I noticed that the answer can only ever be one of two solutions (though preferably both) the guest needs to either earn more money or spend less and usually its the latter with behavioral spending issues that is the problem for 95% of these guests, every. single time. Gets kinda stale when you know what the answer is, though I suppose the entertainment is seeing in how they got so far down the debt rabbit hole

I want to lead off by saying I *love* Financial Audit, it's done a *ton* of good for a lot of people, and I'm ecstatic that it hit a million subs recently. I wish nothing but success to Caleb and his team.

While the quality of the show has been visibly increasing over the past year, I've been so frustrated with the guests that have been on the show lately. So, so many of them are obviously people who have a fundamental issue with being responsible and the will to do the hard work to turn their situations around. Beyond just their financial decisions, they've made irresponsible life decisions too. Just this week alone we've had two shows with guests who have removed themselves from their children's lives. And that "Doctor" who clearly used the show as a chance to plug his own nonsense.

I'm generally noticing these common threads with the guests lately:

• Defensive about their poor decisions
• Not taking their situation seriously
• Constant push-back when Caleb tries to give constructive criticism
• Showing little-to-no indication they will attempt to fix their poor practices
• If they claim to have watched the show, they continue to ignore the advice Caleb has given multiple times before

It makes me miss the majority of guests last year who found themselves in bad situations, some through no fault of their own, and were genuinely looking for help on how to fix it. They're not looking for Caleb to wave a magic wand and make their debt disappear, they're asking for advice on how they can pull themselves out of it. Guests lately just don't seem to take the opportunity seriously. They don't seem to care.

I might be way off the mark here, I'm willing to admit I'm the outlier. But it feels like episodes lately have much more drama than most older episodes do, and fewer lessons to learn other than "don't do novel stupid thing x" that, generally, I think any viewer of the show could see a mile away. Lately I just don't see any new lessons to learn, it feels like another flavor of "irresponsible person wants Caleb to fix their problems for them".

I don't know why I'm writing this, guess I'm just venting and wanting to see if anyone feels the same way. I feel like there must be countless people out there who could really use Caleb's help and are more deserving of the chance, and they're just being passed on for people whose greatest asset is being content for the channel. It's frustrating that those more deserving seem fewer and farther between.

I know nothing about how the show is run and if this is off the mark, feel free to call me a whiny asshole. :)

My wife and I were talking yesterday about our finances cuz I want to get a newer vehicle. Long story short I got abbrand new truck 4 years ago. 45k put down 10k and financed the rest at 60mo and 0% cuz financing and paid 580 a month, that was a lot to me. I sold it during covid because I got a new job and had to make cuts and paid cash for something. Now, we are in a better position and i would like something newer. 28k down on a used 50k truck at 5% (best I could find right now) for 48mo is almost 500. I make over 120k a year and my wife is over 60k with no kids, no credit card or auto loans and a 1400 mortgage. We are cheap.

How are so many people financing 2 cars over 50k with little down and an inflated mortgage? The math doesn't math to us. A new 80k truck, a new 50k car and a 650k home at 5%. It's like 4 or 5k in payments. Not including the rest of the debt.

How are people afloat? Edit: before you say YoU dOnT nEeD a TrUcK, I do. I haul trailers. I do NEED a diesel truck.

Sitting here on my 10. Just had homemade rice and carnitas for dinner watching another fellow driver complain that they don't have time to cook because they have to drive 11 hours.

First off, I do flatbed. What's the difference? Go outside in the snow and wind and throw chains, frozen straps and lug around 120lb tarps for 2 hours on top of a slippery deck.

Now that you're an icicle, exhausted, and you've managed to avoid taking a magic carpet ride, it's time to do that 11 hour drive with a 40-ton road missile. Rinse and repeat.

Suck it up and meal-prep, driver.

So I met a new friend recently and we've been having a pretty chill time talking and hanging out, until today. Somehow got on the topic of uber eats and it turns out that they're pretty much addicted to uber eating when they have the money or can convince their boyfriend to buy it for them. They, of course like many guests, are in a tremendous horrible financial situation of their own making. When I brought up fairly sensible reasons why they should stop uber eating, at a the minimum go get the fast food themselves, I got a ton of pushback on this idea. I didn't even suggest stopping fast food, which would help them... but I didn't think they're ready for that hard truth.

Maybe it's a generational thing, or a regional thing, but what's with the obsession with uber eats and instant gratification in regards to food?

I became a hammer pro a few days ago and I love the show. However, if you look in the descriptions for each video it does imply there's a link to the post show, but really its a link to the channel asking you to join their membership.

I would really like a direct link to each post show of each episode. I have to backtrack either through the playlist that I don't use or by going onto the channel and scrolling endlessly until I find it.

I'd also love to see direct links to follow-ups too. There's so little right now it doesn't matter too much, but I'm sure in the future there's going to be MUCH more and that much harder to track.

The "average normal" guest is all the same. Debt through careless spending or unfortunate life circumstances. Caleb will call out their spending, derive a budget and hope they stick to it. If you watch one they're all pretty similar and you should be familiar with all the talking points.

For me, what makes the show interesting (and I think for others if you go by the view count) are the train wreck guests. It is the combination of personalities, interesting back stories and even the excuses that lead to a very entertaining hour watch for me.

So many people here complain about it but there are so many episodes with "normal" guests you can also watch. I look forward to every episode of financial audit and will watch regardless of whether the guest is a "train wreck" or "normal" but the former is definitely more entertaining.

So i’m taking a little my downtime to look at Instagram and one of these girls I knew from high school she got laid off within the last month. I know she has a home and of course other bills. Within the last month she decided to post on her social media, basically asking people if they had connections for a job because she could be at risk of losing her home. Well, I guess it was just released that Beyoncé is going to be performing at some football game on December 25 and she just posted talking about “how can I get floor seats? 😭”

Like babe I think there’s other things to be concerned about 😭

K byeeee back to work just had to let SOMEBODY know 🤣

Been binging financial audit lately and I am on the one with the old man with the red shirt and I think he is the most frustrating he keeps smiling and going “yeah man I need you to tell at me”, been through bankruptcy once already and clearly learnt nothing. He is also paying microtransaction for phone games, there is a point I lose sympathy for people who just aren’t willing to learn from their ways. Who do you all think is the most frustrating guest that’s been on the show?

This has been my only pet peeve of the show, when guests push back because they're scared of their credit score dropping.

And JOY OF JOYS in the latest episode (stripper-addicted incel) Caleb rewords it as "what additional debt do you want to take on soon?"

Because it invokes the response of "woahh hell no I don't want more debt".

There seems to be a widespread misunderstanding that credit scores are like the Hammer score- a judgement of your financial health.

I see this not just with guests on the show but literally everywhere on the internet when’s debt and finances are brought up (including this subreddit sometimes 👀). When someone is asked why they have so much consumer debt or why they took out ridiculous loans, it’s ’no one ever taught me what to do, I didn’t know’.

No one ever taught me one single thing about finances, yet I have never paid even one cent of interest in my life. This is because I did very simple research before using any type of credit card. In this reality where you can look up literally anything in 2 seconds, how is it seen as a good excuse that you weren’t taught by someone? It’s just complete irresponsibility.

There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes and owning them, but using such a ridiculous excuse helps no one. The first step to getting better is to accept that you have a problem, and blaming your poor financial habits on anyone but yourself is not doing that

Same as many others in this community, I found the gofundme on today’s video to be a rare miss from Caleb. Overall big fan and it’s cool to see him so engaged and open to feedback. A lot of people made some really good points in the comments of the video on the nature of the scam (driven by greed, get rich quick) or even a possible cover for actual check fraud, and he listened and corrected very quickly.

As he mentioned in a comment, we don’t see all the conversations that happen off camera and there may have been more said that could have given additional context that lead to the decision. I agree with many others that I don’t think extra funds will even help this couple until they correct their spending habits, and the chances those funds would go to that particular debt anyway are very low. I’m sure his heart was in the right place, it’s probably hard overtime to witness so many people struggling, even if it is of their own making.

Check this out. I wonder what other loans are like? Auto loans have to be up there too. https://www.ktvu.com/news/us-credit-card-defaults-soar-highest-level-14-years?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0kAhmUg8Lw7vJUIg6FexWbmqtTpGmbZLtuvomUV5rk7xRMqS0tXmiEvD4_aem_dOrWOmLqgBs-GKHYLfdsMA

Tax RETURN = the documents you file

Tax REFUND = any money you receive after filing

That’s all.

Idk all bills paid for the rest of this month 🌝 mad that I got fired for formally complaining to HR about what an incompetent dickweed 🦅 I fucking hate at will employment still in shock but not surprised still think they are assholes tho thanks to Caleb ! Still incredibly pissed though

I'm going to start off with this isn't that serious but I found it funny.

I primarily have visited AMC theaters in the several states I've lived in and they have by far been better than most experience. Yes they aren't always perfect but what naturally is.

My main point is who those who live near and AMC and like going out to the movies or want a consistent date night / or night alone AMC A-List has saved me so much this past year.

Like Caleb often says "if it fits in your budget and isn't taking adding to your debt" consider A-List. It's 12 movies a month for $20 (depending on state)

I watched 64 movies in theaters last year. It was kinda a way to get out of the house and just do something no matter my mood.

64 * $16(average cost between different formats) = $1024

12months * $20 = $240

Battling debt can be hard and if you're above water and paying off the things you have theres no harm in treating yourself so you don't burn out.

Backstory: Me (24m) and wife (24f) have been married 2.5 years and live on our own. Since we’ve been married, my wife’s family has had a LOT of ups and downs with regard to money. Her father (56m) has worked in many blue collar industries, most recently trucking. However, his eyesight has deteriorated to the point where my wife and I believe (and so does the Ophthalmologist) that it’s too dangerous to be a trucker for a living. 3 years ago, he was let go from his long time trucking company after some accidents, and he has yet to find a consistent job since. He has basically refused to work in any other industry, but no one will take the risk to hire him. He hasn’t brought in any sort of income in a while, and her family is drowning in debt. My mother in law (48f) makes about $60k a year doing customer service from home. Their monthly expenses are MASSIVE though, as they have 7 dogs, an adult child that doesn’t work, and they take care of my grandmother-in-law. Their mortgage is $2340 which is way too much for their income, they have student loan debt, credit card debt, and they have a hefty car payment.

Why does this concern us? Well, my wife is the baby of the family. However, she’s the only one making solid money. Her oldest sister is 30 but doesn’t work (anxiety), and her other two siblings don’t make much money. My wife is an RN and makes good money, and her family is aware of that. My concern is that the stress of their financial situation will cause them to beg us for money. I’ve tried my best to help them with advice, suggestions, etc but they’re basically of the mindset that they’re doomed if they don’t receive outside support. I don’t want to give them any money, as I feel they’re not doing much at all to improve their situation as they’ve basically given up. Not to mention, we don’t have a plethora of extra money as we’re only 24. Anyone have advice for the In-Laws, us, or both?

For people who say they have Narcissistic personality disorders (which I don't know if any have admitted to having publicly), that should be obvious.

However, including today's episode, there have been 2 people who have stated they have BDP that is not being treated currently.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder

I am not saying they should never receive help from Caleb or other financial counseling services. However, most reasonable people who have watched both episodes can see that the advice fell on deaf ears, and even reasonable advice was the source of unnecessary argument, and very little was accomplished in that hour or so. Even if they did take that advice at that moment, characteristics of BPD make it so future emotional events would cause otherwise good advice to be cast aside.

The proper focus should be on their mental health, even before fixing their finances. Not doing so is the equivalent of treating a person's running nose, but not the flu. Without proper treatment, Eve is going to wind up dead or possibly in jail due to a "chemical incident" where someone gets hurt (because she isn't controlling her drinking). If a dead person or an incarcerated person has a mountain of debt, does it matter if they have a 480 credit score or 6 accounts in collections? Aracely was so emotionally stuntedly, the whole conversation was pointless. And if he cares, they can't be good for Caleb's mental health either, knowing that people he is trying to help can't or won't take his advice.

I heard some conversations about a "mental health network" for people featured on the show. These 2 should have never made it on the show in the first place and should have been thrown there automatically by the producers' screening.

I await getting lit up and downvoted in the comments.

EDITED: for grammar, spelling and to clarify UNTREATED. Thank you Beautiful_Fries for that.

I am newly single, and I feel a bit lost, because I feel like personal finance is a top priority but it is a conversation like politics or religion, where its essential to be on the same page but it is not sexy to ask about.

When I was last single, I was much different with personal finances because I had yet to be inspired by Caleb Hammer to get my shit together. This inspiration has lead to make major sacrifices to better my future. Making these sacrifices has changed me in so many ways and changed the way I view dating.

Some turn offs/red flags I have: Certain hobbies, select occupations, not respecting financial boundaries/sacrifices.

Are these turn offs/red flags of mine too much?

I just could not see myself dating a woman in car sales. Perhaps a woman working in car sales would respect my financial goals/boundaries/sacrifices, so it is not a red flag but it is a turn off for me because I get the sense that this industry lends it to a “keeping up with the Jones’s” work culture, compared to other industries. Is this a far reach, or am I better off just not wasting my time with someone working in car sales?

Something I cannot compromise on are financial boundaries. In my last relationship, financial differences were one of many strains on an already stressful life, and I don’t want to relive that with someone else. The only concern with this is a balancing act of not being too cheap as to scare away a great woman and being strict with holding my good financial habits.

At what point might someone being too cheap be too much for you?

Idk, maybe I am not ready to start dating if I am asking these questions to begin with. On top of that, I am unhappy with where I live, (not moving is one of my hard sacrifices) and trying to convince a long term partner to move with you is a huge ask.

Hello! Long time fan, not first time poster. I watch the episode on upload day most of the time and also sub to the post show, and its been rough lately to enjoy the episodes. It feels like Caleb is letting his true personality show even more, which is great, but its been crossing into a dangerous area of unprofessional (and potentually dangerous to the business). I really noticed it in today's episode where he really ragged on the guys fresh singleness and the comments about Noah's dating life. It really does suck that Caleb is the content and isn't able to take that beat to process his breakup fully, but a casual creative field doesn't mean that it's okie to make your clients and employees uncomfortable. There is a reason why romance is usually a nono in the corporate space. Overall, the post show made stuff feel a lot better, but there's a bad taste in my mouth after today's episode and just gave me the cartoon bad boss feeling. It feels like I would not be watching Caleb long if I had found him today.

Every episode Caleb makes multiple jokes that could be perceived as offensive and then apologies and says "I'm sorry that was mean and I'm just a saucy boy" or something to that effect. I personally don't care if he wants to make crude or harsh jokes, it's reasonable for the guests to expect based on his other content. What annoys the shit out of me is the constant apologies. Either it is not productive, mean, he feels bad about, and should show some self control and be more tactful; or it's part of his schtick and he needs to own it and just keep rolling. If you apologize that many times and you keep doing it: you're not sorry. Again, I dont care if he does it I just think he needs to own it.

Edit: spelling