Smart Financial Decisions Beat Big Risks

Dan called in from Charlotte worried about his 35-year-old son, who was back in debt after Dan had already paid off $7,000 to $8,000 of his obligations. Now the son had accumulated over $10,000 in new debt, crashed his car doing deliveries without collision insurance, and was living in a commercial space not zoned for residential use. Dan had tried to help with budgeting and rent, but the pattern kept repeating. "You can use money to help him survive," George Campbell told him. "Your money cannot help him thrive." The core issue wasn't money at all—it was untreated depression and anxiety, possibly compounded by traits that sounded like they could be on the autism spectrum. The son had no health insurance and had stopped therapy sessions he had to pay for himself. Jade Warshaw and George both stressed that until his health and career structure were addressed, any money Dan sent would just be funding the next crisis. The advice was direct: put money directly toward rent or therapy rather than handing it over, and encourage a job with structure—somewhere requiring him to show up at 8 a.m.—rather than DoorDash, where he could skip work whenever he felt overwhelmed.

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