad mom. I think you guys are incredible. The fact they're even struggling with this tells me how much you care about these kids and your family. And so here's the truth. You can't cover a wedding right now. You can't bless them with some outrageous gift. But the best thing you can do is clean up your own financial mess so that they don't have to take care of you later on in life. That's the true burden to worry about. And maybe later on down the road, you do get to bless them with an amazing gift six years from now. Yes, that would be awesome. So can we say we're doing this in three years, that you'll call us back and do a debt-free scream? Oh my gosh, I would love to. Well, here it is. Yes, absolutely. You spit shake with your husband. $6,000 a month is going toward this debt. The IRS debt comes first because they will screw up your life. So let's make sure that we cover that, then attack all of the other debts, sell everything we can. Do y'all have anything to sell, Jessica? Do you have like a four-wheeler, an extra car? I mean, I don't even know. No extra vehicle, but we do have a camp trailer. That's one of the things my husband has said. Let's try to get rid of it and sell it. Even talked about selling the house, to be honest. Not sure that there, I mean, there's maybe 120, 20, you know, 150 maybe in there. That's like your last ditch effort. That's like, we're on the verge of bankruptcy. We're gonna have to sell the house, but I wouldn't do that. You guys have an amazing income and we are rooting for you. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.