Jan 30, 2026
A 24-year-old caller to The Ramsey Show got a lot more than he bargained for when he revealed the story of how much he owed on his car loan (1).
Noel from San Antonio, Texas, called in to ask if his financial situation was fit for buying a home. But the conversation took a sharp turn once he mentioned his car payment was $1,200 a month.
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Dave Ramsey and co-host Rachel Cruze immediately told him he shouldn’t buy a house unless he paid off the car or sold it. The duo followed up by asking questions about the auto loan, and that’s when things started to get heated.
Noel, who makes $60,000 a year, revealed that he owes $80,000 on the loan.
“Let me, as kindly as I possibly can, say: that’s insanity,” Ramsey said in a clip posted Jan 14.
Noel agreed, saying he did not want to get the car, but that his parents “basically forced” him to get the car because his previous car was having a lot of problems.
“You have a lot of excuses is what you have,” Ramsey said. “You’re a 24-year-old man. Your parents don’t force you to do anything.”
Cruze agreed that Noel’s language was shifting the blame. Then she questioned how he even got such a loan at his salary.
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That’s when Noel revealed that to get the loan, he traded in his previous car, which he was about $30,000 underwater on, and his grandmother had cosigned the loan. By cosigning the loan, she has a shared legal responsibility to repay the debt.
“You have an extreme car crisis on your hands, and your grandmother is at risk,” Ramsey said. “I’m very afraid for her right now.”
Ramsey suggested that Noel put his dreams of owning a home on hold while he works hard to aggressively pay off the auto loan.
When family pressure adds up to debt
Noel’s situation is the result of several factors. While he got himself into debt with the first vehicle, the decision to turn around and add to that debt — and to get Noel’s grandmother on the hook by cosigning — was the result of family pressure.
Ramsey was incensed by the end of the call, speaking not just to Noel, but to his listeners, about families pressuring their adult children into going into debt.
“Attention grandmothers, 100% of the time you cosign, you’re stupid,” Ramsey said. He noted that cosigning a loan puts you at risk, while trapping someone who may not be financially responsible — there’s a reason you were asked to cosign — into a loan they will struggle to pay.
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“Parents, quit telling people to buy crap they can’t afford ’cause your grandbabies are riding in it. Unless you’re writing a freaking check, shut up!” Ramsey continued. He also admonished “crackhead” lenders who use predatory tactics to loan money to the financially vulnerable.
Nobody was spared from Ramsey’s vitriol. He noted all of the players in Noel’s story were “adults” who “made decisions” that led to this situation.
“This is the problem: you guys get victimized by these stinking car companies,” Ramsey exclaimed. “Quit lining up like sheep to the slaughter.”
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Setting financial boundaries with family
A growing number of Americans are taking out longer car loans. Loans with terms of 84 months or longer made up 20.8% of financed new-car purchases in the last quarter of 2025, compared to 17.9% in the last quarter of 2024, according to Edmunds (2). Longer loan terms mean paying more in interest — which can add up to thousands of dollars over the term of a loan.
The auto research firm also found that in the last quarter of 2025, a record 20.3% of financed new-car buyers committed to monthly payments of $1,000 or more.
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This staggering data indicates that Noel may not be alone in his strife.
If you find yourself being pressured by family members to take on debt to afford a new vehicle, it can be hard to set a boundary. Especially if, like Ramsey said, it’s parents or grandparents insisting that your car isn’t good enough to transport their grandchildren.
Having a frank discussion with family about your finances can feel scary, but letting your family know what your financial situation is could help ease the tension.
If you need a new vehicle, but you don’t want to sign on for a long lease with high interest costs, research what the most reliable and affordable used vehicle would be in your budget. Look up the safety ratings of prospective vehicles so you can show your concerned family members that what you’re buying will be safe and reliable for your family.
And beware an offer to cosign — what seems like a gift can actually be a curse, trapping you in a cycle of debt, and payments that you can’t afford.
Article sources
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The Ramsey Show Highlights (1); Edmunds (2)
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
