We Just Moved In And Are Already Behind On Rent!

A couple calls into The Ramsey Show Highlights describing their financial distress after a recent move. They have $65,000 in debt, including a $50,000 auto loan on a 2025 Dodge Durango with $1,000 monthly payments, and are behind on rent since February. Their household bills total $3,800 monthly, while the husband's new job brings in $3,600. They also feel obligated to repay their former employer about $2,500 to $3,000 for equipment damage from an on-the-job accident, planning to use half their expected $5,000-$6,000 tax return for it.

Misguided Debt Obligations

The callers believe the husband is personally liable for breaking the employer's equipment while operating it during work. Dave Ramsey challenges this, explaining that employees are not financially responsible for an employer's damaged property— that's the owner's risk in business. Even if the husband feels guilty, which Ramsey calls honorable, paying now is impossible given their situation. No signed agreement exists making him liable, and morally, it's not required. Ramsey compares it to his employee accidentally breaking his computer: the owner absorbs the cost. This obligation is on indefinite hold, as is the rest of their non-essential debt, until basics are covered. The tax refund should prioritize survival needs, not this claim.