When Four Jobs Still Isn't Enough

Here's a depressing math problem: What do you get when you add one full-time job plus three side gigs in New York City? If you're Beau, a father of four, the answer is $120,000 a year and absolutely nothing left over.

Beau recently called into "The Ramsey Show" feeling overwhelmed by holiday stress as he and his wife try to dig out of debt while still providing for their children, ages 7, 10, 11 and 15. Despite his hustle, they're living paycheck to paycheck. His main gig is managing a small grocery store—the same one he used to own before selling it last year to pay down business debt. To keep the lights on, he also picks up shifts with Amazon and works catering gigs.

The family is drowning in roughly $123,000 of debt: $40,000 left over from the business, around $30,000 in student loans between him and his wife, $35,000 on credit cards, and $13,000 on a 2018 Toyota 4Runner. Oh, and Beau bought a used Silverado with cash that apparently spends more time getting repaired than actually running.

Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey didn't mince words. "Something's got to change, dude," he said. "You've got no emotion left in your gas tank. I'm talking to a guy who can't even form a sentence cause you're completely exhausted."

Beau admitted he's mentally and emotionally drained. Ramsey could tell. "You're carrying all of this. You're the plates-spinning-est dude I've talked to in I don't know when," Ramsey said. "These plates are crashing all around you, and you're scared to death."

The Real Problem Isn't the Jobs

Ramsey identified what he sees as the core issue: location. "You live in one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in," he said. "And you can't afford to live there, can you?"

Beau explained they're paying just $2,000 for a basement apartment in a desirable neighborhood—which honestly sounds like a miracle in NYC. But he said moving isn't an option right now because of custody issues involving his oldest child.

Still, Ramsey pushed him to consider every possible change—switching careers, asking his wife to find work outside the home even temporarily. She currently homeschools their four kids, which adds another layer of complexity.

"You're going to blow a gasket. Something's going to blow up in your marriage," Ramsey warned. "You're stuck, stuck, stuck, stuck, stuck, and just start yelling at the stuck and say, 'No, I'm throwing dynamite on your butt.'"

Co-host Jade Warshaw agreed that Beau needs a fresh start, particularly a new job that isn't emotionally tied to his failed business. "You need a new job, and you need to not have four jobs because you've been doing that for too long."

It's a brutal situation with no easy answers. Beau is doing everything the conventional wisdom says you should do—working multiple jobs, trying to pay down debt, supporting his family. But when you're in one of the world's priciest cities with six people depending on that income, sometimes working harder just isn't enough.

"Bust up into it, Beau," Ramsey told him. "You're better than you feel like you are."