This man from Toronto, Canada feels broke making $73,000 a year — his wife recently left him and he has an 18-month-old child. Here's what Dave Ramsey told him

“If you’re spending time eating out because you’re lonely or you’re spending time doing whatever that costs money because you're lonely, make sure you recognize that and you’re writing it down,” he told Elliot. “I mean you're going through a heartbreak right now. This is a hard time emotionally and that hard time will show up in the money if you don't get on the other side of it and crack the whip on it.”

Breakups often lead to changes in housing expenditures and child care expenses, if applicable, that must be taken into account. But it’s also common for consumers to spend when they’re feeling blue. In a survey commissioned by LendingTree, 69% of Americans shared that emotions have influenced their spending habits, while 76% of emotional spenders admitted it has led to overspending. Among all consumers, nearly half say they’ve made purchases in an attempt to improve their mood.

Elliot didn’t confirm or deny that he’s overspent due to his emotional state, but he did admit he may not be very attentive of his spending throughout the month. Ramsey recommended a proactive approach by planning for every dollar spent before the month starts and tracking spending as time goes on.

“The only way to make the money behave is, before the month starts, write every dollar down and where it’s going to go,” he advised. “You’re in charge of it, but you need to tell it what to do.”