“Live like no one else so that you can live and give later like no one else”

Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey gave some tough advice on The Ramsey Show A woman and her husband live paycheck to paycheck and yet earn $11,500 a month. Here’s the advice Ramsey gave the couple.

Alyssa called the financial expert for advice because she and her husband were worried about their finances. Alyssa tells Ramsey that she remarried and together as a couple they make $11,500 a month, but they are not able to contribute to their retirement and only have about $3,000 in savings.

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The couple’s combined salary comes to $140,000 a year, which is much higher than the average annual salary in the United States. For example, USA Today reported that the U.S. Bureau of Labor released findings that the average American makes $59,384. Even though that amount has doubled, Alyssa and her husband make much more. So why are they living paycheck to paycheck? That’s what Ramsey wants to know.

He starts by finding out how much debt the couple has, and Alyssa reveals that they have $138,000 in debt together, $90,000 of which is from Alyssa’s studies to become a mental health therapist. Her husband has the remaining $40,000 from his college education, even though he didn’t want to go. But that’s not all. They still owe another $60,000 for car payments and a mortgage that still has $240,000 to pay off. So the total debt is over $130,000.

Ramsey’s co-host and money expert George Kamel asks Alyssa how quickly they can pay off this debt. He asks if they can put up to $5,000 a month toward the smallest debt. Alyssa’s hesitant sigh worries Kamel, and he asks what’s stopping her from paying off her debt.

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Alyssa’s fear of owing $5,000 a month to pay off her debts is driven by a desire to ensure her daughter has enough money. Since Alyssa is self-employed and her husband works in construction, she reveals that she worries about “catastrophic spending.” But that’s not what Ramsey was worried about as he listened to her talk.

He says, “You know what I’m worried about?” and tells her some hard truths: “You make $130,000 a year and you’re flat broke. That’s what I’m worried about.” Ramsey points out that they’re living a lifestyle they can’t afford, and that’s what he must be worried about.

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“You have an absolutely stupid lifestyle, and it has nothing to do with a nine-year-old,” Ramsey said. Alyssa told the two financial experts that the money she needed for her daughter was for “just in case,” an emergency savings fund. But Ramsey wasn’t buying it, explaining, “But you’re not doing anything about it. You have $3,000.” He…