‘I was in a really bad situation’: This personal finance YouTuber regularly slams his guests for their bad money habits — here's why he says he airs their dirty laundry out in public

When he was a student, Hammer probably would have made the cut as a guest on Financial Audit himself. “I was in a really bad situation,” he said in an interview with Business Insider. He had racked up some serious debt, including car and credit card debt. Plus, he’d taken out a $15,000 private student loan with “massive interest.”

Despite this, he managed to dig himself out of debt by devouring content from finance personalities like Dave Ramsey and Graham Stephan, learning everything he could about personal finance. After getting a commission-based job, he “grinded and grinded” until he paid off his debt. Then he turned to investing.

Now, Hammer has built up a significant online following, and uses his platform to try to help others in similar situations — even if his advice is often hard for his guests to hear (there have been tears).

A ‘tough love’ approach

In each episode, Hammer delves into his guest’s finances in great detail. Guests sometimes get defensive or make justifications, but Hammer has no patience for that.

In one episode of Financial Audit, his guest, Brent, reveals that he has no steady job and no savings. He even relies on his parents to pay rent — and he’s 41 years old. Yet, he refuses to accept work that’s “beneath him.”

Hammer’s response? “You’re being a baby.”

In another episode, his guest, Aleena, says she needs her Toyota RAV4 — at $718 a month — because driving in the snow makes her anxious.

Hammer responds with: “Justification, justification, justification!” (The episode itself is titled “31-Year-Old Immature Woman Refuses To Take Responsibility.”)

Despite this often entertaining (and uncomfortable) banter, Hammer tells Business Insider that he’s doing it so people understand just how much trouble they could be in. But he also acknowledges the fact that it takes courage for guests to air their dirty (financial) laundry on air, especially because those conversations can get deeply personal.

“When people get locked in that situation, it’s not even the debt necessarily that’s completely holding them back. It’s just that mental state.”