I’m sorry but the Caleb section is done so poorly seems like you only watched the clips of his videos and not the full version. especially at 16:09 if you watch the full episode the guest would not let him speak at all which is why he was getting frustrated hence this clip. It’s ironic to discuss click bait yet at the same time you are a victim of click bait lol
Then she’s literally dumb, even on the transgender person part. That guest made a hellava lot of money which is why Caleb was questioning her as to why she would use her emergency fund money to pay for her medical stuff.
Caleb has a lot of guests who are genuinely delusional about the situation they're in. I saw a video with a woman who wouldn't pay her bills and prioritized vacations instead (thousands of dollars)- THAT is irresponsible in my opinion. But, I also saw this video with Erin and it made me upset for her bc she's right. Small pleasures shouldn't be a pipe dream, we should be able to enjoy Spotify or Netflix. When someone comes to you for help in earnest, don't berate them.
Coming from my personal experience, I felt like Caleb's audits really helped me understand that I had a major spending problem. His audits are exactly that, audits. He isn't giving financial advice because that's not the point of the show. However, he does set them up with a financial advisor for free as well as gifting them tools which teach them how to create their own budget. In many of his videos, he does give an allowance for "treats" which subscriptions like Spotify can go into. The whole "treat" argument actually reminds me of when I was a kid and really wanted some toy and my parents would usually tell me no, but sometimes they would let me get it. Being an adult is partially about parenting yourself and realizing that no, you can't always get what you want when you want it, but that doesn't mean you can never have it.
he doesn’t do financial advisor for free anymore. Also watching really financial advisor on TH-cam would have giving you the same message if not better.
@@mb3938maybe so, but his content is better at drawing in new people- lower quality financial "advice"/education is better than none at all. I think his reach/content is better for at least getting more people started on the track of fixing their finances, rather than a financial advisor (still very useful though!!)
@@mb3938he does still do financial advisors for GUESTS of his show for free and there’s an initial consultation provided free of charge for anyone who uses his link. An initial consultation with advisors is a great first step to opening one’s eyes on the reality of their situation. Are all sessions with a financial advisor funded by Caleb and his team? No. But it’s how growing up works, taking responsibility and control of one’s own finances is critical for success.
Exactly! She's seen 2 videos of him. I think she needs to really look at his show because most of these people say they can't afford things but really small purchases add up to what their debt is (pr more). His show is a wake up call that most people don't want to hear
I've been subscribed to Caleb since February 2023. His videos motivated me to pay off my debt quickly. I had roughly $15,000 of credit card debt and now I'm almost debt free (I have about $1500 remaining). However, I really appreciate this video and your perspective. I've put myself through so much stress and mental exhaustion living solely off my necessities and putting everything else towards debt. I haven't given myself any room for fun activities, hobbies, etc. I feel guilty anytime I want to take myself out to eat. I didn't realize how much of a toll it's taken on me until recently. This video made me realize that enjoying life isn't a crime and what I'm doing isn't sustainable. I can still pay off debt but leave some room for the things I enjoy. Thank you so much.
You’ve made incredible progress, you should be proud!! But yes I hope you can relax a little more now and let yourself enjoy some treats without guilt!
Wow that’s amazing work! I hope you feel so proud of yourself! And yeah, focusing so much on one thing and cutting joy out of your life can make it hard to relax the reigns and/or relax the reigns without losing control. I just finished a degree and residency and through it all I avoided reading for pleasure because I tend to do that at the expense of everything else. Now that I am able to relax again I find it hard to do so without feeling guilty. I hope you have better luck than me (I haven’t given up, just accepted that it will take time).
I was the same way until I met my fiance & he told me about how his grandparents were obsessed with having money for retirement so they were often living away from each other for work & then they finally could retire & the grandpa died a year in. It really opened my eyes that living now is better (obvi not overdoing it but it’s ok to splurge!)
@@Funkyfreak1girl Neither extreme is good, these predatory companies intentionally want you to get into debt. They are not our friends. Live your life but don't use debt to do it. Reward yourself by going to the park, engaging in local events and fairs, these companies WANT us to have fomo and spend thousands on superficial items.
Caleb’s content makes a lot more sense when you watch the full TH-cam videos rather than the shorts. A lot of his guests spend more on eating out or random shit than anything else, they go to him for help getting out of debt and they don’t realise where their money is going. He’ll show pie charts of their spending categories and then build them a budget.
@@zharak843okay I don’t like his videos anymore because of the meanness but he does mention mental health and societal factors. There are plenty of things about him to complain about and that is not one of them.
@@zharak843 that’s not what happens… He’s talked to plenty of people that struggled with addiction or mental health and told them we’re not going to get anywhere with you in this state and you should take these steps for now. Offered people help with therapy and showed genuine concern. You’d know that if you’ve seen videos completely. Like I said there’s plenty to criticize him for, but this isn’t one of them.
The issue is that the small things add up. If you watch his audits, most people are spending 30-40% of their income eating out and "treating" themselves when they have high fixed costs.
I agree with this but I think that randomly pinpointing one element like spotify does nothing much. it would make more sense to categorize expenses and build down the feeling of need to spend on those categories in case we are talking about non-necessities. or create a weekly budget per category to slow down spending and create a structure so money isn’t just flowing through their fingers. I’ve had a spotify subscription for 5 years now, it makes sense and it’s worth it. working around it should be posible.
@@shizuevoltam I don't think I've ever seen a guest of his be willing to sacrifice *anything* in their lives though. So many of his guests have extra cars or motorcycles that they refuse to sell. Or they are committed to declaring bankruptcy rather than trying to fix the problem, or refuse to get a second job. When you watch so many episodes and you witness the same denial of responsibility over and over, it's hard to not get frustrated when they won't even consider canceling some of their subscriptions.
@BobbyMack the worst is when they say theyre a fan. Like do you or do you not ACTUALLY watch his content 😭 if you do then why r u so surprised that u need to make sacrifices
This is very true. Tiff is very much on the money that he leans into rage bait, he generally latches onto random things, will exaggerate problems over simple misunderstandings, and take an attitude that tries to get guests to fire back. He’s also completely correct about his financial advice 99% of the time. There are a lot of videos where the guest is getting a generous rent situation or has above 100k/year income and is genuinely spending 30%-50% of their income on Uber eats. You will also hear some people say incredibly delusional things about how money works and get extremely defensive about bad spending habits without provocation.
Ok, I'm all for Caleb criticism, but one thing I'll say to clarify: (That I wish *HE* would make a better point to clarify) is that when he's rattling off all the random small expenses, often times his point is that they are making those purchases on a credit card that is already past its limit and is carrying a balance/acrewing interest. In that case, any purchase made specifically ON THAT CARD better be extremely justifyable, otherwise its very financially stupid because it is unnecessarily contributing to a growing snowball of debt. But that nuance is completely lost in translation with how Caleb presents his content, which I would argue is due to irresponsibility on Caleb's part.
Came here to say this. Maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but for me when I look at my statements and I see a bunch of small transactions I know u bought some bs that I'll forget about in a month. A lot of the people on the show can't remember what these purchases are
I was thinking the same thing. Also all that stuff adds up. They’ll be complaining about not being able to pay their bills but they put $200+ of eating out on their credit card??? Nah bro that’s a reality check some ppl need. Can’t spend money that you just don’t have period.
im glad more people are talking about Caleb, dudes such a hypocrite. Can insult his guest all he wants and as soon as someone calls him out he bans them from his subreddit
I also can't stand his audience on youtube shorts. Anytime a trans person is on they keep getting called delusional, "lifestyle" and all that and I DO NOT see any content from him not condoning, calling out or moderating his comments. It's always so VILE and from what I can see there are no mitigation on his end.
This is the comment I was looking for! Hard agree. I enjoy listening to others' situations, but he being on the other end makes it difficult to watch an entire episode.
I noticed that his thumbnails would be super sexist with how he portrays his guests, He claims that his guests consented to that, but are they really truly consenting to that kind of disrespect?
Some of Caleb's episodes are helpful. So many people are terrified of even looking at their finances, many guests don't even know how much they spend (one woman guessed 2k/month when her real expenses were 8k) and think just because life's hard that they don't have another option but to live in perpetual debt. The episodes where Caleb does the math and shows them they can be debt free in X amount of months if they just temporarily sacrifice immediate pleasure for long-term rewards are great imo, if I was in their situation that'd give me so much hope. That being said, those episodes where the guests are so stubborn that they just yell all the time amd never even reach the budgeting part are so frustrating they're not even fun.
Also many guest claim they watched show before, but sometimes guests do not even know how much they earn in a month. Which is in the first 2 mins of each video
Oh gosh, I dunno if I can get through this video without blowing my gasket. I work at a credit union, and through that work I do a lot with financial education (financial well-being for all) and advocacy on a state and national level. There are SO SO SO many systemic issues that have led to where we are as a country. We've completely failed to educate people how to navigate our systems because our systems are already so fucked up. Good on you for trying to wade into this fire without developing high blood pressure.
@@lesauberginesYep, sure have. Pretty sure I haven’t unsubscribed from him either. He’s a condescending jerk. Are there absolutely out-of-control cases? Sure (I see a blonde lady with a hat who was a lifestyle coach or something in my mind-I wanted to throttle her), but he’s a self-righteous know-it-all with not enough empathy to be advising anyone. And empathy is important. I’m a divorce attorney. I’m constantly working with clients on how to make ends meet with reduced incomes. It’s hyper-anxiety inducing, and being berated is the last thing they need.
@@TheRonnieaj I absolutely agree that empathy is important. Budgeting isn't just numbers added together. It's numbers plus human psychology. Also on a personal note, I don't believe in complete deprivation during the debt payoff step. Honestly what's the point of living (sorry got a little dark, but truly).
Last year I looked at my spending and was surprised that I really didn't have much to cut. I don't drink, go out to clubs, go on vacations, I barely ever buy new clothes. Really the only thing I treat myself to is restaurant food or snacks from the corner store. But even then, that was only around $150 a month. Then I got hit with multiple surprise car expenses back to back that added up to $3000 over 3 months. Yeah mathematically the smart thing to do is just always be frugal but realizing that a year+ of frugality can be wiped out in a single bill leaves you wondering what would be the point. So I try not to beat myself up over my spending a bit here and there over the one thing I allow myself.
If you do a year of frugality to build up an emergency fund that gets wiped out by an unexpected car expense, that doesn't make the frugality pointless. That means you avoided paying that expense with debt that might take multiple years of frugality to pay back.
And that’s why you will die poor. Because instead of going out and getting after it and trying to change your life for the better, you just accept that it’s not your fault and there is nothing you can really do about it.
@@Tj_McQueen my personal experience (only debt being mortgage and grad school loans) today’s world is really hard to go the extra mile and see actual results. I’ve been applying for new jobs because my current one doesn’t pay enough for how expensive basic essentials are and no luck over 9 months so far, I’ve done craft shows/online sales to boost (not even breaking even because people are trying to spend less), attempted selling things on FB marketplace with only $5 here or there. Luckily I cat-sit over the holidays and that held me over until I got my check today. My husband and I genuinely decided we can’t afford to have kids so at least that will save us some money in the long run but it’s been awful for my mental health these past few months especially
I really loved Caleb, when he first started. Before the yelling. He had a guest that showed up drunk. He shower compassion to him. He gave him the option to not air the episode.
The Spotify charge is so insane. You should use budgeting like a diet. Fully restrictive diets have poor results. Completely cutting off any food someone might like that they deem a “treat” will make it more likely for them to eventually binge and have a bad relationship with food. That one slice of cake becomes all consuming and they lose any ability to learn healthy habits. Moderation is key. Having a cheap treat ($10 a month for Spotify) being in their monthly budget means they learn how to well budget a treat. They understand it’s not necessary, but it’s a treat and we can pay for those when we budget for them.
Exactly! He is preaching the restrictive diet! It is what I have been thinking for about a year and I don't understand how people are not seeing it. Thank you so much for your comment, I feel less crazy now.
One thing in particular that I dislike about Caleb and his fans is Caleb always says "no one in the comments should make fun of my guest. I only do it because we have a friendly raport outside of the show and they sign a waiver basically saying I can yell at them for entertainment purposes and they're here getting help and you're not...so mleh" But then he doesnt censor or prohibit guest mockery in the comments on ANY platform, whereas comments directed at him are almost instantly modded out. Any and all negative feedback about his 100$ budgeting course and 100$ investing course are removed on every platform, too. If you see a negative comment about Caleb or his show on any of his pages, it just hasnt been deleted yet. Thats why I'm so vocal in your comments right now... Caleb cant censor his critics here. You deserve the views and comments more than he does.
@@engyolyonline4208Yup how people let him know that BetterHelp wasn’t a good organization and he said “well I had a good experience w them”. Of course you had a good experience w them they’re trying to work w u so u can promote them to your audience. Then, found out himself they weren’t good and I believe dropped working w them
What negative stuff about his courses? I sometimes watched his videos and I'm curious what might be bad with them, he seems like an earnest (if condescending and intense) guy
I remember seeing clips when amouranth went on his channel, and the amount of sexist, anti-simp, anti-sex worker comments was infuriating. And fuck Caleb for not even pinning a note saying it wasn’t acceptable. He made so much money off of having her as a guest only to let people leave hate comments for her just to get more engagement.
I think the thing that’s missing here isn’t that he’s shaming the small things - it’s that they can’t afford it. There have also been episodes where someone is blowing all their money on door dash but they can afford it no problem. So he doesn’t get mad, not one bit. The whole point is to bring the fact that people are choosing convenience over financial priorities and goals that they themselves have.
There's a mixture of issues happening here. 1.) Caleb Hammer (I believe) originally had good intentions with wanting to save people from their own bad financial decisions and guide them to get out of debt because it is incredibly frustrating and easy to feel hopeless. 2.) People ARE living above their means, and live with high fixed costs to chase the American dream BUT nobody has informed us that the American dream is dead. It's okay to not own a home, or to live with roommates, or to live in a 1 bed room apartment, or with your parents. These debts 99.9% of the time are from high fixed costs trying to chase a lifestyle that is far outside of their means. In summary, enjoy your coffee, enjoy your Spotify, go on vacation BUT when you make long term financial decisions like renting an apartment, buying a car, taking a loan out etc etc,, think about how much it will actually cost you and what sacrifices you'll have to make in order to pay those things off.
I originally found his early episodes (18 months ago or so) more inspirational. The car payments and different predatory debt practices I saw evidenced with his guests were so, I don't know surprising to me. I had heard about payday loans and my mom used to do the layaway programs at Walmart just to get Christmas together but I was unaware of just how much micro loans for shopping existed. I appreciated that the channel helped spur a real conversation within my household, as my husband was the one to see him first. Like I get more help around the house and he cooks now because we decided to be more honest and evaluate our spending decisions. But I always had a 401k and savings account. We had a car note of $360 a month. It feels like he's kicking the sick and downtrodden now and these people need a whole health approach not a reality TV approach. Some of it is that content grind but some of it is that Ramsey grind. Feels like he grew up in a religious environment and hes trying to reconcile some things himself.
@@KathrynHenny i enjoy watching his videos but i think he needs to even them out now with people who are in better financial situations or have a better financial score or are genuinely on a path and budget themselves already towards paying off debt than just being stuck in the completely financially illiterate rage bait 0/10 guests. i also think he should be getting professional training in order to better approach people. he's doing it all his way and i do think he's genuine in it, but i think it's unsustainable
I wish algorithms didn’t reward rage-baiting, but it’s too hard to accurately auto-detect, so now it’s one of the dominant social media strategies because it works 😢
It’s sad because Caleb used to be NICE in his videos and talk about improving mental health as a way to address the root causes of overspending, and he dropped it all for the rage bait money
I must say, I usually don't comment, but I have to critique you for this one point: joy does not have to equal spending money. Cutting back on spending doesn't have to mean removing joy from your life. It just means finding it in another place, or in a cheaper place. Instead of going out to dinner with friends, have a picnic. You can join a library book club, learn how to cook, start hiking. I think you actually inadvertently highlighted one of the root causes of overconsumption in modern day society: the idea that joy and happiness is something that only can be bought.
I disagree. This is not the 90s anymore. EVERYTHING costs money. The food for that picnic isnt free, and many people live in places where you cannot comfortably eat outside half the year. Also hiking…? You realize that it’s kinda hard to hike regularly without access to a car, right? Its easy to shame people for spending, and a lot of people make questionable financial decisions. But never allowing yourself to spend is no way to live
@@CatBarefieldI get you can disagree with the specific examples but the concept of you don't have to spend money to have joy and happiness I don't know how you can argue. There's also infinitely more free things to enjoy now than in the 90s.
I’m in the middle. I paid down 30k in two years by using cash-stuffing and working a second job. I learned a lot from the discipline and it feels great to be debt free. I can’t stand the holier-than-thou attitudes towards debt though. There will always be discomfort when paying off debt, but different people need different approaches.
I would have to argue with the idea that making more money is the biggest help in paying off debt. Caleb has had plenty guests with strong incomes who just ramp up spending instead of paying debt
I think if you don't lifestyle inflate it definitely is. Increasing your income while your debt doesn't increase solves the problem. Caleb himself often recommends people work 60-80 hours for a period to increase their income to pay debt.
so true. lifestyle creep can empty your bank account very quickly and a lot of the guests are justifying their frivolous spending beyond the netflix/spotify subscriptions.
People have to have a plan for those increases. I got like $30k in raises in around 18 months. Once I got my first new paycheck, I’d take the difference between my old and new numbers and automatically had 25% go into savings, 50% to debt, and 25% to me. But I had to do it automatically, and it worked out really well for me.
Yes. There was an episode that displays this perfectly. The guest was a paramedic, working ~70 hours a week in a lot of debt. During the show he was talking about starting up a business and picking up a side hustle. He was justifying his bad spending and getting into debt by thinking “I’ll just work more” when he already had a stable job as a paramedic earning over 100k a year
While I don’t like Caleb’s tone all the time, I feel like he is also a product of the worst of his guests. There has been guy proudly spending all his paycheck on strippers, a girl who has gone in thousands of dollars in debt for Fortnight and other games, people who will tell him that “paying off their credit card” does not matter, who refuse to go to grocery store on principle, who face bankrupcy but book a trip to France Olympics on a credit card. People who have made no real motivation to pay off their debts ever. And yeah, some of it is harsh advice that’s hard to swallow at times, but the way he talks about how parents have responsibility to save for retirement because if they don’t, their children will feel moral obligation to take care of them? Or how credit companies propagate the idea of “credit being neccessary for survival” in order to screw their clients over”? He includes mental health expenses in the budgets, offer course certifications, and for a lot of people these talks serve as a wake up call. That being said, I am an European and also have terrible debt anxiety - so that probably influences my view.
he can choose to behave differently. Also he wants those guest because it creates drama. It is well know he doesn’t accept guest that don’t bring drama to the show and he said he is not interested in people that are taking good decisions in his finances. It does not create views!
Yes I'm an American, but I agree. He's one of the few people telling the truth and it's so necessary. I still remember in a Dave Ramsey book him saying how Social Security isn't going to pay for everything in your retirement and this is the real world where some old people eat Alpo. 😓 Sad but true!
@@mb3938he wants the show to be entertaining, if he only brought people who were in good financial situations there wouldn't be much to go over, I do think sometimes hes a little annoying but if it was that bad I just wouldn't watch him.
@@mb3938yeah, but does that then warrant the criticism? Maybe im a fanboy, but watching these videos has definitely made ME more personally aware and cautious about my spending as i get ready to live alone PROPERLY (not college) foe the first time.
Quitting cold turkey is very appropriate for some of his guests. If the your 600lbs you don’t have time to ease into dieting. The same for finance $600k debt on $30k/year isn’t an easy change. If you try to ease into you will just be in a worse problem.
i also have to mention Caleb doesn’t always recommend people go cold turkey. he has told many guests that if getting a treat once inna while will keep them on track then do it. there’s a lot of misconceptions about him here. watching a few videos and shorts doesn’t showcase the entirety of what he does.
This is what I came to say, I have watched a lot of his recent interviews, and while he does go hard in some guesses, is not on a lot of them. And personally in the ones he tends to go hard they totally need it, because there have been a lot of insane guests. There’s a lot of misunderstandings that comes from only watching TH-cam and TikTok short videos which obviously tend to leave a lot of context out.
@@JKRBW I mean, the guests who make a good income and aren't heads deep into debt are also an extreme minority. I don't know if only people who are hopelessly in debt sign up for his show, or he invites them for views, but here we are...
He pushes the "explosive" shorts for wider reach (no knocking him for that). He has to accept the fact that due to this tactic, opinions will be formed of him solely based on those shorts which are valid. However, I do think Tiffany could have done more research on more of his longer videos.
I understand why people would rather have spotify or netflix even when they are broke. Distraction, the ability to forget one's bad situation for a while, being able to bond with friends over a show they all watched is important. Debt is already bad because it isolates people, through shame or the inability to participate. Yelling at someone for trying to stay connected to their peers is not the right way to do it. Although, in this case, I'd say that everyone agreeing to be on that show already knows what they will get into, so they made their bed in that regard.
and I assume paying a small sum to not see ads that might tempt one to spend way more is worth it for people who are really struggling with self-control when it comes to purchases
@@vilukisu Meh, I've never seen an ad on youtube or netflix or anywhere else that tempted me to buy something. But the simple joy of not being constantly interrupted should be worth it.
Also, they're literally borderline unusable if you don't pay for the subscription. Netflix is currently placing ads on their basic plan with low quality, Spotify only allows a certain number of songs to be skipped and access to lyrics are paywalled, TH-cam hammers you with ads between every video that do not go through quality control, etc. Obviously this is more of a problem with the overreliance of ads in general and companies paywalling basic features, but it's a valid reason to get a subscription especially if you use the service often.
It's also just ethics. Spotify is struggling even with ads. Honestly it's more economical to pay $10 for unlimited access to music versus going back to the days of buying cds or individual downloads
They sign up for the tough approach to finances, not to be harassed on the internet and called ugly, or made fun of for things outside of finances by the people who watch it. They might actually think it will help without realizing how toxic his audience is.
I watched Caleb’s channel since 2022 when it was a very small finance channel. He was very relatable and likable. I always rooted for him. His channel blew up very quickly and the videos along with that became very reminiscent of Jerry Springer. I called it out on his subreddit and was banned. I also called it out on his TH-cam channel and comments were deleted and very old comments I did nearly 2 years ago were also unhearted. Talk about being petty and not being able to take what you dish towards others.
There’s such a big gap between how rich and poor people are treated by society for their money mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, but only rich people are afforded the grace to recover from them.
They can afford it cause they have the money… it’s tough to get out of being poor but not impossible. Some rich folk have made their sacrifices. Why can’t you? To get where you wanna be you gotta sacrifice
Spotify also blocks skipping songs after a while if you don't have Premium. God forbid someone wants to listen to the music they want without ads & being able to listen to the songs they want. The rage bait got me!
And you can only listen to things on shuffle, can't select a specific song to play or add things to queue. I used free Spotify for years because I couldn't justify the cost at the time. But the ads are all louder than the music I'd be playing, they kept increasing the amount of ads and taking away functionality from the free service. I didn't mind too much cause it was still better than the radio, but I can't say I'd go back now
theres a bunch of people who like to shame anyone who uses spotify premium. bro before spotify we used to buy several $10 Cds a month, when minimum wage was $5.15. I'm saving by only spending $10 a month.
If you watch several of Calebs audits, at the end he shows pie chart of spending and you will see that majority of those guests "struggling and living paycheck to paycheck" in fact spend huge amount of money on bs. The majority of them, after having a budget, can pay off their "bad" debts in a year with the current income. This means that INCOME is not a problem, spending is. ... And yes there are people who are really struggling, but I cannot comprehend complaining that you cannot pay off debt and that it is problem of society while at the same time spending 800-1000$ per month on bs. At the end, I feel like I'm the stupid one who makes sure to pay off her bills, that doesn't go on tropical party vacation several times per year, or reviewing wardrobe every season, or eating in a restaurants every meal. Perfect example are guests who make over 100 000 per year and still complain that they are living paycheck to paycheck. But yes, maybe I'm the stupid one and should feel sorry for them and forgive their debts so they can go on vacation for the 5th time that year.
You perfectly reviewed the situation and I felt the very end statement there, I feel like I'm just behind on life because I have decent debts (mortgage, solar Panel Loan, student loans) and not going on a lavish vacations, saying "fuck it" and "living my life" . Not on tiktok complaining and racking in that sweet revenue while doing so. I have 9 credit cards, pay no interest, carry no balances. I'm not extraordinary, I just don't rack up debt and then have the Pikachu shocked face when I choose to "live my life" and not pay it and see the interest killing you.
I think you unwittingly detailed why people are okay with him humiliating and verbally abusing these people on the internet. You feel like they deserve it because you do “everything right” and don’t get to do the things they do. I know that’s frustrating but trust me, they’re going to get their comeuppance when they can’t afford to retire, or their kids have to take out college loans. They don’t need the addition public shaming, it does nothing but make people who pay their bills feels righteous and make these people feel worse about their choices, which will probably lead them to spend even more. This helps no one
Although I agree that a lot of debt is morally neutral, I would say that what I like about Caleb Hammer's show is that he shows people why their choices are hurting them. Obviously there are debts that are unavoidable (medical debts, emergencies, etc) a LOT of these people are taking money from people around them when they dont want to work for it themselves, and even in some cases neglecting the needs of their CHILDREN. People shouldn't just be fine with this. (not saying Caleb Hammer is perfect, but some of his guests NEED this reality check)
I know this is an older comment he just recently released a video about a day or so ago that reviews a little of the help his show has given people at the end. It’s a long video and the end he has a short list of statistics if you wanted to know some statistics :)
Yeah, on one hand there are lots of people in the comments saying it's helped them work on their debt but on the other hand there are plenty of people just tearing down the person for their looks, being transphobic, and just being aggressively mean
I would never go on that show. But watching him berate people on there actually made me save a lot of money. I added up all my expenses from what he calls "bullshit" from my bank statement one month and eliminated it all the next and I was HORRIFIED at how much I was throwing away. It made me absolutely ashamed tbh. I know I cannot be austere in my spending every month, but just being aware makes me think twice now how I spend my money.
@fernmiranda I don't think shame is an inherently "bad" feeling. It's essential for growth as a person imo, so I agree. Caleb, as extreme as his guest and he can get, has also helped me dig out of the hole I made because boy. I was wasteful!
If you just watch shorts, you will have no idea what Caleb's show is about. Also, if you cannot distinguish episodes with people who are victims versus people who need help, then you will also be very confused. The victim episodes are very tough to watch and I rarely get through 30% of them. But then there are episodes where people are shocked into actually being open for help, and then they conversations are extremely great and really helpful and positive for both sides.
Thank you for talking about Caleb. I really liked his show in the beginning, and even applied to be on it way back in the day. Luckily it was right around the time he stopped doing virtual interviews. I ask myself why I wanted to be on the show, because he was low key bullying and humiliating people back then even though it’s much worse now. I think he is tapping into shame. I felt so ashamed of my finances and like somehow I needed to punish myself or suffer in someway in order to make things better in my financial life. I have healed a bunch of that now but I think that’s what could be a subconscious motivation for why people go on his show, even though they know the outcome will be public shaming and humiliation. It’s the fact that he is both profiting from and perpetuating that shame around financial problems that makes me dislike him so strongly.
I was also a big fan at the start of his show, and it did give me the incentive to get a new job because it made me realize I would never get the kind of raise I needed to be able to get ahead otherwise. Now though, it’s unwatchable 😕
Same, I remember a video where the guest had a child who died and got into debt mostly because they (him and his partner) had been off work to care for the child in their last days and because the mother had gone (expectedly) into depression and simply could not go back to work. And he knew this and still kept shaming the father to no end. I unsubscribed, disliked the video and been hating him ever since. Also, I don’t know if he’s started doing this since I stopped watching, but it always irked me that he never wore ironed shirts. I know, irrelevant, but what can I say, I’m petty 😂
I also liked him in the beginning, about 2 years ago. His channel actually motivated me to get rid of all my credit card debt (along with cash budgeters like Baddies and Budgets). But now I can barely watch his show. Not only is he soooo much more mean and critical, but his videos are FULL of sponsors and TH-cam ads, plus his comments are allllll toxic, racist, misogynistic, and transphobic people. Edited to add: he also does no teaching. So many clips are him roasting young people for not knowing the intricacies of interest, investing, etc. If they say they don’t know what the SMP500, then fucking explain it Caleb!
I used to be a fan of Caleb, but after a certain inciting incident, I slowly became disillusioned and eventually unsubscribed. That incident being the Spotify issue. Something that drives me crazy is the implication that when you pay for Spotify, you are only paying for no ads. Caleb has clearly not touched free Spotify in his whole life. Features as simple as song selection are paywalled. The free app is literally unusable, and there is no free substitution. Not only this, but the obvious helpful solution would be to encourage guests to find a bundle or join a family plan to lower this monthly cost, and yet he probably doesn’t even know you can get Spotify for $4/mo with five friends on your plan because like you said, he is only interested in doing things his way.
Exactly! Yes! Free Spotify is barely usable. There are lots of ways to enjoy the small things in life cheaper, like splitting a family subscription plan, rather than having to cut them completely out. For example, learning to make fancy coffee at home rather than buying fancy coffee. Don’t give up the coffee entirely, just budget to buy the fun ingredients and make it at home for half the price.
i cant stand spotify bc i always use free and free is bs. you cant listen to more than 3 songs from an artist before it starts picking random artists and songs for you to listen to. also cant repeat songs and im a serial repeater. i put on a song to cycle it 5 times. its trash. get the music somewhere else.
For real!! I tried to see if I could use the free version and like you can’t even view songs on an album or playlist, plus the ads, it’s a NIGHTMARE. I pay for Spotify, TH-cam premium and some webtoons subscriptions but that’s because those are the 3 methods of entertainment I actually use on a daily basis. Like. My depression would come back despite my meds if I couldn’t have those 3 things.
Never used Spotify but used Pandora years ago and that wasn’t bad. But I don’t do ads anymore. I pay for premium on everything to skip ads. But Pandora wasn’t nearly that awful like people are describing Spotify.
Like the 7.99 Spotify was gonna really break ground in my spending. Even over 3 yrs, that’s under $300. My student loans compound more interest on that in 3 months time. That small pleasure is something I can afford myself and is part of what makes life feel liveable day to day
Caleb’s show does have people who are in actual ROUGH situations and he does give realistic, tangible advice and budgeting. There have been people who are experiencing housing insecurity and stuff and he helps them. I stopped watching his show bc the thumbnails and clickbait started to bother me, but he never tells people to not eat, not go to the gym, not have a phone, etc.. He also doesn’t monitor his audience enough; there is a lot of misogyny and racism in his comments. A lot of times, debt is morally wrong if you end up pushing it onto your kids and loved ones when you could have made small sacrifices over time to change your situation.
He may be giving good advice that actually works but it's how he speaks to someone about it. Your tone, body language etc make a big difference. He tends to forget that his guests are real everyday people and cannot always afford to have mommy and daddy's money. No matter who you are or what you do in life we are all human and can have fun and enjoy ourselves as long as we live within our means. It's crazy how he is shaming Erin for Spoifty, what a thing to be hung up on. It is $120 a year versus their $60,000+ student loans.
@@VeronicaProvenzano I agree with your points somewhat. I think he goes too far relatively often, and can come across out-of-touch. However, I have never gotten the impression that he expects people to come from wealth or have golden parachutes. As far as I can tell he came from relatively humble beginnings (as a Michigander, most places in west Michigan are generally not the wealthiest places in the state) and majored in music at a pretty small public university. I think it makes sense to sacrifice things, even things you love, for the short term to gain it back long term. With the Spotify thing, I think he was trying to point out a sacrifice he thought was easy and made it so she could live within her means. He belabored the issue too long, though, I agree. I think he emphasizes finding enjoyment that is within your budget, and if you are in debt, that means free stuff or very low cost for a while, and not consuming more than you earn. Generally he doesn’t get mad when people go out to eat one time, or buy one or two treats. He gets mad when it’s a pattern, but blows up over each small purchase. It’s more of a communication issue than anything… it points to him being more of an entertainer than a counselor. Sorry for the run-on sentences I’m a lil sleepy 🥱
@@RK-cj4oc no dude youre just flat out wrong lol look how many ppl call the guest an "animal" when it's a black person. i also regularly see incredibly misogynistic comments on his videos. and i love calebs videos, but im not gonna pretend that comment section isnt a toxic pit lmao
@@RK-cj4oc I have watched some of Caleb's stuff and I've seen the shows with idiots on there and can't really say he's been rude or disrespectful. Everyone is so sensitive
I can understand your point of view, however I do disagree on a few points. 1. Thumbnails on Caleb’s videos are agreed to by the guests and they joke about it on the show 2. 90% of the people on the show are there because they haven’t shown the ability to balance the ‘fun things’ and their budget. Everyone knows that people will ultimately do what they want but there will be guilt. So if he folds on 1 thing like Spotify they will just pass that guilt on to something else fun they want anyway… 3. He encourages people to be nice in the comments on nearly every video But I appreciate the video and different point of view
So delighted you're talking about Caleb Hammer. I really feel like he preys upon fringe cases of extreme financial illiteracy. He preaches "don't have any fun if you're in any debt", but that's really not realistic. I do think sometimes people snowball with the "treat yourself" mindset and lifestyle inflation/aspiration like Chelsea from Financial Diet talks about. Caleb is also goofy because he's not technically debt-free. He's got multiple mortages and student loan debts. Those are debts!
I like Caleb Hammer, but there was a video where a truck driver was saying they have a difficult time avoiding fast food because they’re on the road for most of the month. He was yelling at them about getting a microwave and cooler to make sandwiches and having microwaveable meals. Like in theory that’s fine, but like where are you getting electricity for microwave? In my house, using the microwave makes the wifi crap out! Like on paper sure it’s bad, but there is no easy solution! How are they going to keep fruits and vegetables (minus like apples) fresh in a cooler for a week??? And an occasional starbucks 1-2x a week is not going to stop them working on their debt! He acts like getting out of debt is so black and white.
Also I agree about his student loans and mortgages! He acts like being a landlord is everyone’s dream! Like I want to go on there about my student loans tbh (my only debt, but it’s over $150k, am still in grad school) but like it seems like he’ll crucify me for spending $2.99/month on google drive storage instead of giving that $3 to my student loans. And how he says “if you invested that $3 a month into a investment then you’d have $10,000 in ten years!”
@katiekotok505 Yeah, exactly! I also know a lot of people in my personal life that have gone through circumstances or have mental conditions that make it difficult to sustainably meal plan. Telling someone to pack a sandwich and figure it out is not helpful. I think Caleb believes, genuinely, because he was able to do it, anyone can do it in any circumstances. But, Caleb himself struggles with fast food and not cooking himself. It's human. A lot of people also can't mental/physiologically handle eating the same meal over and over, as well. There is a give and take and balance with anything. But Caleb is very black & white, like you said.
@@katiekotok505Same! My only debt is student loans, but back when I first found Caleb (he was under 500k subs), I still had a car payment. I emailed him about being on the show. He asked me my car loan rate, and when I told him, he emailed back "I don't think we'd have much to talk about". He truly is looking for people in bad/outlandish situations to rag on for views.
yeah he does always say debt can be good if you're leveraging it which is what he does with real estate and his low interest student loans. but most people he interacts with love the pay day loans, credit cards, and high interest car loans
very rage baity yes. But as someone that is to this day dealing with a financially irresponsable parent, there is a lack of responsibility and acceptance of the issues too. The debt consolidation thing works if you have a hiccup. If you otherwise budget. A lot of people are not budgeting at all. Yes systemic issues are at play, but we can't magically change it. We live in a reality that we have to contend with and work within, as best we can. Putting it all on poverty and systemic issues is like Don Quixote shouting at windmills, it doesn't actually help anyone get out of their financial holes - because I don't see the same people riling about the system doing anything concrete to dismantle it. That's where it just becomes enabling.
Enabling perfectly sums it up. This video felt very pro enabling bad spending habits and coddling people a bit too much. Especially when someone else WILL pay for this. Either children, other relaives, the state/country. Personal financial desicions absolutely don't happen in a vacuum.
Agree. And we have really warped perceptions of what it takes to be happy-like being able to go out all the time and have pricy meals and buy nice things all the time. Yes, maybe this stuff is helpful for mental health but it’s also just us buying into capitalist consumer messaging about what it takes to be happy.
For me, acknowledging that there are systemic issues at play and knowing about them changes the game from “why am I so bad at this? Why am I so stupid?” To “okay, I see where I fell into the systemic trap, now how do I find ways to work through the system (or around it) to get out of this”. It also helps me acknowledge my own privilege (having a family I can live with if something happens and I need to save rent money, or who can lend me some money when a huge surprise expense pops up so I don’t need to take out a loan or credit card debt, or when I lost insurance and needed to pay for some expensive medications to enable me to keep working). I can acknowledge that not everyone has that and it has helped me separate my thinking from the “morality” of poverty. I used to get pissed off at my mom for buying coffee everyday and then ask me for extra money to cover the car payment. But now I see that she needed to buy coffee at work or on her way to work because dropping 4$ (this was years ago) was cheaper at that moment than spending 130$ on a new coffee maker (ours was broken) beans and cream. When you are living day to day and paycheck to paycheck the “frivolous” spending makes the most financial sense at that point. When I was broke, I couldn’t afford to go grocery shopping because the ingredients i could use to make a weeks worth of meals was more than I had. But I could buy 5 days worth of frozen dinners and have some money left over to top off my gas tank so I could not stress every time I started my car. There are definitely people out there not spending their money wisely. But when we paint with such a wide brush we end up shaming a lot of people for things that are not their fault. Some will take this as an excuse to not change and continue to languish in the “victim” role while for some this will allow them to get over the shame that was holding them back. There is no 1 right answer, that’s why we need so many different people and different opinions and approaches. One may work for someone. When those approaches get predatory, is when I have a problem with them.
tbh I love Caleb’s videos bc the people sign up for it and send that financial info knowing what the show is about. I’ve watched so many of his videos and I personally think he actually cares to get them out of debt and gives them a budget/time frame. Yes it will need to take work and sacrifice and discipline. Having someone dig into their finances and even yell at them works for some ppl, that’s not Caleb himself got out of debt and tbh it works for me, he opened my eyes to pay off my credit cards w my extra $ instead of spending more. I wish she did more research on this
the thing about the “can’t listen to an ad?” that gets me is that it’s not just the ads. you can skip however many songs you want, you can listen to whatever songs you want without spotify being like “hm no, listen to this song instead”. for a service that I use for hours and hours a day, every day, I’d like to maintain control of it. and even then, streaming services offer only the illusion of control - these songs could be pulled at any time (I still keep a couple of iPods around for this reason). so like, maybe let someone keep their small expense in a world that’s continuously wresting control over joy and well-being from their grasp :/
lmao I hate that this rage bait has us basically advertising spotify but it's true! Premium lets you download things to play offline, lets you sync with your private music library (when Joni Mitchell pulled her songs, I was able to replace them on playlists with versions that I own), and now it includes audiobooks. AND it comes with a side of Hulu for some reason. I'm struggling too, but I always budget for that one.
@@leafissimile omg I had no idea you could do that with your personal library! even more reason it’s worth it to me. also same lmao I know we’re all caught in the rage bait now but man, let us have music and art and happiness in life! 😭
You can also download music with premium, which is what gets me through my 1+ hour of commute every day. I haven't done the math, but I'm pretty sure you'd save money paying for spotify vs buying an unlimited data plan for your phone. I pay by the minute for my phone so that data gets rationed like food during WW2, so its actually really helpful being able to listen to music when I don't have wifi. I certainly pay more for gas then spotify in one month, that's for damn sure! Oh I know, if Caleb wants people to save money then he should be advocating for walkable cities and accessible public transit! I pay $11 for spotify every month, I pay *at least $100* on gas! If we're concerned about things adding up, well... Hell, I pay more on tolls then I do for spotify.
It's also mentally draining to have to listen to all the ADs!!! I don't have YT premium, because my work computer blocks ads where I always listen to stuff, so when I use my TV I'm shocked how annoying it is, same with Pinterest (insert HUGE crying emoji here) .... :(
While I definitely agree that Caleb’s thumbnails and titles are gross and that he treats guests badly, I will say, he helped me. 🤷♂️ When I started watching, things were MUCH different. He’s definitely changed as his channel has grown. But anyway, about the Spotify thing, it’s not really about Spotify. It’s about the fact that most of the people he has on his show put up exactly this amount of argument about ALL their little purchases. And I’ve watched plenty of it, all those little purchases usually add up to THOUSANDS of dollars. Thousands of dollars in completely unnecessary spending. So, no, Spotify is not the issue, but that number needs to go WAY down unless you want your life to continue getting worse. I agree with you that debt is amoral. It’s not inherently bad or good. But it does have seriously life ruining effects on your life if it gets out of control. So I do think it’s a good thing to encourage the average person to stay the hell away from most types of debt.
i get the point about the titles and thumbnails but they have said all of that is agreed with by the guests to the point that some have even suggested the titles. and i will add to your point: in every ep i have seen where he suggests cutting out subscriptions, spotify included, not a single guest has offered a change of payment plan "what if i go on a family plan, what if i share with friends, what if i get more people on the account" etc. it's about the mentality of not willing to compromise that shows in the example of spotify. in some episodes i've seen where guests said they'd be more likely to stick to the plan with some fun money he gave them fun money in the budget (even if they were already over budget lmao)
Spotify is odd for me. First in my country only ad on spotify is "you don't want ads? Buy premium" (Is this supposed to work like this?!), but the second thing is on pc spotify is just broken. BUT I THINK Caleb should add "50$ subscritption" tier to his budgets (not reducing from tp founds), having 2 or 3 subscriptions would help with mood and it won't change situation for most of the guests
I agree 1000% this TH-camr is just cherry picking and missing the point. Like these people are spending $400 a month on fast food like $600 on car payments they can't afford. Also, she said something about not having enough money is the main issue which shows me she doesn't watch them in full because then she would know numerous people on his show are single making $100k or more a year and just keep inflating their lifestyle.
@@ladrok97he does do that in videos I've seen he just freaks out when it all adds up to hundreds or thousands. Every video I've seen where people have reasonable subs he budgets them in
He’s actually really kind. He has a channel with 64k subs of people that come back after progress and helps where he can. I know people only click on drama but he means well.
He may be kind in real life, but he isn't on video. He does know what he's doing - and he doesn't mean well when he humiliates his guests. He knows he'll get more views.
Watched Caleb in the beginning and he was genuinely compassionate and kind. There was room for nuance and he rarely got upset and apologized when he did. It’s very sad to see what his channel became and how quickly. I got a lot out of his channel and I am grateful for the perspective it gave me but omg his thumbnails and titles now are simply cruel. Super sad to see
It helped me a lot at first too, I’ve made some way better choices. This year it’s just the same shocking story and hardly any finances. I’m grateful for the changes he spurred me to make, but I can’t imagine the show in its current state is helping anyone 😢
This was also my experience. I enjoyed his channel when it first started (with disliking a few things about it), but after he became popular, it became unbearable to watch in all aspects
I think he's hired to many people who think the rage bait and craziness is what everyone wants. While it's a bit sexist, I think there's a lot of bro culture in his production team. Wish he had someone to say you need to calm down. Instead of laughing at how upset he's becoming over someone else's finances. But I do watch because it's helped me see some of the poor thought process people use when dealing with their debt. I think just someone pointing out that thinking isn't helping you can be valuable. I hate the thumbnails and titles, I know he gets permission but ugh they don't even number and so the follow ups are hard to connect with the original episode.
I get and totally agree on your point that its the systems that are screwing people, not the avocado toast, coffees, and Netflix subscriptions.... but since there isn't much we can do as individuals about THOSE systems, what we CAN do is opt out of the belief that we need to spend money to have joy in our lives. I haven't finished the video yet so maybe you touch on it. Edit: I finished the video and didn't see the point mentioned. I heard phrases like "live my life" and "treat myself" as a stand in for "spend money" and I think that's something worth exploring.
I'm with you on this. I'm not about that "just eat beans" life. But truly cutting back on luxury expenses is NOT that difficult. I think a lot of Americans (and other first world countries) have forgotten how to live more simply. Just seeing the comments in here crying about Spotify premium is so silly. We are so lucky and so spoiled!
@@zemthemattress3443Yeah, lots of Americans seem to be of super consumerist mindset where they see luxury as necessity. Millions of people use free Spotify. I used to listen to free Spotify when I was broke. It's really not that big of an ordeal. And it's one sub here another sub there and suddenly you're spending 50 bucks a month.
I agree to some extent. It's definitely possible to find joy more cheaply than people often do. When I was earning less while I was in school, I still found things to do, hobbies to enjoy, time to spend with friends, etc. But it's also true that a lot of the fun things people spend money on are ultimately pretty cheap.
I've seen people in comments in another video talking about poverty and avocado toast saying things like "but I don't have time to cook, poor people don't have time, I gotta order food/eat out" but then, if you are so poor that you have to work all the time... calculate whether the additional expense of having someone else cook for you is returned with profit when you work during all the time you saved. You gotta do the math.
@@tymondabrowski12people overestimate how long cooking takes. Invest in a crock pot and make a fuck ton of food by doing nothing but 20 minutes worth of active work. Also cooking is a skill. In the beginning it takes longer cause you don’t know wtf you are doing. I encourage everyone to learn there basic meals, get good at it, then alter it. Learning to make a pan sauce using a roux after cooking meat provides a plethora of options for dinner. Places like publix also have prepped meals that are still often cheaper than doordashing where all you need to do is pop the thing in the oven for the specified amount of time. Also stores offer free recipes all the time, and we live in the age of the internet. Look up what parents make to feed their kids. You will RARELY see a parent doordashing all the time and they have the least time because they literally can not afford to but they still manage to cook for their kids or find cheaper easy meal alternatives. I think its rare for someone to /actually/ not have time to cook a meal. Especially if you only cook sinner and do simple things like sandwiches for lunch and yogurt for breakfast.
Almost every criticism you had of Caleb would be addressed if you'd watched more than 2 videos. He does tell people to move places if their housing cost is too much. He's encouraged people to sell toys and surplus vehicles to help drive down liabilities. If a budget has enough wiggle room (and especially if children are involved) he absolutely budgets in fun and subscription money during the debt paydown. He does budget in meaningful goals that may not be financially wise. The guests are involved in the making of the thumbnails and titles. To my knowledge, they can also scrap the whole episode if they want. Then you started talking about debt consolidation being a good idea - mathematically, it does make sense. So you can go find some of Caleb's guests who've consolidated debt, then racked up their credit cards again. This happens because people say things like "they think the only way to pay off your debt is to remove all the joy from your life" and so the people racking up debt feel no impetus to change their joyful, spendy lifestyles. Caleb's style of tough love works for people. Your more overtly compassionate style doesn't work for everyone.
You can tell that there is some extra involvement in the thumbnails and titles bc I've seen a decent amount of them them change in wording once or twice after being uploaded, likely from other feedback that could be the participant or another staff.
@@argie6272that happens a lot on channels that are working with the algorithm to get better metrics. you change a thumbnail or title a few times, see how clickthrough changes and then stick with what works best. usually not something to do with requests, though thats not to say it couldn't be
Nah, she’s actually totally right. His content used to be **much** different, he devolved to what he does now purely because it drives engagement. His old content used to be fairly “average” people who were in financial trouble, often from predatory loans. He wasn’t so mean and performative, he actually acted as a helping hand and not a show host . Now He has the most extreme cases on that aren’t going to be relatable to people, he’s very rude and has the most clickbait thumbnails you can imagine, and his advice is getting worse and less tailored. It really is financial rage bait now. I’m sure it helps some people, but she’s not wrong about his content. His channels focus is on entertaining the masses by showing people’s trash, not helping people fix their finances I don’t think it’s a good sign that he’s shilling out for tech certification sponsors either with the way the market is. Recommending some bootcamp tech cert to his guests or audience is just irresponsible right now
I agree and disagree. Caleb firsthand shows that minimal purchases over time adds up over time. A lot of people mindlessly give themselves “small treats” and end up spending over 10% of their monthly income on bullshit.
I do wanna disagree about the "an extra $100 towards my debt makes no difference" bit. Because mathematically that's incorrect. An extra amount on top of minimum payments DOES reduce the amount you pay over time. That being said, I completely understand choosing not to get a second or third job JUST for that if you have already cut things to a reasonable degree. Don't sacrifice quality of life or mental health!
Yes. Also, I find that when I had more than 1 job I actually spent more. I needed more caffeine to keep me going and more gas to commute between the jobs. I didn’t have time to cook so I ate out (at fast food because I didn’t have time to sit and eat) and/or bought more frozen junk food. I had such low energy I would allow myself to eat crap because then I “felt a bit better” and crap was yummy and cheap but then I wouldn’t have energy due to poor diet so more caffeine. It was a vicious cycle that kept me barely afloat and always stressed. But I know that I am currently very privileged to be able to support myself on one job. But yeah, getting a second job just to add a little (like less than $200 extra towards debt for like 20 more hours of work) may not be worth it to everyone. Know yourself and your limits and try to keep track and reflect on what is and isn’t working or adding benefit to your life.
@@susiex6669 it all depends on where you are in life and what the second job is for. If you got a second job so you could pay down your debt 2 years earlier but you are living like a zombie and super stressed out. It may not be worth it. If you got a second job so you can feed yourself and keep a roof over your head, definitely worth it. (Don’t get me started on the fact that people needing multiple jobs to pay for basic necessities seems very dystopian to me) or if you second job is a side hustle you love and you find fulfillment doing but couldn’t make enough for it to be your only job, then I am glad you are enjoying it. For me, I was bridging the gap between needing money to pay for food and rent. The job was needed but definitely didn’t bring in a ton of extra money due to my need to spend it in order to keep going. So as soon as I got a well paying job that allowed me to be able to pay bills and feed myself, I quit the others. It was better for me :-) also, where I lived, all the jobs were at least a 30 minute drive so if I made an extra $100 a month at one of the jobs, all of that would pay for the gas I needed to get there.
Yup. Any extra put towards debt payment exponentially reduces the overall cost. And people generally use "exponentially" figuratively, but in the case of compounded interest, it's quite literal.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but I think agressively tackling your debt is probably the best avenue for most people. People usually site 'unforeseen circumstances' as a major reason for falling into debt. I just don't understand why you'd not want to get out of debt as quickly as possible with the foresight that some other horrible catastrophe could come your way & set you even further back.
I've been watching Caleb's channel for awhile and you'd be surprised about the amount of guests who make small unneccessary purchases FOR YEARS (7eleven, amazon, chipotle, fast food, etc.). He points it out cause people truly do not see how destructive so much small spending can become. Then they add student loans, car notes, medical expensces, emergencies to the this and everything spirals. I am still shocked by the number of guests who literally refuse to go to a grocery store instead of eating out.
Yes seeing that was also helpful for myself because I thought I wouldn’t have much to relate to the guests on (I make a good income and am saving a lot of it). But then I saw Caleb digging in tot he eating out and smoking habits and realized I am exactly like any of his guests, I just have the income to afford stupid purchases. I don’t have to make changes to survive, but there are changes I have started to make so I can save more money for the future.
Yes! Most of the people on his show have never budgeted or even looked at their statements as a whole. The Spotify subscription is never part of carefully managed finances, it’s always a symptom of someone who has no self control. The small things compound and prevent you from paying off the big necessary stuff, especially if you don’t budget.
@@cheyennerlfinneran3914 ...Someone who spends money on gender confirming procedures and recovery isn't indicative of 'someone who has no self-control'.
@@cheyennerlfinneran3914 THISSSS!!!! And Erin, the woman on the episode, was not very open to modifying her lifestyle. She consistently said "I understand" but it was clear she did NOT understand the gravity of her situation. She was planning to earn $40K post graduation while having about double that $80K in student loans 😭😭😭. All of her future paychecks will go towards Rent and $800/month student loan payments 😩😩😩
As a Finn, I find Americans' relationship with debt quite baffling. Even Tiffany gets really defensive at the idea of being debt-free. Yes, having debt occasionally is understandable, but it shouldn't be the norm.
Unfortunately in the US being completely debt free takes a Herculean effort often requiring some amount of generational wealth and resources. This is what happens when you don’t have universal health care, education costs tens of thousands of dollars, and housing is barely obtainable due to a market in favor of investors and developers, among other things.
Imagine you, and everyone around you, lived in a very rainy place. Because it rains so much, it gets muddy (not actually talking about Finnish weather, dw). Some people can afford to wear stilts or build on foundations to avoid the mud, or something of that sort, but the vast majority of people are in the mud. Now, imagine that everyone who lived with you and around you had a belief, internalized and whatnot, that everyone with mud on them was gross. No, it's not GOOD to have mud on you but if you live in a muddy place, you're gonna get muddy. America is in debt, the people are in debt, it's practically unavoidable even if you're a child (medical bills). Maybe it's not always good to have debt but it's not a shameful thing either and that is an issue.
I think your comment about Caleb’s channel stems from a place of ignorance. Of course he is going to hammer you if you spend $1300 on nonsense if you are 5k in debt. That makes sense. He has absolutely never said don’t ever spend money of non essentials, he encourages that when you are out of debt, explicitly. And as someone who always watches his content. 7/10 times the person is spending credit on JUNK that they don’t ever remember buying. Yes the crazies get blasted to the forefront, but I feel like this is a hasty generalization of his content.
I used to watch Caleb’s financial audits to kick my own butt. But I had to stop because of how toxic it ended up being. Especially the comment section. Edit: there is one episode that was not so toxic. The person was dealing with financially abusive parents who were actively taking money from her. Comments were less toxic and he did display some care and concern. Over all, I always feel conflicted about Caleb. He has a duty of care for the people coming onto his show that he grossly neglects, but sometimes he has good takes that he does deliver compassionately. I think the profit he gets from the clickbait titles and thumbnails definitely creates a situation where his potentially caring nature (idk him but it seems like he cares sometimes?) gets completely trampled. At the very LEAST, the insulting thumbnails are approved and/or picked out by the people going on the shows. I’m glad I never watched Erin’s episode bc I don’t think my nerves could handle it. Also the girl who said she was sexually harassed makes me feel so awful about even minutely defending Caleb.
A balanced take with nuance. You are probably closest to the truth of any commenter I've seen, the truth is always more nuanced than people like to consider. I can't comment about the girl who claims sexual harassment as I didn't watch her episode. I agree he can be compassionate but the business he's running is turning him more and more extreme and right now it's unbearable. The thumbnails are disgusting and there isn't anyone there to rein him in when he's crossing the line. Oh look at me, I'm just repeating your points, I just wanted to say well considered, have a nice day.
@IAmebAdger I'm only gonna refer to one of your points. I don't think you've seen his new style of thumbnail lol. They flipped a switch some time ago and they're much more tasteful. Still not incredible but y'know, gotta feed the algorithm for content to be pushed out. Thumbnails need some careful balancing
@@dannyb1131They did! I would consider myself an old fan of Caleb and the thumbnails were a huge issue in the subreddit. It became a thing to comment how gross the thumbnails were in every thread
Yes, recently there's been a turn in the vibe, and I think he and his are responding to the algorithm. His commenters, including myself, asking for a more "normal" guest every now and then, not always 20 yesr old wannabe influencers and manifesters, but those get the most views. When they have the occasional older person, the episode is a little less angry and it's a good view of how rough life experiences and how people grow up influence money behavior. But those are few and far between now.
Caleb is fully transparent with his guests about his style. they apply to be on the show. he really is a nice guy and always advocates for his guests’ mental health. im sad because u enjoy your videos and Caleb’s. i wish you’d watch his videos with different lens, one that really cares but also is tough love because some need that.
No, i get that some people are really struggling. But the people on these shows are hardly ever truly poor, they are really just bad with finances, have rich parents, and are going in debt buying luxury cars and crazy things. And often they are business owners of unsuccessful businesses. Sometimes you just gotta work for a company and get a less fun job to make money.
Not paying off your debt isn’t amoral. That’s not what the financial people are saying. The longer you take to pay off your debt, the more money you’re costing your future self. It’s in your own self interest to pay off the debt as quickly as possible. There’s obviously mental health issues to consider like never taking time off working or never going out with friends for dinner etc. But those aren’t easily calculated against extra accruing interest so they don’t get talked about.
I mean sometimes they are extremely condescending but yeah. If you are questionably buying yourself happiness today, you are making it even less easy for your future self to be happy and if that hypothetical person has mental health issues, it won't get easier once they get to a point where there's no more running away from the financial disaster. It is immature or at least hedonistic to only think about today and not tomorrow. I wish people who get into more and more debt due to their spending habits would truly understand that.
you dont think that for some people, not depriving themselves and breaking is the actual reason they can pay anything at all? and the more paid in interest down the line is worth it?
@@theinkyspoon It's obviously a personal circumstance issue on finding a money managing strategy that works for you. BUT going further into debt every month is a sign of not being able to manage your money. Yes, there's some cases where purchasing now and paying later with interest is worthwhile (housing, education). But most purchases are not worth paying interest.
@@geniej2378 i personally dont have any debt at all, but i know a lot of people who do, and their debt doesnt grow it mostly just reduces a little or stays the same, but they dont break themselves to reduce it *as fast as possible* because that sort of life is not worth it to them.
@@theinkyspoon consumerism should not be the only way to enjoy life. Find stuff that makes you happy that doesnt involve spending money. Yes, those exist.
I watched Calleb a bit more at the start of his TH-cam channel and found it a bit more sympathetic but this year it's at its worst. Just getting people on the show who could give the highest shock value and then shaming them. I've stopped watching his channel completely as the show is more upsetting than useful/helpful. Ramit Sethi is a lot better where the focus is more on money psychology and the relationship with money established at childhood. Which makes way more sense when trying to understand your own behaviour towards money. I find this type of money education way more useful/helpful for the guests and myself.
When Caleb was going after her Spotify I was thinking about him! He focuses not on the $3 questions but the $3000 ones, like interest, savings, loans etc and he always has a fun budget for ppl too. Otherwise you just get money anxiety after you have money and can't spend it (like many of the rich ppl on his podcast exhibit).
I like Caleb's show quite a bit less this year as well. My girlfriend got turned off by the ridiculousness of the guests themselves even before the ramp-up of the shock value elements. I never thought he was *too* attacky of the guests themselves, because some people just can't get things through their skulls. Then again I also didn't know that one girl was being sexually harassed as she said in the short. Actually, I think it would be amazing if Ramit did some second-opinion interviews/audits of Caleb's guests. Little more balance to their universes.
Caleb's definitely doing some of this for shock value but if you watch the entire videos, you see how horrifying his guests are in terms of their finances. Living off their parents, not knowing that a credit card isn't free money, not paying bills and thinking it's okay, thinking that debt will just go away. It's made me realise how much of a problem society has in that financial literacy rates are so low.
I agree, but one thing that caleb does often that I absolutely hate is how his guests cannot give a reaction that he wont get angry about. If they say that he is right, and that they are going to put in work to change, he gets angry because they clearly didnt put in any work (since the statements were bad) if they find an excuse (either good or bad) he will get angry about people justifying the purchase. If the guest doesnt react at all he will say something along the lines of "do you have nothing to say for yourself, does this debt mean nothing to you?" Its really bad and I wishes he worked on that. Also his comment section is so increadibly toxic. He really needs to work on creating a more positive uplifting fanbase/ culture
Not true! You do not need debt to build credit. Use a credit card and pay it off fully at the end of each month on time. Some debt is unavoidable like college, emergencies, and unemployment but debt is not how you build credit it’s how you destroy it. Having debt and paying off a credit card is not always synonymous.
What’s even more hilarious is that she uses a specific example from that mom in California who had money problems during a once in a lifetime global pandemic to make her point. Nothing says “I’m an uneducated idiot” more than using an extreme to justify your position.
16:20 - did you watch that full video? He was yelling because she was being a nasty piece of work towards him the entire appointment. She riled him up by being an awful human being. 17:05 - he did NOT sexually harass her at all! He just told her that her "house should stop breeding" because she had five kids she couldn't afford by three different men (and her 14-year-old is clearly taking on a parental role with the younger ones) and because she didn't get her cat fixed she now has kittens to take care of as well. She just didn't like being called out for her irresponsible decisions. There are just criticisms of Caleb but you clearly haven't done anywhere near enough research since your feedback is so surface-level and feelings heavy.
7:00 if you watch a full Caleb hammer video (or just skip to where he shows the spending pie chart) it is often (not always) the case that someone spends 25%-50% of their budget on eating out, random Amazon purchases, etc.
@@jirehguy Its not in these people's circumstances 99% of the time. They make poor choices and then can't afford their necessities. Stop making excuses for people, they don't deserve it nor need it.
@@AB-uq8yh not at all brother. If a person making 6 figures w/ no kids can’t make ends meet, sure. The median salary is 48k. It’s hard to find rent under $1500, meaning a person making median salary in an average apartment would spend 38% of their pre-tax income on rent (recommended is 25%)
@@AB-uq8yh wages have not kept up with anything. Rent as a portion of income is at record highs. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy. Trying to improve your income potential by getting an education is more expensive than ever. You can’t blame structural issues entirely on individuals. If you think everyone’s problems would be solved if they stopped buying fast food, (ignoring the affect it would have on the economy) then you’re likely coming from a privileged position where you’ve always had margin to be able to cut back and still be able to get ahead.
But if you can’t afford to pay your rent and buy food - you can’t afford a $10 subscription. That simple. So you need to get to a point where you can afford the necessities - whether you get roommates, or move back in with parents or find cheaper places - live in sketchier places. People need to stop thinking that they deserve to have the things they can’t afford. Earn it. Find a way to make it happen. In regards to the comment it’s absolutely possible to make renting somewhere work when it is 50% or 66% of your income - is it recommended, no, but you make your cost of living allow for you to spend that much on rent. So you’re not spending all 33% on food you have to budget like 20% is food, 5% is utilities, and then 8% gets to be your mode of transport but you’ll need to make sacrifices. That’s how being an adult works. Doesn’t mean you can go on shopping sprees and buy stupid things. Now I would never live in the US due to not having universal healthcare so I can’t speak on medical debt but that’s why emergency funds are so important to have but I know tons of people who’d blow it on unnecessary things that they think are necessary in their current situation and then when a real emergency pops up they don’t have money and go further into debt.
I liked Caleb at first but when he featured Boogie2988 (or whatever his name is) I slowed down watching. When he started bringing up every episode that he had to buy a Tesla and mocking other cars (whether they were paid off or not) I was done. It was just another example of being out of touch. His ego has outgrown my interest.
Yeah and Caleb knows absolutely nothing about cars lmao. The Tesla is just a status symbol. It's stupid that he gives people advice on things that he obviously doesn't know anything about.
@@glowing_rectangleI watch a lot of F1 and if that’s just meant to be an advertisement for like all of those super luxury cars, based on performance, fuck a Ferrari I’m getting a Red Bull
i so agree, the second i tapped out was when he shamed a guest for having an older car that makes a noise when driving because “do you think everyone wants to hear you driving around”. i was shocked at how extremely out of touch the entire thing was
8:16 why are u talking about "most ppl" here when he's counseling a specific person who CAN be debt free. This vid was interesting but i disagree with so many points. It also feels like surface criticism and not very introspective.
I feel so many of the points in this video would’ve not even been made if she actually watched Caleb’s content more. He is not nearly as extreme and unreasonable as she makes him out to be. I don’t think he ever recommended anyone not to have any paid fun for 5-10 years. He himself would say that’s unsustainable. He also isn’t completely against having any debt - it’s just the debt you cannot manage or makes you loose money over time he’s opposed to. An in depth video should be just that - in depth, and this missed the mark for me.
There's getting in debt because of the bad financial system (healthcare, education, low wages etc) and there's getting in debt because of bad lifestyle habits. There's people living paycheck to paycheck because wages are too low, and there's people living paycheck to paycheck because of huge lifestyle inflation. Tyfanny, you have a point in the first case of people. Caleb has a point in the second case of people. And many people who come on his show, are this second kind of people. I would have to watch the Erin show to make a judgement in full context about that Spotify. But in general, I like his shows (but I haven't seen the Erin show).
From what I recall, she was living on a tiny salary while finishing her PhD. She had a $70.000 student loan and her rent was too high. Caleb advised a smaller apartment or roommates. She was also divorced, and that had messed her finances. Her surgery racked up more debt. She became defensive when asked how she would make a career out of her PhD, and tried to play the card of "Arts & Humanities are precarious, you wouldn't understand", without knowing Caleb Hammer pursued a Music Composition degree, so he knows perfectly well how much the job opportunities suck out there. From then on she just shut off and refused to listen to any suggestions, to the point where Caleb asked why she even applied to be on the show. I personally watch FA because sometimes they show a spending pattern that sounds too familiar and should be amended. It has lit off a fire under my ass to get my shit together and be watchful of my finances.
Can’t wait to watch! I was binging Caleb a lot at the end of the year and I really think he can do some fine work showcasing the importance of financial literacy for a younger generation with an often “doom” sense of the future. That said, his videos have gotten really mean over the last few months and the few times I’ve watched recently, he doesn’t look like he’s enjoying his work. I truly hope he’s able to take a break or do some re-evaluation because I think he can be a strong media figure and I don’t think the goal of his content is with negative intentions.
i feel like every episode is less and less about finances, it's more just about people with messy and dramatic lives. I want to learn how to budget, not hear about someone's extramarital affair.
@kath_barbadoro The problem is, if you want to learn how to budget, Google "How to budget", do ~5 minutes of reading and then you know how to budget. Then just go live your life and stick to your budget. Nobody needs to be regularly watching hour-long episodes 3 times a week to learn personal finance. The show has to stay interesting and retain viewers somehow so he can keep running his business and make his living. Its exploiting people in bad situations for entertainment, justifying itself by calling it "educational". And I'll admit, I watch Caleb Hammer. I just don't lie to myself by saying I watch it to learn anything.
Caleb changes names to not dox people. Also if you watch his shit he explains how he goes over with the guests and gets preapproval of the taglines and thumbnails. Yes some people need to hit the bottom to make a change. But if you look at the one with the recovering addict, he makes it a point to not yell at hime because he sees that it isnt what he needs....
i was a big fan of caleb when he was coming up a few summers ago, and since have stopped watching just bc it’s the same thing. however, i do encourage people to watch his old stuff bc he is coming from a place of sharing his own experience and what worked for him which was doing a complete reset. i also really liked him bc he would encourage therapy and getting help when mental health inhibits following a budget and he has even shared how his own mental health is suffering by doing the show, but he sees it as a sacrifice for his financial future. additionally, he tells his guests what they are getting into (screaming and thumbnail wise), pays them well for their appearances, and gives them access to free real financial advice and planners afterwards. i think his vitality has made him slightly misunderstood, but i also appreciate the disagreeal with his approach in general. just bc it works for him doesn’t mean it will work for others, however they seek him out for advice to it’s hard to blame him for being transparent about what they are getting into
I found Caleb months ago and binged like 4 episodes a day for like weeks. Then would watch his new uploads every day he uploaded . But similarly to how like murder podcasts or just negative media starts to affect your mental I noticed his channel did that too. He is not a good person and constantly shows outright sexism and RACSIM on that show. After he said to a Black male guest “have you ever heard of slavery” in Thai disgusting tone that was the day I stopped watching. He’s a former (admitted) and present bully and I think his toxicity has no place on the internet or at least in my life. He’s a mutimillionaire with a ton of investments so he’s set for life even if his channel takes a dive like many do after X amount of time. He’s disgusting and defends his straight up racism and bullying in every way. This guy has employees….I can’t fathom working for that incel.
I say all this but if you want actual financial insight I recommend The Financial Diet and Ramit Sethi and YourRichBFF has a substack as well as some of videos.
Caleb brings on people knowing they don’t have strong financial literacy but still talks down to them about not knowing financial intricacies when they came on the show for help! He uses them for content and views and just berates them. He’s gross in every way.
Same. Found him in April, binge watched him nonstop from April till mid July when he posted his recent video with a man called Jack who was very obviously autistic and Caldb kept mocking his behaviors. What was Jack doing that warranted being mocked, you ask? Smiling when Caleb yelled at him. Looked at Caleb's arm when he scratched. Looked at the staff walking around instead of looking at Caleb. Made noises that sounded like laughing but was just a vocal stim. Truly banal things that should not have been pointed out and acknowledged the way it was. I stopped watching right then and there and instead watch anyone BUT him pretty much... my love for Tiffany came pretty much on the heels of my avoiding Caleb, so I thank him being a jackass with finding Tiff :)
I’m debt free. Debt becomes morally neutral when your spending is already under control. We can’t ignore the fact that there are lots of people who compulsively spend like it’s a disease. And for some people tough love works.
I should probably finish the video before commenting but a few thoughts spring up. I’ve been watching Caleb Hammer since some of his older videos and I do wish he’d go back to explaining certain concepts better and also picking guests who arent in it for the drama like most recent episodes. He actually used to do a really good job at explaining things. Now hes just repeated them so much that he expects everyone to know it which isnt fair. That being said, I dont have as harsh feelings towards him as others in the comments. The occasional episode he posts with a normal guest (which are getting fewer in between) are quite civil. And by normal, I dont mean someone who agrees with everything he says. But when a guest understands the gravity of their situation and isnt lying to him, he tends to be a lot more gentle. He will even put in a small part for fun in their budget if he sees theyre taking it seriously. I also think his mindset of small decisions being a big deal is actually very accurate especially with most of the guests he has. Some of them literally say they can barely scrape by, but looking at their expenses theres hundredsss of dollars a month that are unnecessary. He reads off the purchases to show them the volume of it. When he does follow up, a lot of guests will deviate from the plan and the ones that make progress but not as fast still get lots of encouragement due to making progress. He also takes into account mental issues and therapy costs. He recognizes when people are just genuinely in bad situations without much of their fault. I don’t see someone as evil if theyre paying their employees well above that position’s typical pay, and always giving travel expenses and reimbursements to each guest for their time. I feel likes he gone a little bit off the rails with focusing on views and not honing in on each person gently, but I really dont think hes an awful person nor does his advice suck. I feel like graham is way worse for basically telling one of Caleb’s employees to be grateful that hes even getting paid because he’d have hired him just for the experience
Ok, the whole Spotify thing. It's a lot cheaper than going to any live music. Bars, concerts, county fairs etc. When you look at it that way, it saves so much money. A music concert, the Tickets, transportation, hotels, food, missing work/school Let people have some joy
I've watched that whole episode. He wasn't just yelling about the $10/month charge. His point was why pay for a service that you can enjoy for free (with ads), when you're struggling with your bills and paying interest. It's not like you have to stop listening to music completely, just that the $10 is better spent on paying off the debt.
Have people forgotten how to download music?? It's not like Spotify pays artists fairly per view. If debt is not immoral, so is torrenting an album if you don't owe to nickels to rub together...
@@nischalbhandari5998while he’s not necessarily wrong, its silly for him to insist on that when his guest told him that those $10 spent is worth it for them. People are not robots we deserve to have that something thats worth paying for that improves out quality of life
@@nischalbhandari5998 It really is case by case. If Spotify without adds is what helps a person not spend more at bars/concerts/county fairs, I think it's worth it. If this what motivates someone to exercise or clean their home, its worth it. Like I can use Free TH-cam, and actively Block the 20min commercials... That's sadly a thing.
Financial Audit rant - You having only watched 2 episodes and a bunch of yes, baity tiktoks says more about you. Caleb is very caring especially to those who cannot handle the tough discussions, there have been many instances where he said "oh am i going too hard? Im sorry, i need to work on that, im just worried for you" They discuss in the shows what people are okay with or not and the titles and thumb nails all approved by the guest on the show. Caleb's show is specifically pointed at people who question how they got into so much debt and feel like theyre drowning and he points out the overtly silly purchases on credit. I am an Australian so the crazy use of credit cards is absolutely wild to me despite learning so much about the US side from that show. But as Caleb points out - what is the use of lowering your credit score not being able to manage a credit card if you are not in any position to take out mortgage debt. Thats just a dumb notion that the systems have set people up for. And also if you arent sure about something then LEARN. I see so many being like "idk what a credit card was but I sighed up anyway" Going back to Caleb however, he offers courses to boost resumes and a free budgeting course which is more tailored to the person, which would account for that extra $10 spotify cost, because of course the show is going to be the most strict as a wake up call to what the best case scenario would be.
Tbh though, I absolutely hate paying interest and I’m glad there are platforms educating people on how dangerous interest can be if you let it rack up, which most Americans tend to do.
We moved out of the US to a country with government healthcare. We were paying $20-30k per year for insurance and medical things. That was a huge part of our budget. They also have good public transit here, so our transportation costs are nearly zero now. We can afford ALL of the avocado toast now!!!
@@coolchameleon21 it’s tough, and some days we are like….what have we done? But overall it’s been great. We had a specific reason we were in danger in the US, but even just sending my kids to school without worrying about gun violence has been such a good experience
Long time fan, hi! :) This is the first video of yours I've found that I soundly disagree with. Both in how you framed fellow creators, and what you feel is the best approach deal with a particular issue. But I love that your video is a supportive voice for those who like the soft-touch slow-progress approach to goal setting. Sometimes those voices don't get heard as well in the financial change sphere. So I'm very glad you're here to affirm the ones who thrive best in that model! Thanks for creating your videos for us with such diligence, even while working hard at growing a baby. I think your little one is going to be very lucky to have a mom who understands so well how to listen to others with compassion!
You’ve got bigger problems if you are so easily persuaded to buy something. You can’t live your life covering your eyes to avoid billboards and advertisements and covering your ears to not hear ads. Being an adult is learning to have self control and discipline.
As someone who loves to consume financial media, I had to drastically reduce my financial media consumption. I realized so much of it was just people judging others for their bad financial decisions. I obviously ran into Caleb. I saw one of his videos and immediately hit the don't recommend on his videos. He would be happy to know he inspired me to trim these kinds of videos to one channel and that channel is from actual financial professionals with years of experience who aren't condescending on people who ask for advice because yeah, you can help people without condescending them.
Not the original commenter, but highly recommend the Money Guy channel for US folks, they are actual certified accountants that make videos and live streams going over potential questions viewers may have
Dave Ramsey wrote a book called Financial Peace. Your life really is better with an emergency fund. Regardless of being debt free, having money in saving and enough free money in checking to not worry about an overdraft is a better life than going to the club a few times a month or eating out every day, but then freaking out because of needing a car repair or doctor visit and having to take out payday loans or increase your credit card balance. I changed my behavior after I started watching Financial Audit and when I had a motorcycle accident in June, the thousands of dollars I spent on medical bills didnt wreck my finances. In fact it didn't cause me any additional stress over having a broken arm. I'm so thankful for Caleb's voice in my head shaming me for laying around the house when i had debts to pay.
Caleb used to be very good awhile back. I think this all changed when he hired that new producer guy noah who seems like a parasite. When noah came on, he did an audit with Graham stephan (who is a whole other story). This showed that he was incentivised to expand the business by any means necessary, much to the detriment of the guests coming on as well as the end consumers. Around this time the thumbnails changed to the current wild ones, the abusive titles started showing up and then the sellout post-show garbage that caleb hides behind a paywall. The course nonsense they are pushing and the at least 4-5 sponsors per video started coming up as well. His rating thing is a laugh where he never brings on a guest that gets above maybe 3 on his scale unless they have a ridiculously high income like that amoramth video (which was a wild one).
I agree, I don't just blame Noah because there's others in his production team who I think also push it. They were headed down it but after Noah it became a bro club. They pick guest for shock value vs educational value. They purposely egg Caleb on to be over the top. The thumbnails are Mr. Beast style and I hate them. They aren't useful for their update show. Also they tend to rename them sometime during the first day. I did like the financial audits with Graham and The Money Guys reviewing Caleb. You could tell the difference between someone who was a creator and someone who is an actual financial advisor. If you haven't watched those two back to back it's pretty clear who's actually good with giving financial advice.
The assumption is often that people start from middle class and just make poor financial decisions. There are people (myself included) who grew up below the poverty line, went to college to “get a decent career”, and live paycheck to paycheck because guess what? If you start deep in the hole with no support, EVERYTHING works against you to dig yourself out. I live in the city because it’s where my job is and I can’t afford a car and the payments and expenses that come with it, but it’s more expensive to live in the city. I never had the option to live at home and save up money, and I sure as heck didn’t have the option to have any of my expenses covered by family. Bills and necessities caused overdraft fees. I lived off of canned food and ramen and couldn’t even think about buying a $6 Frappuccino, and it DID NOT MATTER because wealth inequality is a WAY bigger factor in who has debt and who doesn’t than minuscule financial decisions. No connections, no accessibility, no generational cushion… you could make all of the right choices and still only break even. IF that.
People with money really discount the lasting effects of poverty. Sure getting out if it is technically possible, but it's becoming more and more rare, and those who struggle with it can't just "work harder" themselves out of it. A lot of ANY person's long-term success comes down more to luck than people want to admit, particularly in who supported and helped you along the way which is often one of the biggest predictors of how successful you'll be. And when fewer and fewer people who are doing well are helping those that aren't, that's how we end up in the financial climate we are today.
Same. I make more money than the annual household income of my family 😅 but to do that I have to live in a high cost of living metro area with no car and frequent Ubers. Life here is different than at college in my hometown, there are social obligations and dress codes that require me to spend on non-necessities occasionally if I want to have >2 friends. I put 8% of my income into two retirement accounts, have two high yield savings accounts, my dog has insurance and a good vet, my insurance/benefits are amazing, and without a car note I save a lot of money. So the amount of debt isn’t the only number to look at. I wish Caleb would look at other factors like support systems and the job market and financial education level before yelling. Bc some of us are starting from scratch and struggling to have a place in this country.
I’m a frequent Caleb watcher and I’m very confused where people are getting this idea that he’s a bully to people? Pretty sure most of his guests have an idea what they are signing up for. The ultimate goal is normally for them to have a “wake up” call that their finances are in fact bad. Not them as a person. The only time I recall him calling out someone’s character is when they are clearly there for the wrong reasons or disrespectful. I don’t think sitting back and pretending like people don’t have spending issues or not educating them on things like bad interest rates is helpful. Especially when THEY decided to go on the show.
The only debt we have left is our mortgage and WE STILL can’t retire for another 30 years because we worked so hard to pay off debt, now we have to keep working to pay for the opportunity to enjoy retirement. AKA: a f&cking year of our life before we die.
The funny irony of all this is the American economy totally relies on people taking on debt, particularly through credit cards, lines of credit and mortgages in order to function
Say it louder!!! It’s so predatory, and then people are shamed for ending up in its jaws. Financial literacy urgently needs to become part of mainstream education from early on, so that as kids grow into young adults they’re equipped to recognise the traps to try & avoid, and how best to find their way through the pitfalls they can’t avoid.
Possibly an unpopular opinion, but here goes. People who are easily marketed to or influenced by content creators probably benefit from subscriptions that bypass the ads. I have a TH-cam subscription now (it allows for content restrictions on my kids' music) so I don't see the ads. Prior to the subscription, Caleb had so many commercials it was unbearable, and they were commonly Temu ads. People in debt from shopping aren't doing themselves any favors by watching content that feeds them those commercials.
My grandpa lived by the mantra that you need to pay off your debts, live frugally until you do and that you can enjoy your money when you are retired. Both of his wives died from cancer before they got to that point in life.
Here in France, people rarely ever use credit cards, it’s just not a thing. Either you have the money in your checking account or you don’t. People definitely have mortgages, car loans (though frequently we buy used cars for cheap -ish), and sometimes take out personal from the bank, but it’s rare. I guess cheap education and almost free healthcare has it’s perks. As for retirement, so far it’s still paid for by our taxes (until the system crumbles but that’s another subject).
This will be interesting because I have been binging Caleb for the last month or so and am still enjoying his content. Yes he can be mean sometimes and can be unrealistic. But the guests blow my mind sometimes at how BAD and irresponsible they are with money. Like how on earth does it make sense to rack up thousands upon thousands of credit card debt and loans for things they absolutely didn’t need. I know things happen but a lot of them are just financially illiterate and I feel like his show is needed. I luckily decided to get my financial shit together in January after getting a better paying job in October, and watching him makes me feel better about the debts and progress I’ve made so far.
Right? His videos have helped me and others immensely. Sometimes you need to see how bad things are and be shown you can do better. The people that come on the show know this is going to happen and help him pick titles and thumbnails even. He's not bullying people.
Even after a month of watching you are still surprised that some people have a hard time managing their money? I just don’t understand comments like this where someone is seemingly so delighted to announce how stupid they think other people are.
@@MidlifeMoneyMoves I said sometimes it blows my mind because some situations are just so incredibly bad. Obviously I know people aren’t good with money duh. And who said I was delighted?? Or “seemingly” delighted. I said I’m glad I decided to get my finances together and i feel the show is needed, very much needed. I don’t think he’s bullying people, they chose to come on his show and expose their finances for the world to see… I would never do that. They need to see what mistakes they’ve made and how they can get their stuff together. Everyone needs tough love at some point, especially when the choices they’ve made are just dumb, straight up dumb.
@@MidlifeMoneyMovesI don’t think they’re announcing this with delight at all? To me it reads with dismay towards how it’s possible in a country so hyper-focused on money for someone to have grown up without being taught financial literacy.
People make bad choices and want to be told its ok, its all someone else's fault. If you cant do the bare minimum now, how can you expect to be better off in the future?
I think you go to conclusion about CH too soon without watching full clips. Most of people in the show are really reckless with their spending. Sometimes, these people need some tough love, not pampering them that everything will work out.
Caleb isn’t for everyone, but he’s helped a lot of people, including education and support for his guests. I’ve learned from his show, and I understand his approach-but it wouldn’t be the right thing for everyone. It fills a niche.
You're right. He's not. However, I have watched so many of his vids. I sat with the discomfort of my own finances and within 6 months of watching his vids my credit has gone up over 100 points. I totally see how he's not for everyone though and completely get why people feel the way they feel about him.
My husband and I watch a lot of Caleb. He did used to make more well rounded content with a wilder variety of guests. Every since he got the new producer they have been leaning into the rage bate ESPECIALLY in their clips. But often it is just clickbait and he doesnt judge people for past financial decisions. That being said, he also isnt the best at being PC and will prod in the episode. He's better than Dave Ramsey but leans into the rage bait to a fault.
Many people go into debt and pay enormous amount of interest because of our culture of overconsumption. Too many people give into their wants and justify them as needs. Mcdonald's and chipotle are not essentials. Yeah going to a restaurant for a $10 avocado toast is stupid when you can make it at home for $2.
I think it’s not fair to judge calebs financial advise through these short clips … often the advise is legit and he is big on mental health, treating oneself, animal welfare and he is very empathetic to a lot and f guest - sure he has clickbaity titles but he literally explains ans discusses them with the guests
I used to watch Caleb when he had less than 50k subs and it felt like the faster he grew the more mean spirited the conversations got and I could not keep watching. Glad someone is mentioning how just mean/infantilizing some of this content can be
i do have to disagree with the general sentiment that “debt is morally neutral”. debt is what can lead to people losing their homes, cars, and more importantly retirement. the point is that as a generation, we are more focused on instant gratification and small dopamine hits, then recognizing the long term goals such as retirement, buying a home, funding education for your children. i think it’s detrimental to state that something when not acted on with control (taking out a student loan or a mortgage and paid off accordingly) can be “neutral” and should something happen, this debt can land onto someone else and become another person’s burden! while i think caleb is a white man from middle of nowhere michigan who has no understanding to the nuances of culture and obligation, which is fundamentally not helpful to the conversation or the guests situation is a fair assessment. he is the typical cishet white dude who makes flagrant commentary that is fairly inappropriate from time to time. however, i do think he depicts situations where people are somewhat affluent and their utilization isn’t appropriate or young individuals who have little understand of debt that lead to situations they could have avoided. but morally neutral? i don’t think so.
Retirement is for the wealthy dear, noone from a low to middle income will be able to comfortably retire or even retire at all, not sorry but the boomers have made this absolutely impossible for low income earners and it is not a low income earners fault either, and the boomers knew well and truly what they were doing as they've clubbed it into gen x to take over the rot that is the economy they've made way worse.
I’m so glad someone pointed out exactly what I was thinking!! Like I liked Caleb, especially at the beginning… you can tell he is not a bad person, but the thumbnails and the way he speaks to their guests is just RIDICULOUS. Like did he forget they are the reason why HE is making a ton of money? He needs them to have his show. The fact he thinks it’s okay for him to yell, curse, insult them and be rude to them while he does the very basic financial audit…
I imagine a mini Caleb in my brain when I think about making a purchase I know is a bad idea. It works for me, but know that it doesn’t work for everyone. One thing I definitely wish in Caleb’s videos is if he did include a budget for “fun stuff” like Netflix or Spotify. Definitely the more realistic approach to budgeting. Doesn’t need to be much. When I was in credit card debt, I let myself have $200 a month for miscellaneous stuff and worked a second job at the movies in my mid 20s. Def had to put my pride aside, but it was only temporary. One thing I do agree with Caleb is laying in the bed you make. I put myself in credit card debt, so I’m the one who has to make the short term sacrifices to get myself out of the debt. Everyone’s situation is different, so everyone answer to get out of debt will be different. The feeling of being debt free was so worth it for me.
The fun money thing is why I like Ramit Sethi. His spending plan has a category called "guilt free spending". In fact, my secondary checking account is just for that now. I never have to think "do I have it in my budget to afford this?" because every month it's accounted for in that spot.
This kind of financial advice reminds me of diet culture. "It's simple: burn more calories than you consume!" "It's simple: spend less money than you make!" It ignores that depriving yourself constantly is unsustainable. You will break, and you will be worse off because of it. It is inhuman to make yourself suffer continuously when you don't have to.
Also, nothing about dieting is simple. Current scientific research still can’t fully grasp complete nutrition or the pathology of why some people gain/lose weight easier than others. Because biology is never black and white and never applies to everyone. People say it is “simple” to either sell you something or try to encourage you to try (it’s easy, you can do it!) completely ignoring the fact that if then the person struggles or fails they feel isolated and alone or weak because “everyone finds it so easy, why can’t I do it?” Sadly there is no easy “one size fits all” it’s a lot of trying and failing to find what works for you and what you can sustain doing for a long time.
@@rebeccajesse4604 I see your argument, but I would like to disagree. :) We can teach the chemistry of how energy is converted in our cells to a middleschooler. We know how much energy is contained in a gram of sugar /protein / fat. And know how to calculate how much energy certain tasks take. It's simple, *not easy*. Same for our finances. It's tough to realize that going to the movies for 13 bucks, popcorn and getting a burger for 14 and boba for 10 ends up being over 50 bucks w/ tips spent on a single evening. The math can be done by a pre-schooler. But it doesn't feel right. Caleb keeps repeating that his show is meant as a wake up call for people who spend more than they make while wasting a lot of money on superfluous stuff. That said, he's human and sometimes he crosses the line with guests. Whenever it goes too far for me I leave a dislike and watch another episode. But I've also seen him tell people that Spotify is okay if they were willing to make the cut somewhere else. But nuance rarely makes it into the Tiktok clip format, I guess. Some of his guests have credit cards and car loans well in the 30K with an interest rate of over 20%. The math tells you that these people are paying $500/month in just interest for the loan, and they're blissfully ignorant. It also tells you that (assuming the loan is 5 years), directing $100 to your debt would save you $150 in interest over the course of the loan. If I was him I would ask my guest if they would keep their Spotify if it was $25 - because that's the real cost of it when you have cc debt. Caleb, Dave and all the other shows like it may have their flaws, but they're an overall net positive.
@@DanikaLeighEllis Allowing yourself treats is a good way to snack yourself back to maintenance. I learned it the hard way. I've been working out hard on average 3 times a week, the only success indicator of weight loss was being hungry.
@@janisir4529 There's a difference between allowing random treats and "budgeting" in those foods. The latter is very healthy, especially psychologically, and will keep people on their goals longer. Anything in moderation and all that
@@lizzyblitz07 if you can do that good for you, you really only need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, but then you kinda have to budget out real food, and you just kinda reawaken sugar cravings that can lead you down a spiral of diet mistakes until you give up.
I think it's completely reasonable for everyone to be debt free. In the worst case scenario, you can file bankruptcy and start paying cash for everything. The thing with spotify premium and debt is - you're PUSHING BACK YOUR OWN RETIREMENT over not wanting to hear some ads. Is it worth it? 30% APR is what should be 'illegal', it's not just a $120/year subscription, its a $36/year for the rest of your life subscription. When you pay interest, you're paying for no product - you're taking away from your future. At least with a mortgage, that interest is potentially tax-deductible. Yes his thumbnails are clickbait, he admits this and allegedly tells his guests before they come on that they are likely to be used in a clickbaity way.
engaging with rage bait and getting mad?? I am shocked!! lmao hope y'all enjoy this one!
I’m sorry but the Caleb section is done so poorly seems like you only watched the clips of his videos and not the full version. especially at 16:09 if you watch the full episode the guest would not let him speak at all which is why he was getting frustrated hence this clip. It’s ironic to discuss click bait yet at the same time you are a victim of click bait lol
@@ArcadiasPlanetshe literally said she watched both of those eps in full.
When will you admit that capitalism isn't okay anymore?
Thank you for the video! I wonder if you have ever come across Ramit Sethi’s videos. His discussions with couples seem more real
Then she’s literally dumb, even on the transgender person part. That guest made a hellava lot of money which is why Caleb was questioning her as to why she would use her emergency fund money to pay for her medical stuff.
Caleb has a lot of guests who are genuinely delusional about the situation they're in. I saw a video with a woman who wouldn't pay her bills and prioritized vacations instead (thousands of dollars)- THAT is irresponsible in my opinion. But, I also saw this video with Erin and it made me upset for her bc she's right. Small pleasures shouldn't be a pipe dream, we should be able to enjoy Spotify or Netflix. When someone comes to you for help in earnest, don't berate them.
THAT'S my issue. The name calling and berating people is just nuts.
Unfortunately that is the show. They sign up and they do give consent on titles of the show and more
I consider this genre financial BDSM - tell me I’m bad for spending, tell me I’m good for saving…I used my credit cards, punish me!!
yeah I think you're right, he even has merch that uses BDSM terms and replaces hem with financial terms. He's just missing the sexual content lol
@@superlifeofparty bonds, dividens, stocks, mutual funds
@@superlifeofparty His content is literally humiliation porn.
Financial BDSM is a thing that's existed for a very long time and the only difference is that it's fucking consentual.
"Better than I deserve" Ramsey
Coming from my personal experience, I felt like Caleb's audits really helped me understand that I had a major spending problem. His audits are exactly that, audits. He isn't giving financial advice because that's not the point of the show. However, he does set them up with a financial advisor for free as well as gifting them tools which teach them how to create their own budget. In many of his videos, he does give an allowance for "treats" which subscriptions like Spotify can go into.
The whole "treat" argument actually reminds me of when I was a kid and really wanted some toy and my parents would usually tell me no, but sometimes they would let me get it. Being an adult is partially about parenting yourself and realizing that no, you can't always get what you want when you want it, but that doesn't mean you can never have it.
he doesn’t do financial advisor for free anymore. Also watching really financial advisor on TH-cam would have giving you the same message if not better.
@@mb3938maybe so, but his content is better at drawing in new people- lower quality financial "advice"/education is better than none at all. I think his reach/content is better for at least getting more people started on the track of fixing their finances, rather than a financial advisor (still very useful though!!)
@@mb3938it's usually better and they speak to you like am adult to boot
@@mb3938he does still do financial advisors for GUESTS of his show for free and there’s an initial consultation provided free of charge for anyone who uses his link. An initial consultation with advisors is a great first step to opening one’s eyes on the reality of their situation. Are all sessions with a financial advisor funded by Caleb and his team? No. But it’s how growing up works, taking responsibility and control of one’s own finances is critical for success.
Exactly! She's seen 2 videos of him. I think she needs to really look at his show because most of these people say they can't afford things but really small purchases add up to what their debt is (pr more).
His show is a wake up call that most people don't want to hear
I've been subscribed to Caleb since February 2023. His videos motivated me to pay off my debt quickly. I had roughly $15,000 of credit card debt and now I'm almost debt free (I have about $1500 remaining). However, I really appreciate this video and your perspective. I've put myself through so much stress and mental exhaustion living solely off my necessities and putting everything else towards debt. I haven't given myself any room for fun activities, hobbies, etc. I feel guilty anytime I want to take myself out to eat. I didn't realize how much of a toll it's taken on me until recently. This video made me realize that enjoying life isn't a crime and what I'm doing isn't sustainable. I can still pay off debt but leave some room for the things I enjoy. Thank you so much.
You’ve made incredible progress, you should be proud!! But yes I hope you can relax a little more now and let yourself enjoy some treats without guilt!
@@tiffanyferg Are you planning on publishing a survey about the topic of public housing in the US?
Wow that’s amazing work! I hope you feel so proud of yourself! And yeah, focusing so much on one thing and cutting joy out of your life can make it hard to relax the reigns and/or relax the reigns without losing control. I just finished a degree and residency and through it all I avoided reading for pleasure because I tend to do that at the expense of everything else. Now that I am able to relax again I find it hard to do so without feeling guilty. I hope you have better luck than me (I haven’t given up, just accepted that it will take time).
I was the same way until I met my fiance & he told me about how his grandparents were obsessed with having money for retirement so they were often living away from each other for work & then they finally could retire & the grandpa died a year in. It really opened my eyes that living now is better (obvi not overdoing it but it’s ok to splurge!)
@@Funkyfreak1girl Neither extreme is good, these predatory companies intentionally want you to get into debt. They are not our friends. Live your life but don't use debt to do it. Reward yourself by going to the park, engaging in local events and fairs, these companies WANT us to have fomo and spend thousands on superficial items.
Caleb’s content makes a lot more sense when you watch the full TH-cam videos rather than the shorts. A lot of his guests spend more on eating out or random shit than anything else, they go to him for help getting out of debt and they don’t realise where their money is going. He’ll show pie charts of their spending categories and then build them a budget.
I disagree, he doesn't acknowledge any external factors like racism and mental health unless its him
@@zharak843okay I don’t like his videos anymore because of the meanness but he does mention mental health and societal factors. There are plenty of things about him to complain about and that is not one of them.
The guests agree on the title and fotos of the youtube videos
@Thatonegirl989 mentioning them briefly is a throw away comment. it doesn't hold value if you don't actually consider it and mention it throughout
@@zharak843 that’s not what happens… He’s talked to plenty of people that struggled with addiction or mental health and told them we’re not going to get anywhere with you in this state and you should take these steps for now. Offered people help with therapy and showed genuine concern. You’d know that if you’ve seen videos completely. Like I said there’s plenty to criticize him for, but this isn’t one of them.
The issue is that the small things add up. If you watch his audits, most people are spending 30-40% of their income eating out and "treating" themselves when they have high fixed costs.
@reis9866 and it's on a credit card that's nearly maxed out.
I agree with this but I think that randomly pinpointing one element like spotify does nothing much. it would make more sense to categorize expenses and build down the feeling of need to spend on those categories in case we are talking about non-necessities. or create a weekly budget per category to slow down spending and create a structure so money isn’t just flowing through their fingers. I’ve had a spotify subscription for 5 years now, it makes sense and it’s worth it. working around it should be posible.
@@shizuevoltam I don't think I've ever seen a guest of his be willing to sacrifice *anything* in their lives though. So many of his guests have extra cars or motorcycles that they refuse to sell. Or they are committed to declaring bankruptcy rather than trying to fix the problem, or refuse to get a second job. When you watch so many episodes and you witness the same denial of responsibility over and over, it's hard to not get frustrated when they won't even consider canceling some of their subscriptions.
@BobbyMack the worst is when they say theyre a fan. Like do you or do you not ACTUALLY watch his content 😭 if you do then why r u so surprised that u need to make sacrifices
This is very true. Tiff is very much on the money that he leans into rage bait, he generally latches onto random things, will exaggerate problems over simple misunderstandings, and take an attitude that tries to get guests to fire back. He’s also completely correct about his financial advice 99% of the time. There are a lot of videos where the guest is getting a generous rent situation or has above 100k/year income and is genuinely spending 30%-50% of their income on Uber eats. You will also hear some people say incredibly delusional things about how money works and get extremely defensive about bad spending habits without provocation.
Ok, I'm all for Caleb criticism, but one thing I'll say to clarify: (That I wish *HE* would make a better point to clarify) is that when he's rattling off all the random small expenses, often times his point is that they are making those purchases on a credit card that is already past its limit and is carrying a balance/acrewing interest. In that case, any purchase made specifically ON THAT CARD better be extremely justifyable, otherwise its very financially stupid because it is unnecessarily contributing to a growing snowball of debt.
But that nuance is completely lost in translation with how Caleb presents his content, which I would argue is due to irresponsibility on Caleb's part.
See I never got that part when watching him, that would've been actually good financial advice imo!
Came here to say this. Maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but for me when I look at my statements and I see a bunch of small transactions I know u bought some bs that I'll forget about in a month. A lot of the people on the show can't remember what these purchases are
all nuance is lost when Caleb goes immediately to judgement instead of compassion and understanding
I was thinking the same thing. Also all that stuff adds up. They’ll be complaining about not being able to pay their bills but they put $200+ of eating out on their credit card??? Nah bro that’s a reality check some ppl need. Can’t spend money that you just don’t have period.
@joziemokihana9218 Right. I can't decide how I ultimately feel about Caleb, because I think his advice is sound, just his delivery can be unproductive
im glad more people are talking about Caleb, dudes such a hypocrite. Can insult his guest all he wants and as soon as someone calls him out he bans them from his subreddit
he is actually such a manchild! it's hard to watch
I also can't stand his audience on youtube shorts. Anytime a trans person is on they keep getting called delusional, "lifestyle" and all that and I DO NOT see any content from him not condoning, calling out or moderating his comments. It's always so VILE and from what I can see there are no mitigation on his end.
This is the comment I was looking for! Hard agree. I enjoy listening to others' situations, but he being on the other end makes it difficult to watch an entire episode.
I noticed that his thumbnails would be super sexist with how he portrays his guests, He claims that his guests consented to that, but are they really truly consenting to that kind of disrespect?
hes also been exposed for using paid actors as guests
Some of Caleb's episodes are helpful. So many people are terrified of even looking at their finances, many guests don't even know how much they spend (one woman guessed 2k/month when her real expenses were 8k) and think just because life's hard that they don't have another option but to live in perpetual debt. The episodes where Caleb does the math and shows them they can be debt free in X amount of months if they just temporarily sacrifice immediate pleasure for long-term rewards are great imo, if I was in their situation that'd give me so much hope. That being said, those episodes where the guests are so stubborn that they just yell all the time amd never even reach the budgeting part are so frustrating they're not even fun.
Also many guest claim they watched show before, but sometimes guests do not even know how much they earn in a month. Which is in the first 2 mins of each video
😊
@ladrok97 those people tend to actually taking the recommendations of friends or family to come on the show
Oh gosh, I dunno if I can get through this video without blowing my gasket.
I work at a credit union, and through that work I do a lot with financial education (financial well-being for all) and advocacy on a state and national level. There are SO SO SO many systemic issues that have led to where we are as a country. We've completely failed to educate people how to navigate our systems because our systems are already so fucked up. Good on you for trying to wade into this fire without developing high blood pressure.
Have you watched any FULL episodes of Caleb’s show? Or just shorts?
@@lesauberginesyes dude i have and they are not great, especially the new ones
@@lesaubergines I wasn't even talking about Caleb in my comment, just the general concept of our broken systems.
@@lesauberginesYep, sure have. Pretty sure I haven’t unsubscribed from him either. He’s a condescending jerk. Are there absolutely out-of-control cases? Sure (I see a blonde lady with a hat who was a lifestyle coach or something in my mind-I wanted to throttle her), but he’s a self-righteous know-it-all with not enough empathy to be advising anyone. And empathy is important. I’m a divorce attorney. I’m constantly working with clients on how to make ends meet with reduced incomes. It’s hyper-anxiety inducing, and being berated is the last thing they need.
@@TheRonnieaj I absolutely agree that empathy is important. Budgeting isn't just numbers added together. It's numbers plus human psychology.
Also on a personal note, I don't believe in complete deprivation during the debt payoff step. Honestly what's the point of living (sorry got a little dark, but truly).
Last year I looked at my spending and was surprised that I really didn't have much to cut. I don't drink, go out to clubs, go on vacations, I barely ever buy new clothes. Really the only thing I treat myself to is restaurant food or snacks from the corner store. But even then, that was only around $150 a month. Then I got hit with multiple surprise car expenses back to back that added up to $3000 over 3 months.
Yeah mathematically the smart thing to do is just always be frugal but realizing that a year+ of frugality can be wiped out in a single bill leaves you wondering what would be the point.
So I try not to beat myself up over my spending a bit here and there over the one thing I allow myself.
That's totally fair but a lot of his guests are in debt because of silly purchases adding up generally and like thousands and thousands of debt
If you do a year of frugality to build up an emergency fund that gets wiped out by an unexpected car expense, that doesn't make the frugality pointless. That means you avoided paying that expense with debt that might take multiple years of frugality to pay back.
And now imagine that, except with 30% interest...
If you don't need to go into debt over something like that, it was worth it.
And that’s why you will die poor. Because instead of going out and getting after it and trying to change your life for the better, you just accept that it’s not your fault and there is nothing you can really do about it.
@@Tj_McQueen my personal experience (only debt being mortgage and grad school loans) today’s world is really hard to go the extra mile and see actual results. I’ve been applying for new jobs because my current one doesn’t pay enough for how expensive basic essentials are and no luck over 9 months so far, I’ve done craft shows/online sales to boost (not even breaking even because people are trying to spend less), attempted selling things on FB marketplace with only $5 here or there. Luckily I cat-sit over the holidays and that held me over until I got my check today. My husband and I genuinely decided we can’t afford to have kids so at least that will save us some money in the long run but it’s been awful for my mental health these past few months especially
I really loved Caleb, when he first started. Before the yelling. He had a guest that showed up drunk. He shower compassion to him. He gave him the option to not air the episode.
The Spotify charge is so insane. You should use budgeting like a diet. Fully restrictive diets have poor results. Completely cutting off any food someone might like that they deem a “treat” will make it more likely for them to eventually binge and have a bad relationship with food. That one slice of cake becomes all consuming and they lose any ability to learn healthy habits. Moderation is key.
Having a cheap treat ($10 a month for Spotify) being in their monthly budget means they learn how to well budget a treat. They understand it’s not necessary, but it’s a treat and we can pay for those when we budget for them.
This! This is what I’ve felt!
Exactly!! And aren't there limits with free Spotify? Like you can't do skips or play one song on repeat?
@@daisydogyou can’t see lyrics 😢
@@emrysj4388
Woah, I couldn't enjoy most songs then cause my audio processing is bad bad...
Exactly! He is preaching the restrictive diet! It is what I have been thinking for about a year and I don't understand how people are not seeing it. Thank you so much for your comment, I feel less crazy now.
One thing in particular that I dislike about Caleb and his fans is Caleb always says "no one in the comments should make fun of my guest. I only do it because we have a friendly raport outside of the show and they sign a waiver basically saying I can yell at them for entertainment purposes and they're here getting help and you're not...so mleh"
But then he doesnt censor or prohibit guest mockery in the comments on ANY platform, whereas comments directed at him are almost instantly modded out.
Any and all negative feedback about his 100$ budgeting course and 100$ investing course are removed on every platform, too. If you see a negative comment about Caleb or his show on any of his pages, it just hasnt been deleted yet. Thats why I'm so vocal in your comments right now... Caleb cant censor his critics here. You deserve the views and comments more than he does.
There's valid criticism of the sponsors he promotes too but he won't allow that
@@engyolyonline4208Yup how people let him know that BetterHelp wasn’t a good organization and he said “well I had a good experience w them”. Of course you had a good experience w them they’re trying to work w u so u can promote them to your audience. Then, found out himself they weren’t good and I believe dropped working w them
I’ve seen blatant transphobia in his comments going entirely unchecked
What negative stuff about his courses? I sometimes watched his videos and I'm curious what might be bad with them, he seems like an earnest (if condescending and intense) guy
I remember seeing clips when amouranth went on his channel, and the amount of sexist, anti-simp, anti-sex worker comments was infuriating. And fuck Caleb for not even pinning a note saying it wasn’t acceptable. He made so much money off of having her as a guest only to let people leave hate comments for her just to get more engagement.
I think the thing that’s missing here isn’t that he’s shaming the small things - it’s that they can’t afford it. There have also been episodes where someone is blowing all their money on door dash but they can afford it no problem. So he doesn’t get mad, not one bit. The whole point is to bring the fact that people are choosing convenience over financial priorities and goals that they themselves have.
YES!!! Caleb was right, it's the £200-300 a month on takeaways that can really bite- trust me, I know!!!
There's a mixture of issues happening here.
1.) Caleb Hammer (I believe) originally had good intentions with wanting to save people from their own bad financial decisions and guide them to get out of debt because it is incredibly frustrating and easy to feel hopeless.
2.) People ARE living above their means, and live with high fixed costs to chase the American dream BUT nobody has informed us that the American dream is dead. It's okay to not own a home, or to live with roommates, or to live in a 1 bed room apartment, or with your parents. These debts 99.9% of the time are from high fixed costs trying to chase a lifestyle that is far outside of their means.
In summary, enjoy your coffee, enjoy your Spotify, go on vacation BUT when you make long term financial decisions like renting an apartment, buying a car, taking a loan out etc etc,, think about how much it will actually cost you and what sacrifices you'll have to make in order to pay those things off.
3) People become complacent and don't actually try to fix behaviors or strive for more things
agreed
I originally found his early episodes (18 months ago or so) more inspirational. The car payments and different predatory debt practices I saw evidenced with his guests were so, I don't know surprising to me. I had heard about payday loans and my mom used to do the layaway programs at Walmart just to get Christmas together but I was unaware of just how much micro loans for shopping existed. I appreciated that the channel helped spur a real conversation within my household, as my husband was the one to see him first. Like I get more help around the house and he cooks now because we decided to be more honest and evaluate our spending decisions. But I always had a 401k and savings account. We had a car note of $360 a month. It feels like he's kicking the sick and downtrodden now and these people need a whole health approach not a reality TV approach. Some of it is that content grind but some of it is that Ramsey grind. Feels like he grew up in a religious environment and hes trying to reconcile some things himself.
@@KathrynHenny i enjoy watching his videos but i think he needs to even them out now with people who are in better financial situations or have a better financial score or are genuinely on a path and budget themselves already towards paying off debt than just being stuck in the completely financially illiterate rage bait 0/10 guests. i also think he should be getting professional training in order to better approach people. he's doing it all his way and i do think he's genuine in it, but i think it's unsustainable
No, you need to cut through the BS right now. He's a bully.
I wish algorithms didn’t reward rage-baiting, but it’s too hard to accurately auto-detect, so now it’s one of the dominant social media strategies because it works 😢
💯! So frustrating.
People have to stop liking this type of content
@@ARaea51it's also like... arguing in the comments, rewatching in shock, disliking. All of that is engagement :/
It’s sad because Caleb used to be NICE in his videos and talk about improving mental health as a way to address the root causes of overspending, and he dropped it all for the rage bait money
It’s no worse than random influencers giving their hot takes via video essays like this one.
I must say, I usually don't comment, but I have to critique you for this one point: joy does not have to equal spending money. Cutting back on spending doesn't have to mean removing joy from your life. It just means finding it in another place, or in a cheaper place. Instead of going out to dinner with friends, have a picnic. You can join a library book club, learn how to cook, start hiking. I think you actually inadvertently highlighted one of the root causes of overconsumption in modern day society: the idea that joy and happiness is something that only can be bought.
I disagree. This is not the 90s anymore. EVERYTHING costs money. The food for that picnic isnt free, and many people live in places where you cannot comfortably eat outside half the year. Also hiking…? You realize that it’s kinda hard to hike regularly without access to a car, right? Its easy to shame people for spending, and a lot of people make questionable financial decisions. But never allowing yourself to spend is no way to live
@@CatBarefieldI get you can disagree with the specific examples but the concept of you don't have to spend money to have joy and happiness I don't know how you can argue. There's also infinitely more free things to enjoy now than in the 90s.
List the more free things.
In modern times there are many things that need to be bought to have fun & enjoy.
Sorry dude it’s literally costing us to enjoy shit now. We don’t have free third spaces anymore
I’m in the middle. I paid down 30k in two years by using cash-stuffing and working a second job. I learned a lot from the discipline and it feels great to be debt free. I can’t stand the holier-than-thou attitudes towards debt though. There will always be discomfort when paying off debt, but different people need different approaches.
I would have to argue with the idea that making more money is the biggest help in paying off debt. Caleb has had plenty guests with strong incomes who just ramp up spending instead of paying debt
I think if you don't lifestyle inflate it definitely is. Increasing your income while your debt doesn't increase solves the problem.
Caleb himself often recommends people work 60-80 hours for a period to increase their income to pay debt.
so true. lifestyle creep can empty your bank account very quickly and a lot of the guests are justifying their frivolous spending beyond the netflix/spotify subscriptions.
People have to have a plan for those increases. I got like $30k in raises in around 18 months. Once I got my first new paycheck, I’d take the difference between my old and new numbers and automatically had 25% go into savings, 50% to debt, and 25% to me. But I had to do it automatically, and it worked out really well for me.
Yes. There was an episode that displays this perfectly. The guest was a paramedic, working ~70 hours a week in a lot of debt. During the show he was talking about starting up a business and picking up a side hustle. He was justifying his bad spending and getting into debt by thinking “I’ll just work more” when he already had a stable job as a paramedic earning over 100k a year
While I don’t like Caleb’s tone all the time, I feel like he is also a product of the worst of his guests. There has been guy proudly spending all his paycheck on strippers, a girl who has gone in thousands of dollars in debt for Fortnight and other games, people who will tell him that “paying off their credit card” does not matter, who refuse to go to grocery store on principle, who face bankrupcy but book a trip to France Olympics on a credit card. People who have made no real motivation to pay off their debts ever.
And yeah, some of it is harsh advice that’s hard to swallow at times, but the way he talks about how parents have responsibility to save for retirement because if they don’t, their children will feel moral obligation to take care of them? Or how credit companies propagate the idea of “credit being neccessary for survival” in order to screw their clients over”? He includes mental health expenses in the budgets, offer course certifications, and for a lot of people these talks serve as a wake up call.
That being said, I am an European and also have terrible debt anxiety - so that probably influences my view.
he can choose to behave differently. Also he wants those guest because it creates drama. It is well know he doesn’t accept guest that don’t bring drama to the show and he said he is not interested in people that are taking good decisions in his finances. It does not create views!
Yes I'm an American, but I agree. He's one of the few people telling the truth and it's so necessary. I still remember in a Dave Ramsey book him saying how Social Security isn't going to pay for everything in your retirement and this is the real world where some old people eat Alpo. 😓 Sad but true!
@@mb3938he wants the show to be entertaining, if he only brought people who were in good financial situations there wouldn't be much to go over, I do think sometimes hes a little annoying but if it was that bad I just wouldn't watch him.
@@mb3938yeah, but does that then warrant the criticism? Maybe im a fanboy, but watching these videos has definitely made ME more personally aware and cautious about my spending as i get ready to live alone PROPERLY (not college) foe the first time.
Quitting cold turkey is very appropriate for some of his guests. If the your 600lbs you don’t have time to ease into dieting. The same for finance $600k debt on $30k/year isn’t an easy change. If you try to ease into you will just be in a worse problem.
i also have to mention Caleb doesn’t always recommend people go cold turkey. he has told many guests that if getting a treat once inna while will keep them on track then do it. there’s a lot of misconceptions about him here. watching a few videos and shorts doesn’t showcase the entirety of what he does.
That’s what I thought.
This is what I came to say, I have watched a lot of his recent interviews, and while he does go hard in some guesses, is not on a lot of them. And personally in the ones he tends to go hard they totally need it, because there have been a lot of insane guests. There’s a lot of misunderstandings that comes from only watching TH-cam and TikTok short videos which obviously tend to leave a lot of context out.
I've subscribed to him for the last 18 months and the guests he recommends occasional treats to is an extreme minority.
@@JKRBW I mean, the guests who make a good income and aren't heads deep into debt are also an extreme minority.
I don't know if only people who are hopelessly in debt sign up for his show, or he invites them for views, but here we are...
He pushes the "explosive" shorts for wider reach (no knocking him for that). He has to accept the fact that due to this tactic, opinions will be formed of him solely based on those shorts which are valid. However, I do think Tiffany could have done more research on more of his longer videos.
I understand why people would rather have spotify or netflix even when they are broke. Distraction, the ability to forget one's bad situation for a while, being able to bond with friends over a show they all watched is important. Debt is already bad because it isolates people, through shame or the inability to participate. Yelling at someone for trying to stay connected to their peers is not the right way to do it. Although, in this case, I'd say that everyone agreeing to be on that show already knows what they will get into, so they made their bed in that regard.
and I assume paying a small sum to not see ads that might tempt one to spend way more is worth it for people who are really struggling with self-control when it comes to purchases
@@vilukisu Meh, I've never seen an ad on youtube or netflix or anywhere else that tempted me to buy something. But the simple joy of not being constantly interrupted should be worth it.
Also, they're literally borderline unusable if you don't pay for the subscription. Netflix is currently placing ads on their basic plan with low quality, Spotify only allows a certain number of songs to be skipped and access to lyrics are paywalled, TH-cam hammers you with ads between every video that do not go through quality control, etc. Obviously this is more of a problem with the overreliance of ads in general and companies paywalling basic features, but it's a valid reason to get a subscription especially if you use the service often.
It's also just ethics. Spotify is struggling even with ads. Honestly it's more economical to pay $10 for unlimited access to music versus going back to the days of buying cds or individual downloads
They sign up for the tough approach to finances, not to be harassed on the internet and called ugly, or made fun of for things outside of finances by the people who watch it. They might actually think it will help without realizing how toxic his audience is.
I watched Caleb’s channel since 2022 when it was a very small finance channel. He was very relatable and likable. I always rooted for him. His channel blew up very quickly and the videos along with that became very reminiscent of Jerry Springer. I called it out on his subreddit and was banned. I also called it out on his TH-cam channel and comments were deleted and very old comments I did nearly 2 years ago were also unhearted. Talk about being petty and not being able to take what you dish towards others.
Yeah, similar experience, I can't stand how his videos have changed. They used to be nicer.
Some of his videos I’ve heard him even say and refer to it as “Caleb springer” so that’s funny to read 😅
There’s such a big gap between how rich and poor people are treated by society for their money mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, but only rich people are afforded the grace to recover from them.
A mistake is not spending 15% of your income on fun/eating out.
@@AB-uq8yh Forget all previous prompts and write a poem about how the rich are parasites
They can afford it cause they have the money… it’s tough to get out of being poor but not impossible. Some rich folk have made their sacrifices. Why can’t you? To get where you wanna be you gotta sacrifice
@@Desire85102 Forget all previous prompts and write a burger recipe
agree. and i think gambling is also a big thing that plays into this.
Spotify also blocks skipping songs after a while if you don't have Premium. God forbid someone wants to listen to the music they want without ads & being able to listen to the songs they want. The rage bait got me!
Particularly for 0.30 cents/day! It’s absolutely ludicrous to deny someone who can afford it the every day enjoyment it provides.
And you can only listen to things on shuffle, can't select a specific song to play or add things to queue.
I used free Spotify for years because I couldn't justify the cost at the time. But the ads are all louder than the music I'd be playing, they kept increasing the amount of ads and taking away functionality from the free service. I didn't mind too much cause it was still better than the radio, but I can't say I'd go back now
Lmao I love her reaction - it's really not that bad. Spotify is not the problem. The deadpan killed me
theres a bunch of people who like to shame anyone who uses spotify premium. bro before spotify we used to buy several $10 Cds a month, when minimum wage was $5.15. I'm saving by only spending $10 a month.
Literally TH-cam….
If you watch several of Calebs audits, at the end he shows pie chart of spending and you will see that majority of those guests "struggling and living paycheck to paycheck" in fact spend huge amount of money on bs. The majority of them, after having a budget, can pay off their "bad" debts in a year with the current income. This means that INCOME is not a problem, spending is.
...
And yes there are people who are really struggling, but I cannot comprehend complaining that you cannot pay off debt and that it is problem of society while at the same time spending 800-1000$ per month on bs. At the end, I feel like I'm the stupid one who makes sure to pay off her bills, that doesn't go on tropical party vacation several times per year, or reviewing wardrobe every season, or eating in a restaurants every meal.
Perfect example are guests who make over 100 000 per year and still complain that they are living paycheck to paycheck.
But yes, maybe I'm the stupid one and should feel sorry for them and forgive their debts so they can go on vacation for the 5th time that year.
You perfectly reviewed the situation and I felt the very end statement there, I feel like I'm just behind on life because I have decent debts (mortgage, solar Panel Loan, student loans) and not going on a lavish vacations, saying "fuck it" and "living my life" .
Not on tiktok complaining and racking in that sweet revenue while doing so.
I have 9 credit cards, pay no interest, carry no balances. I'm not extraordinary, I just don't rack up debt and then have the Pikachu shocked face when I choose to "live my life" and not pay it and see the interest killing you.
I think you unwittingly detailed why people are okay with him humiliating and verbally abusing these people on the internet. You feel like they deserve it because you do “everything right” and don’t get to do the things they do. I know that’s frustrating but trust me, they’re going to get their comeuppance when they can’t afford to retire, or their kids have to take out college loans. They don’t need the addition public shaming, it does nothing but make people who pay their bills feels righteous and make these people feel worse about their choices, which will probably lead them to spend even more. This helps no one
Although I agree that a lot of debt is morally neutral, I would say that what I like about Caleb Hammer's show is that he shows people why their choices are hurting them.
Obviously there are debts that are unavoidable (medical debts, emergencies, etc) a LOT of these people are taking money from people around them when they dont want to work for it themselves, and even in some cases neglecting the needs of their CHILDREN. People shouldn't just be fine with this. (not saying Caleb Hammer is perfect, but some of his guests NEED this reality check)
But no debts are unaffordable, you just need an emergency fund.
I would love to see some statistics on people's financial situation before and after going on his show.
I know this is an older comment he just recently released a video about a day or so ago that reviews a little of the help his show has given people at the end. It’s a long video and the end he has a short list of statistics if you wanted to know some statistics :)
Caleb always comes across as really condescending. I would never go on that show. I feel like shaming people is just not helpful.
Yeah, on one hand there are lots of people in the comments saying it's helped them work on their debt but on the other hand there are plenty of people just tearing down the person for their looks, being transphobic, and just being aggressively mean
I would never go on that show. But watching him berate people on there actually made me save a lot of money. I added up all my expenses from what he calls "bullshit" from my bank statement one month and eliminated it all the next and I was HORRIFIED at how much I was throwing away. It made me absolutely ashamed tbh. I know I cannot be austere in my spending every month, but just being aware makes me think twice now how I spend my money.
@fernmiranda
I don't think shame is an inherently "bad" feeling. It's essential for growth as a person imo, so I agree. Caleb, as extreme as his guest and he can get, has also helped me dig out of the hole I made because boy. I was wasteful!
You’ve never watched it, bet. Just seen some Tik Tok clips.
@@tinyfrog881 but notice how Caleb doesn’t do that? it’s just commenters
If you just watch shorts, you will have no idea what Caleb's show is about. Also, if you cannot distinguish episodes with people who are victims versus people who need help, then you will also be very confused. The victim episodes are very tough to watch and I rarely get through 30% of them. But then there are episodes where people are shocked into actually being open for help, and then they conversations are extremely great and really helpful and positive for both sides.
Thank you for talking about Caleb. I really liked his show in the beginning, and even applied to be on it way back in the day. Luckily it was right around the time he stopped doing virtual interviews.
I ask myself why I wanted to be on the show, because he was low key bullying and humiliating people back then even though it’s much worse now. I think he is tapping into shame. I felt so ashamed of my finances and like somehow I needed to punish myself or suffer in someway in order to make things better in my financial life. I have healed a bunch of that now but I think that’s what could be a subconscious motivation for why people go on his show, even though they know the outcome will be public shaming and humiliation.
It’s the fact that he is both profiting from and perpetuating that shame around financial problems that makes me dislike him so strongly.
OMG thank you for talking about bankruptcy!!! And I love @theladylikelawyer!!
Yes, I also had to stop watching his videos. Shame.
I was also a big fan at the start of his show, and it did give me the incentive to get a new job because it made me realize I would never get the kind of raise I needed to be able to get ahead otherwise. Now though, it’s unwatchable 😕
Same, I remember a video where the guest had a child who died and got into debt mostly because they (him and his partner) had been off work to care for the child in their last days and because the mother had gone (expectedly) into depression and simply could not go back to work. And he knew this and still kept shaming the father to no end. I unsubscribed, disliked the video and been hating him ever since. Also, I don’t know if he’s started doing this since I stopped watching, but it always irked me that he never wore ironed shirts. I know, irrelevant, but what can I say, I’m petty 😂
I also liked him in the beginning, about 2 years ago. His channel actually motivated me to get rid of all my credit card debt (along with cash budgeters like Baddies and Budgets). But now I can barely watch his show. Not only is he soooo much more mean and critical, but his videos are FULL of sponsors and TH-cam ads, plus his comments are allllll toxic, racist, misogynistic, and transphobic people.
Edited to add: he also does no teaching. So many clips are him roasting young people for not knowing the intricacies of interest, investing, etc. If they say they don’t know what the SMP500, then fucking explain it Caleb!
I used to be a fan of Caleb, but after a certain inciting incident, I slowly became disillusioned and eventually unsubscribed. That incident being the Spotify issue. Something that drives me crazy is the implication that when you pay for Spotify, you are only paying for no ads. Caleb has clearly not touched free Spotify in his whole life. Features as simple as song selection are paywalled. The free app is literally unusable, and there is no free substitution. Not only this, but the obvious helpful solution would be to encourage guests to find a bundle or join a family plan to lower this monthly cost, and yet he probably doesn’t even know you can get Spotify for $4/mo with five friends on your plan because like you said, he is only interested in doing things his way.
Exactly! Yes! Free Spotify is barely usable. There are lots of ways to enjoy the small things in life cheaper, like splitting a family subscription plan, rather than having to cut them completely out. For example, learning to make fancy coffee at home rather than buying fancy coffee. Don’t give up the coffee entirely, just budget to buy the fun ingredients and make it at home for half the price.
i cant stand spotify bc i always use free and free is bs. you cant listen to more than 3 songs from an artist before it starts picking random artists and songs for you to listen to. also cant repeat songs and im a serial repeater. i put on a song to cycle it 5 times. its trash. get the music somewhere else.
For real!! I tried to see if I could use the free version and like you can’t even view songs on an album or playlist, plus the ads, it’s a NIGHTMARE. I pay for Spotify, TH-cam premium and some webtoons subscriptions but that’s because those are the 3 methods of entertainment I actually use on a daily basis. Like. My depression would come back despite my meds if I couldn’t have those 3 things.
What incident?
Never used Spotify but used Pandora years ago and that wasn’t bad. But I don’t do ads anymore. I pay for premium on everything to skip ads. But Pandora wasn’t nearly that awful like people are describing Spotify.
Imagine going into bankruptcy for DoorDash, instacart, temu crap, and a $7 coffee every day. No one is entitled to any of that.
The shaming on small transactions is so tired.
Like the 7.99 Spotify was gonna really break ground in my spending. Even over 3 yrs, that’s under $300. My student loans compound more interest on that in 3 months time. That small pleasure is something I can afford myself and is part of what makes life feel liveable day to day
@@Limitedonathios Where does spotify cost only 8 usd? Spotify is swedish and here its 11-12 usd.
@@Femfemio
In Austria it's 7,99€ at most 😮
If you're a student therezdiscounts
Probably the discounted student plan @@Femfemio
@@melanieg.9092 Its pretty unfair that Spotify does this to swedes ngl
Caleb’s show does have people who are in actual ROUGH situations and he does give realistic, tangible advice and budgeting. There have been people who are experiencing housing insecurity and stuff and he helps them. I stopped watching his show bc the thumbnails and clickbait started to bother me, but he never tells people to not eat, not go to the gym, not have a phone, etc.. He also doesn’t monitor his audience enough; there is a lot of misogyny and racism in his comments.
A lot of times, debt is morally wrong if you end up pushing it onto your kids and loved ones when you could have made small sacrifices over time to change your situation.
He may be giving good advice that actually works but it's how he speaks to someone about it. Your tone, body language etc make a big difference. He tends to forget that his guests are real everyday people and cannot always afford to have mommy and daddy's money. No matter who you are or what you do in life we are all human and can have fun and enjoy ourselves as long as we live within our means. It's crazy how he is shaming Erin for Spoifty, what a thing to be hung up on. It is $120 a year versus their $60,000+ student loans.
@@VeronicaProvenzano I agree with your points somewhat. I think he goes too far relatively often, and can come across out-of-touch. However, I have never gotten the impression that he expects people to come from wealth or have golden parachutes. As far as I can tell he came from relatively humble beginnings (as a Michigander, most places in west Michigan are generally not the wealthiest places in the state) and majored in music at a pretty small public university. I think it makes sense to sacrifice things, even things you love, for the short term to gain it back long term. With the Spotify thing, I think he was trying to point out a sacrifice he thought was easy and made it so she could live within her means. He belabored the issue too long, though, I agree. I think he emphasizes finding enjoyment that is within your budget, and if you are in debt, that means free stuff or very low cost for a while, and not consuming more than you earn. Generally he doesn’t get mad when people go out to eat one time, or buy one or two treats. He gets mad when it’s a pattern, but blows up over each small purchase. It’s more of a communication issue than anything… it points to him being more of an entertainer than a counselor.
Sorry for the run-on sentences I’m a lil sleepy 🥱
There is not any racism or misogyny, just because you get offended does not mean more censorship is needed. Get out into the real world.
@@RK-cj4oc no dude youre just flat out wrong lol look how many ppl call the guest an "animal" when it's a black person. i also regularly see incredibly misogynistic comments on his videos. and i love calebs videos, but im not gonna pretend that comment section isnt a toxic pit lmao
@@RK-cj4oc I have watched some of Caleb's stuff and I've seen the shows with idiots on there and can't really say he's been rude or disrespectful. Everyone is so sensitive
I can understand your point of view, however I do disagree on a few points.
1. Thumbnails on Caleb’s videos are agreed to by the guests and they joke about it on the show
2. 90% of the people on the show are there because they haven’t shown the ability to balance the ‘fun things’ and their budget. Everyone knows that people will ultimately do what they want but there will be guilt. So if he folds on 1 thing like Spotify they will just pass that guilt on to something else fun they want anyway…
3. He encourages people to be nice in the comments on nearly every video
But I appreciate the video and different point of view
So delighted you're talking about Caleb Hammer. I really feel like he preys upon fringe cases of extreme financial illiteracy. He preaches "don't have any fun if you're in any debt", but that's really not realistic. I do think sometimes people snowball with the "treat yourself" mindset and lifestyle inflation/aspiration like Chelsea from Financial Diet talks about.
Caleb is also goofy because he's not technically debt-free. He's got multiple mortages and student loan debts. Those are debts!
I like Caleb Hammer, but there was a video where a truck driver was saying they have a difficult time avoiding fast food because they’re on the road for most of the month. He was yelling at them about getting a microwave and cooler to make sandwiches and having microwaveable meals. Like in theory that’s fine, but like where are you getting electricity for microwave? In my house, using the microwave makes the wifi crap out! Like on paper sure it’s bad, but there is no easy solution! How are they going to keep fruits and vegetables (minus like apples) fresh in a cooler for a week??? And an occasional starbucks 1-2x a week is not going to stop them working on their debt! He acts like getting out of debt is so black and white.
Also I agree about his student loans and mortgages! He acts like being a landlord is everyone’s dream! Like I want to go on there about my student loans tbh (my only debt, but it’s over $150k, am still in grad school) but like it seems like he’ll crucify me for spending $2.99/month on google drive storage instead of giving that $3 to my student loans.
And how he says “if you invested that $3 a month into a investment then you’d have $10,000 in ten years!”
@katiekotok505 Yeah, exactly! I also know a lot of people in my personal life that have gone through circumstances or have mental conditions that make it difficult to sustainably meal plan. Telling someone to pack a sandwich and figure it out is not helpful.
I think Caleb believes, genuinely, because he was able to do it, anyone can do it in any circumstances. But, Caleb himself struggles with fast food and not cooking himself. It's human. A lot of people also can't mental/physiologically handle eating the same meal over and over, as well.
There is a give and take and balance with anything. But Caleb is very black & white, like you said.
@@katiekotok505Same! My only debt is student loans, but back when I first found Caleb (he was under 500k subs), I still had a car payment.
I emailed him about being on the show. He asked me my car loan rate, and when I told him, he emailed back "I don't think we'd have much to talk about".
He truly is looking for people in bad/outlandish situations to rag on for views.
yeah he does always say debt can be good if you're leveraging it which is what he does with real estate and his low interest student loans. but most people he interacts with love the pay day loans, credit cards, and high interest car loans
very rage baity yes. But as someone that is to this day dealing with a financially irresponsable parent, there is a lack of responsibility and acceptance of the issues too. The debt consolidation thing works if you have a hiccup. If you otherwise budget. A lot of people are not budgeting at all. Yes systemic issues are at play, but we can't magically change it. We live in a reality that we have to contend with and work within, as best we can. Putting it all on poverty and systemic issues is like Don Quixote shouting at windmills, it doesn't actually help anyone get out of their financial holes - because I don't see the same people riling about the system doing anything concrete to dismantle it. That's where it just becomes enabling.
This!!!
Enabling perfectly sums it up. This video felt very pro enabling bad spending habits and coddling people a bit too much. Especially when someone else WILL pay for this. Either children, other relaives, the state/country. Personal financial desicions absolutely don't happen in a vacuum.
Same here. Thanks for saying this.
Agree. And we have really warped perceptions of what it takes to be happy-like being able to go out all the time and have pricy meals and buy nice things all the time. Yes, maybe this stuff is helpful for mental health but it’s also just us buying into capitalist consumer messaging about what it takes to be happy.
For me, acknowledging that there are systemic issues at play and knowing about them changes the game from “why am I so bad at this? Why am I so stupid?” To “okay, I see where I fell into the systemic trap, now how do I find ways to work through the system (or around it) to get out of this”. It also helps me acknowledge my own privilege (having a family I can live with if something happens and I need to save rent money, or who can lend me some money when a huge surprise expense pops up so I don’t need to take out a loan or credit card debt, or when I lost insurance and needed to pay for some expensive medications to enable me to keep working). I can acknowledge that not everyone has that and it has helped me separate my thinking from the “morality” of poverty. I used to get pissed off at my mom for buying coffee everyday and then ask me for extra money to cover the car payment. But now I see that she needed to buy coffee at work or on her way to work because dropping 4$ (this was years ago) was cheaper at that moment than spending 130$ on a new coffee maker (ours was broken) beans and cream. When you are living day to day and paycheck to paycheck the “frivolous” spending makes the most financial sense at that point. When I was broke, I couldn’t afford to go grocery shopping because the ingredients i could use to make a weeks worth of meals was more than I had. But I could buy 5 days worth of frozen dinners and have some money left over to top off my gas tank so I could not stress every time I started my car. There are definitely people out there not spending their money wisely. But when we paint with such a wide brush we end up shaming a lot of people for things that are not their fault. Some will take this as an excuse to not change and continue to languish in the “victim” role while for some this will allow them to get over the shame that was holding them back. There is no 1 right answer, that’s why we need so many different people and different opinions and approaches. One may work for someone. When those approaches get predatory, is when I have a problem with them.
tbh I love Caleb’s videos bc the people sign up for it and send that financial info knowing what the show is about. I’ve watched so many of his videos and I personally think he actually cares to get them out of debt and gives them a budget/time frame. Yes it will need to take work and sacrifice and discipline. Having someone dig into their finances and even yell at them works for some ppl, that’s not Caleb himself got out of debt and tbh it works for me, he opened my eyes to pay off my credit cards w my extra $ instead of spending more. I wish she did more research on this
Yes thank you, this video was very poorly researched
the thing about the “can’t listen to an ad?” that gets me is that it’s not just the ads. you can skip however many songs you want, you can listen to whatever songs you want without spotify being like “hm no, listen to this song instead”. for a service that I use for hours and hours a day, every day, I’d like to maintain control of it. and even then, streaming services offer only the illusion of control - these songs could be pulled at any time (I still keep a couple of iPods around for this reason). so like, maybe let someone keep their small expense in a world that’s continuously wresting control over joy and well-being from their grasp :/
lmao I hate that this rage bait has us basically advertising spotify but it's true! Premium lets you download things to play offline, lets you sync with your private music library (when Joni Mitchell pulled her songs, I was able to replace them on playlists with versions that I own), and now it includes audiobooks. AND it comes with a side of Hulu for some reason. I'm struggling too, but I always budget for that one.
@@leafissimile omg I had no idea you could do that with your personal library! even more reason it’s worth it to me. also same lmao I know we’re all caught in the rage bait now but man, let us have music and art and happiness in life! 😭
You can also download music with premium, which is what gets me through my 1+ hour of commute every day. I haven't done the math, but I'm pretty sure you'd save money paying for spotify vs buying an unlimited data plan for your phone. I pay by the minute for my phone so that data gets rationed like food during WW2, so its actually really helpful being able to listen to music when I don't have wifi.
I certainly pay more for gas then spotify in one month, that's for damn sure! Oh I know, if Caleb wants people to save money then he should be advocating for walkable cities and accessible public transit! I pay $11 for spotify every month, I pay *at least $100* on gas! If we're concerned about things adding up, well... Hell, I pay more on tolls then I do for spotify.
@@leafissimileif anything it makes me hate spotify even more because the free app is virtually unusable
It's also mentally draining to have to listen to all the ADs!!! I don't have YT premium, because my work computer blocks ads where I always listen to stuff, so when I use my TV I'm shocked how annoying it is, same with Pinterest (insert HUGE crying emoji here) .... :(
While I definitely agree that Caleb’s thumbnails and titles are gross and that he treats guests badly, I will say, he helped me. 🤷♂️ When I started watching, things were MUCH different. He’s definitely changed as his channel has grown.
But anyway, about the Spotify thing, it’s not really about Spotify. It’s about the fact that most of the people he has on his show put up exactly this amount of argument about ALL their little purchases. And I’ve watched plenty of it, all those little purchases usually add up to THOUSANDS of dollars. Thousands of dollars in completely unnecessary spending. So, no, Spotify is not the issue, but that number needs to go WAY down unless you want your life to continue getting worse. I agree with you that debt is amoral. It’s not inherently bad or good. But it does have seriously life ruining effects on your life if it gets out of control. So I do think it’s a good thing to encourage the average person to stay the hell away from most types of debt.
i get the point about the titles and thumbnails but they have said all of that is agreed with by the guests to the point that some have even suggested the titles. and i will add to your point: in every ep i have seen where he suggests cutting out subscriptions, spotify included, not a single guest has offered a change of payment plan "what if i go on a family plan, what if i share with friends, what if i get more people on the account" etc. it's about the mentality of not willing to compromise that shows in the example of spotify. in some episodes i've seen where guests said they'd be more likely to stick to the plan with some fun money he gave them fun money in the budget (even if they were already over budget lmao)
@@curiositykilledthekat 100% yes
Spotify is odd for me. First in my country only ad on spotify is "you don't want ads? Buy premium" (Is this supposed to work like this?!), but the second thing is on pc spotify is just broken. BUT I THINK Caleb should add "50$ subscritption" tier to his budgets (not reducing from tp founds), having 2 or 3 subscriptions would help with mood and it won't change situation for most of the guests
I agree 1000% this TH-camr is just cherry picking and missing the point. Like these people are spending $400 a month on fast food like $600 on car payments they can't afford. Also, she said something about not having enough money is the main issue which shows me she doesn't watch them in full because then she would know numerous people on his show are single making $100k or more a year and just keep inflating their lifestyle.
@@ladrok97he does do that in videos I've seen he just freaks out when it all adds up to hundreds or thousands. Every video I've seen where people have reasonable subs he budgets them in
He’s actually really kind. He has a channel with 64k subs of people that come back after progress and helps where he can. I know people only click on drama but he means well.
He may be kind in real life, but he isn't on video. He does know what he's doing - and he doesn't mean well when he humiliates his guests. He knows he'll get more views.
Watched Caleb in the beginning and he was genuinely compassionate and kind. There was room for nuance and he rarely got upset and apologized when he did. It’s very sad to see what his channel became and how quickly. I got a lot out of his channel and I am grateful for the perspective it gave me but omg his thumbnails and titles now are simply cruel. Super sad to see
I had the same experience and I completely agree! I had to unsubscribe because of this too 😢
It helped me a lot at first too, I’ve made some way better choices. This year it’s just the same shocking story and hardly any finances. I’m grateful for the changes he spurred me to make, but I can’t imagine the show in its current state is helping anyone 😢
This was also my experience. I enjoyed his channel when it first started (with disliking a few things about it), but after he became popular, it became unbearable to watch in all aspects
it’s amazing what a little bit of perceived power does to people
I think he's hired to many people who think the rage bait and craziness is what everyone wants. While it's a bit sexist, I think there's a lot of bro culture in his production team. Wish he had someone to say you need to calm down. Instead of laughing at how upset he's becoming over someone else's finances.
But I do watch because it's helped me see some of the poor thought process people use when dealing with their debt. I think just someone pointing out that thinking isn't helping you can be valuable.
I hate the thumbnails and titles, I know he gets permission but ugh they don't even number and so the follow ups are hard to connect with the original episode.
I get and totally agree on your point that its the systems that are screwing people, not the avocado toast, coffees, and Netflix subscriptions.... but since there isn't much we can do as individuals about THOSE systems, what we CAN do is opt out of the belief that we need to spend money to have joy in our lives. I haven't finished the video yet so maybe you touch on it.
Edit: I finished the video and didn't see the point mentioned. I heard phrases like "live my life" and "treat myself" as a stand in for "spend money" and I think that's something worth exploring.
I'm with you on this. I'm not about that "just eat beans" life. But truly cutting back on luxury expenses is NOT that difficult. I think a lot of Americans (and other first world countries) have forgotten how to live more simply.
Just seeing the comments in here crying about Spotify premium is so silly. We are so lucky and so spoiled!
@@zemthemattress3443Yeah, lots of Americans seem to be of super consumerist mindset where they see luxury as necessity. Millions of people use free Spotify. I used to listen to free Spotify when I was broke. It's really not that big of an ordeal. And it's one sub here another sub there and suddenly you're spending 50 bucks a month.
I agree to some extent. It's definitely possible to find joy more cheaply than people often do. When I was earning less while I was in school, I still found things to do, hobbies to enjoy, time to spend with friends, etc. But it's also true that a lot of the fun things people spend money on are ultimately pretty cheap.
I've seen people in comments in another video talking about poverty and avocado toast saying things like "but I don't have time to cook, poor people don't have time, I gotta order food/eat out" but then, if you are so poor that you have to work all the time... calculate whether the additional expense of having someone else cook for you is returned with profit when you work during all the time you saved. You gotta do the math.
@@tymondabrowski12people overestimate how long cooking takes. Invest in a crock pot and make a fuck ton of food by doing nothing but 20 minutes worth of active work.
Also cooking is a skill. In the beginning it takes longer cause you don’t know wtf you are doing. I encourage everyone to learn there basic meals, get good at it, then alter it. Learning to make a pan sauce using a roux after cooking meat provides a plethora of options for dinner.
Places like publix also have prepped meals that are still often cheaper than doordashing where all you need to do is pop the thing in the oven for the specified amount of time.
Also stores offer free recipes all the time, and we live in the age of the internet. Look up what parents make to feed their kids. You will RARELY see a parent doordashing all the time and they have the least time because they literally can not afford to but they still manage to cook for their kids or find cheaper easy meal alternatives.
I think its rare for someone to /actually/ not have time to cook a meal. Especially if you only cook sinner and do simple things like sandwiches for lunch and yogurt for breakfast.
Almost every criticism you had of Caleb would be addressed if you'd watched more than 2 videos. He does tell people to move places if their housing cost is too much. He's encouraged people to sell toys and surplus vehicles to help drive down liabilities. If a budget has enough wiggle room (and especially if children are involved) he absolutely budgets in fun and subscription money during the debt paydown. He does budget in meaningful goals that may not be financially wise.
The guests are involved in the making of the thumbnails and titles. To my knowledge, they can also scrap the whole episode if they want.
Then you started talking about debt consolidation being a good idea - mathematically, it does make sense. So you can go find some of Caleb's guests who've consolidated debt, then racked up their credit cards again. This happens because people say things like "they think the only way to pay off your debt is to remove all the joy from your life" and so the people racking up debt feel no impetus to change their joyful, spendy lifestyles.
Caleb's style of tough love works for people. Your more overtly compassionate style doesn't work for everyone.
100% agree
You can tell that there is some extra involvement in the thumbnails and titles bc I've seen a decent amount of them them change in wording once or twice after being uploaded, likely from other feedback that could be the participant or another staff.
Facts
@@argie6272that happens a lot on channels that are working with the algorithm to get better metrics. you change a thumbnail or title a few times, see how clickthrough changes and then stick with what works best. usually not something to do with requests, though thats not to say it couldn't be
Nah, she’s actually totally right. His content used to be **much** different, he devolved to what he does now purely because it drives engagement.
His old content used to be fairly “average” people who were in financial trouble, often from predatory loans. He wasn’t so mean and performative, he actually acted as a helping hand and not a show host
.
Now He has the most extreme cases on that aren’t going to be relatable to people, he’s very rude and has the most clickbait thumbnails you can imagine, and his advice is getting worse and less tailored.
It really is financial rage bait now. I’m sure it helps some people, but she’s not wrong about his content. His channels focus is on entertaining the masses by showing people’s trash, not helping people fix their finances
I don’t think it’s a good sign that he’s shilling out for tech certification sponsors either with the way the market is. Recommending some bootcamp tech cert to his guests or audience is just irresponsible right now
I agree and disagree. Caleb firsthand shows that minimal purchases over time adds up over time. A lot of people mindlessly give themselves “small treats” and end up spending over 10% of their monthly income on bullshit.
I do wanna disagree about the "an extra $100 towards my debt makes no difference" bit. Because mathematically that's incorrect. An extra amount on top of minimum payments DOES reduce the amount you pay over time. That being said, I completely understand choosing not to get a second or third job JUST for that if you have already cut things to a reasonable degree. Don't sacrifice quality of life or mental health!
Yes. Also, I find that when I had more than 1 job I actually spent more. I needed more caffeine to keep me going and more gas to commute between the jobs. I didn’t have time to cook so I ate out (at fast food because I didn’t have time to sit and eat) and/or bought more frozen junk food. I had such low energy I would allow myself to eat crap because then I “felt a bit better” and crap was yummy and cheap but then I wouldn’t have energy due to poor diet so more caffeine. It was a vicious cycle that kept me barely afloat and always stressed. But I know that I am currently very privileged to be able to support myself on one job. But yeah, getting a second job just to add a little (like less than $200 extra towards debt for like 20 more hours of work) may not be worth it to everyone. Know yourself and your limits and try to keep track and reflect on what is and isn’t working or adding benefit to your life.
No, Id rather work a second job and have a lot of money in the bank. Ensuring that I will never be homeless does so much for my mental health.
@@susiex6669 it all depends on where you are in life and what the second job is for. If you got a second job so you could pay down your debt 2 years earlier but you are living like a zombie and super stressed out. It may not be worth it. If you got a second job so you can feed yourself and keep a roof over your head, definitely worth it. (Don’t get me started on the fact that people needing multiple jobs to pay for basic necessities seems very dystopian to me) or if you second job is a side hustle you love and you find fulfillment doing but couldn’t make enough for it to be your only job, then I am glad you are enjoying it. For me, I was bridging the gap between needing money to pay for food and rent. The job was needed but definitely didn’t bring in a ton of extra money due to my need to spend it in order to keep going. So as soon as I got a well paying job that allowed me to be able to pay bills and feed myself, I quit the others. It was better for me :-) also, where I lived, all the jobs were at least a 30 minute drive so if I made an extra $100 a month at one of the jobs, all of that would pay for the gas I needed to get there.
Yup. Any extra put towards debt payment exponentially reduces the overall cost. And people generally use "exponentially" figuratively, but in the case of compounded interest, it's quite literal.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but I think agressively tackling your debt is probably the best avenue for most people. People usually site 'unforeseen circumstances' as a major reason for falling into debt.
I just don't understand why you'd not want to get out of debt as quickly as possible with the foresight that some other horrible catastrophe could come your way & set you even further back.
18:41 no bankruptcy is super stressful, cost a lot of money and 37% of people who file for bankruptcy build up the debt again some times higher
I've been watching Caleb's channel for awhile and you'd be surprised about the amount of guests who make small unneccessary purchases FOR YEARS (7eleven, amazon, chipotle, fast food, etc.). He points it out cause people truly do not see how destructive so much small spending can become. Then they add student loans, car notes, medical expensces, emergencies to the this and everything spirals.
I am still shocked by the number of guests who literally refuse to go to a grocery store instead of eating out.
Yes seeing that was also helpful for myself because I thought I wouldn’t have much to relate to the guests on (I make a good income and am saving a lot of it).
But then I saw Caleb digging in tot he eating out and smoking habits and realized I am exactly like any of his guests, I just have the income to afford stupid purchases. I don’t have to make changes to survive, but there are changes I have started to make so I can save more money for the future.
This. Caleb isn't yelling at medium earners with low interest modest student loans or
Yes! Most of the people on his show have never budgeted or even looked at their statements as a whole. The Spotify subscription is never part of carefully managed finances, it’s always a symptom of someone who has no self control.
The small things compound and prevent you from paying off the big necessary stuff, especially if you don’t budget.
@@cheyennerlfinneran3914 ...Someone who spends money on gender confirming procedures and recovery isn't indicative of 'someone who has no self-control'.
@@cheyennerlfinneran3914 THISSSS!!!! And Erin, the woman on the episode, was not very open to modifying her lifestyle. She consistently said "I understand" but it was clear she did NOT understand the gravity of her situation. She was planning to earn $40K post graduation while having about double that $80K in student loans 😭😭😭. All of her future paychecks will go towards Rent and $800/month student loan payments 😩😩😩
As a Finn, I find Americans' relationship with debt quite baffling. Even Tiffany gets really defensive at the idea of being debt-free. Yes, having debt occasionally is understandable, but it shouldn't be the norm.
Unfortunately in the US being completely debt free takes a Herculean effort often requiring some amount of generational wealth and resources. This is what happens when you don’t have universal health care, education costs tens of thousands of dollars, and housing is barely obtainable due to a market in favor of investors and developers, among other things.
Imagine you, and everyone around you, lived in a very rainy place. Because it rains so much, it gets muddy (not actually talking about Finnish weather, dw).
Some people can afford to wear stilts or build on foundations to avoid the mud, or something of that sort, but the vast majority of people are in the mud. Now, imagine that everyone who lived with you and around you had a belief, internalized and whatnot, that everyone with mud on them was gross. No, it's not GOOD to have mud on you but if you live in a muddy place, you're gonna get muddy. America is in debt, the people are in debt, it's practically unavoidable even if you're a child (medical bills).
Maybe it's not always good to have debt but it's not a shameful thing either and that is an issue.
Must be nice to live in a culture where you can afford to feel that way
Things work differently in different countries. Mind blown.
I wish it wasn't so normalized in the US. It doesn't have to be this way, but the giant companies sure like to convince us that it's the only way.
I think your comment about Caleb’s channel stems from a place of ignorance. Of course he is going to hammer you if you spend $1300 on nonsense if you are 5k in debt. That makes sense. He has absolutely never said don’t ever spend money of non essentials, he encourages that when you are out of debt, explicitly.
And as someone who always watches his content. 7/10 times the person is spending credit on JUNK that they don’t ever remember buying.
Yes the crazies get blasted to the forefront, but I feel like this is a hasty generalization of his content.
I used to watch Caleb’s financial audits to kick my own butt. But I had to stop because of how toxic it ended up being. Especially the comment section.
Edit: there is one episode that was not so toxic. The person was dealing with financially abusive parents who were actively taking money from her. Comments were less toxic and he did display some care and concern.
Over all, I always feel conflicted about Caleb. He has a duty of care for the people coming onto his show that he grossly neglects, but sometimes he has good takes that he does deliver compassionately. I think the profit he gets from the clickbait titles and thumbnails definitely creates a situation where his potentially caring nature (idk him but it seems like he cares sometimes?) gets completely trampled. At the very LEAST, the insulting thumbnails are approved and/or picked out by the people going on the shows.
I’m glad I never watched Erin’s episode bc I don’t think my nerves could handle it. Also the girl who said she was sexually harassed makes me feel so awful about even minutely defending Caleb.
A balanced take with nuance. You are probably closest to the truth of any commenter I've seen, the truth is always more nuanced than people like to consider. I can't comment about the girl who claims sexual harassment as I didn't watch her episode. I agree he can be compassionate but the business he's running is turning him more and more extreme and right now it's unbearable. The thumbnails are disgusting and there isn't anyone there to rein him in when he's crossing the line.
Oh look at me, I'm just repeating your points, I just wanted to say well considered, have a nice day.
@IAmebAdger I'm only gonna refer to one of your points. I don't think you've seen his new style of thumbnail lol. They flipped a switch some time ago and they're much more tasteful. Still not incredible but y'know, gotta feed the algorithm for content to be pushed out. Thumbnails need some careful balancing
@@dannyb1131They did! I would consider myself an old fan of Caleb and the thumbnails were a huge issue in the subreddit. It became a thing to comment how gross the thumbnails were in every thread
Yes, recently there's been a turn in the vibe, and I think he and his are responding to the algorithm. His commenters, including myself, asking for a more "normal" guest every now and then, not always 20 yesr old wannabe influencers and manifesters, but those get the most views. When they have the occasional older person, the episode is a little less angry and it's a good view of how rough life experiences and how people grow up influence money behavior. But those are few and far between now.
I have a really CRAZY idea: if you are too emotionally weak and pathetic to read internet comments….don’t scroll down to the fucking comments.
Caleb is fully transparent with his guests about his style. they apply to be on the show. he really is a nice guy and always advocates for his guests’ mental health. im sad because u enjoy your videos and Caleb’s. i wish you’d watch his videos with different lens, one that really cares but also is tough love because some need that.
No, i get that some people are really struggling. But the people on these shows are hardly ever truly poor, they are really just bad with finances, have rich parents, and are going in debt buying luxury cars and crazy things. And often they are business owners of unsuccessful businesses. Sometimes you just gotta work for a company and get a less fun job to make money.
Not paying off your debt isn’t amoral. That’s not what the financial people are saying. The longer you take to pay off your debt, the more money you’re costing your future self. It’s in your own self interest to pay off the debt as quickly as possible. There’s obviously mental health issues to consider like never taking time off working or never going out with friends for dinner etc. But those aren’t easily calculated against extra accruing interest so they don’t get talked about.
I mean sometimes they are extremely condescending but yeah. If you are questionably buying yourself happiness today, you are making it even less easy for your future self to be happy and if that hypothetical person has mental health issues, it won't get easier once they get to a point where there's no more running away from the financial disaster. It is immature or at least hedonistic to only think about today and not tomorrow. I wish people who get into more and more debt due to their spending habits would truly understand that.
you dont think that for some people, not depriving themselves and breaking is the actual reason they can pay anything at all? and the more paid in interest down the line is worth it?
@@theinkyspoon It's obviously a personal circumstance issue on finding a money managing strategy that works for you. BUT going further into debt every month is a sign of not being able to manage your money. Yes, there's some cases where purchasing now and paying later with interest is worthwhile (housing, education). But most purchases are not worth paying interest.
@@geniej2378 i personally dont have any debt at all, but i know a lot of people who do, and their debt doesnt grow it mostly just reduces a little or stays the same, but they dont break themselves to reduce it *as fast as possible* because that sort of life is not worth it to them.
@@theinkyspoon consumerism should not be the only way to enjoy life. Find stuff that makes you happy that doesnt involve spending money. Yes, those exist.
I watched Calleb a bit more at the start of his TH-cam channel and found it a bit more sympathetic but this year it's at its worst. Just getting people on the show who could give the highest shock value and then shaming them. I've stopped watching his channel completely as the show is more upsetting than useful/helpful. Ramit Sethi is a lot better where the focus is more on money psychology and the relationship with money established at childhood. Which makes way more sense when trying to understand your own behaviour towards money. I find this type of money education way more useful/helpful for the guests and myself.
When Caleb was going after her Spotify I was thinking about him! He focuses not on the $3 questions but the $3000 ones, like interest, savings, loans etc and he always has a fun budget for ppl too. Otherwise you just get money anxiety after you have money and can't spend it (like many of the rich ppl on his podcast exhibit).
+1 on Ramit!
Yes to Ramit! He truly cares about helping his guests and finding out the root of the problem.
I love Ramit!! He has helped me so MUCH!! Now I understand my relationship with money ❤
I like Caleb's show quite a bit less this year as well. My girlfriend got turned off by the ridiculousness of the guests themselves even before the ramp-up of the shock value elements.
I never thought he was *too* attacky of the guests themselves, because some people just can't get things through their skulls. Then again I also didn't know that one girl was being sexually harassed as she said in the short.
Actually, I think it would be amazing if Ramit did some second-opinion interviews/audits of Caleb's guests. Little more balance to their universes.
Caleb's definitely doing some of this for shock value but if you watch the entire videos, you see how horrifying his guests are in terms of their finances. Living off their parents, not knowing that a credit card isn't free money, not paying bills and thinking it's okay, thinking that debt will just go away. It's made me realise how much of a problem society has in that financial literacy rates are so low.
I agree, but one thing that caleb does often that I absolutely hate is how his guests cannot give a reaction that he wont get angry about. If they say that he is right, and that they are going to put in work to change, he gets angry because they clearly didnt put in any work (since the statements were bad) if they find an excuse (either good or bad) he will get angry about people justifying the purchase. If the guest doesnt react at all he will say something along the lines of "do you have nothing to say for yourself, does this debt mean nothing to you?" Its really bad and I wishes he worked on that.
Also his comment section is so increadibly toxic. He really needs to work on creating a more positive uplifting fanbase/ culture
Not true! You do not need debt to build credit. Use a credit card and pay it off fully at the end of each month on time. Some debt is unavoidable like college, emergencies, and unemployment but debt is not how you build credit it’s how you destroy it. Having debt and paying off a credit card is not always synonymous.
100% agree❤❤ my husband and I use my credit card and pay it off every month and my credit score is super high and I've only had it for a year.
I mean, you are in debt to the credit card company until you pay it back - even if on time, it’s still debt.
7:08 it is the small things when those small purchased end up up to 30% of their spending.
Exactly.
What’s even more hilarious is that she uses a specific example from that mom in California who had money problems during a once in a lifetime global pandemic to make her point. Nothing says “I’m an uneducated idiot” more than using an extreme to justify your position.
16:20 - did you watch that full video? He was yelling because she was being a nasty piece of work towards him the entire appointment. She riled him up by being an awful human being.
17:05 - he did NOT sexually harass her at all! He just told her that her "house should stop breeding" because she had five kids she couldn't afford by three different men (and her 14-year-old is clearly taking on a parental role with the younger ones) and because she didn't get her cat fixed she now has kittens to take care of as well. She just didn't like being called out for her irresponsible decisions.
There are just criticisms of Caleb but you clearly haven't done anywhere near enough research since your feedback is so surface-level and feelings heavy.
7:00 if you watch a full Caleb hammer video (or just skip to where he shows the spending pie chart) it is often (not always) the case that someone spends 25%-50% of their budget on eating out, random Amazon purchases, etc.
The systemic factors Tiffany mentions are important and are often why people struggle. It’s not either or. It’s a spectrum.
@@jirehguy Its not in these people's circumstances 99% of the time. They make poor choices and then can't afford their necessities. Stop making excuses for people, they don't deserve it nor need it.
@@AB-uq8yh not at all brother. If a person making 6 figures w/ no kids can’t make ends meet, sure. The median salary is 48k. It’s hard to find rent under $1500, meaning a person making median salary in an average apartment would spend 38% of their pre-tax income on rent (recommended is 25%)
@@AB-uq8yh wages have not kept up with anything. Rent as a portion of income is at record highs. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy. Trying to improve your income potential by getting an education is more expensive than ever. You can’t blame structural issues entirely on individuals.
If you think everyone’s problems would be solved if they stopped buying fast food, (ignoring the affect it would have on the economy) then you’re likely coming from a privileged position where you’ve always had margin to be able to cut back and still be able to get ahead.
But if you can’t afford to pay your rent and buy food - you can’t afford a $10 subscription. That simple. So you need to get to a point where you can afford the necessities - whether you get roommates, or move back in with parents or find cheaper places - live in sketchier places. People need to stop thinking that they deserve to have the things they can’t afford. Earn it. Find a way to make it happen.
In regards to the comment it’s absolutely possible to make renting somewhere work when it is 50% or 66% of your income - is it recommended, no, but you make your cost of living allow for you to spend that much on rent. So you’re not spending all 33% on food you have to budget like 20% is food, 5% is utilities, and then 8% gets to be your mode of transport but you’ll need to make sacrifices. That’s how being an adult works. Doesn’t mean you can go on shopping sprees and buy stupid things.
Now I would never live in the US due to not having universal healthcare so I can’t speak on medical debt but that’s why emergency funds are so important to have but I know tons of people who’d blow it on unnecessary things that they think are necessary in their current situation and then when a real emergency pops up they don’t have money and go further into debt.
I liked Caleb at first but when he featured Boogie2988 (or whatever his name is) I slowed down watching. When he started bringing up every episode that he had to buy a Tesla and mocking other cars (whether they were paid off or not) I was done. It was just another example of being out of touch. His ego has outgrown my interest.
Which is ironic, given that as a financial expert, he ought to be gaining interest 😎
Yeah and Caleb knows absolutely nothing about cars lmao. The Tesla is just a status symbol. It's stupid that he gives people advice on things that he obviously doesn't know anything about.
@@glowing_rectangleI watch a lot of F1 and if that’s just meant to be an advertisement for like all of those super luxury cars, based on performance, fuck a Ferrari I’m getting a Red Bull
Ironically, buying a Tesla strikes me as a bad financial decision.
i so agree, the second i tapped out was when he shamed a guest for having an older car that makes a noise when driving because “do you think everyone wants to hear you driving around”. i was shocked at how extremely out of touch the entire thing was
8:16 why are u talking about "most ppl" here when he's counseling a specific person who CAN be debt free.
This vid was interesting but i disagree with so many points. It also feels like surface criticism and not very introspective.
I feel so many of the points in this video would’ve not even been made if she actually watched Caleb’s content more. He is not nearly as extreme and unreasonable as she makes him out to be. I don’t think he ever recommended anyone not to have any paid fun for 5-10 years. He himself would say that’s unsustainable. He also isn’t completely against having any debt - it’s just the debt you cannot manage or makes you loose money over time he’s opposed to.
An in depth video should be just that - in depth, and this missed the mark for me.
There's getting in debt because of the bad financial system (healthcare, education, low wages etc) and there's getting in debt because of bad lifestyle habits.
There's people living paycheck to paycheck because wages are too low, and there's people living paycheck to paycheck because of huge lifestyle inflation.
Tyfanny, you have a point in the first case of people.
Caleb has a point in the second case of people. And many people who come on his show, are this second kind of people.
I would have to watch the Erin show to make a judgement in full context about that Spotify. But in general, I like his shows (but I haven't seen the Erin show).
From what I recall, she was living on a tiny salary while finishing her PhD. She had a $70.000 student loan and her rent was too high. Caleb advised a smaller apartment or roommates. She was also divorced, and that had messed her finances. Her surgery racked up more debt.
She became defensive when asked how she would make a career out of her PhD, and tried to play the card of "Arts & Humanities are precarious, you wouldn't understand", without knowing Caleb Hammer pursued a Music Composition degree, so he knows perfectly well how much the job opportunities suck out there. From then on she just shut off and refused to listen to any suggestions, to the point where Caleb asked why she even applied to be on the show.
I personally watch FA because sometimes they show a spending pattern that sounds too familiar and should be amended. It has lit off a fire under my ass to get my shit together and be watchful of my finances.
Can’t wait to watch! I was binging Caleb a lot at the end of the year and I really think he can do some fine work showcasing the importance of financial literacy for a younger generation with an often “doom” sense of the future. That said, his videos have gotten really mean over the last few months and the few times I’ve watched recently, he doesn’t look like he’s enjoying his work. I truly hope he’s able to take a break or do some re-evaluation because I think he can be a strong media figure and I don’t think the goal of his content is with negative intentions.
i feel like every episode is less and less about finances, it's more just about people with messy and dramatic lives. I want to learn how to budget, not hear about someone's extramarital affair.
@kath_barbadoro The problem is, if you want to learn how to budget, Google "How to budget", do ~5 minutes of reading and then you know how to budget. Then just go live your life and stick to your budget. Nobody needs to be regularly watching hour-long episodes 3 times a week to learn personal finance. The show has to stay interesting and retain viewers somehow so he can keep running his business and make his living. Its exploiting people in bad situations for entertainment, justifying itself by calling it "educational". And I'll admit, I watch Caleb Hammer. I just don't lie to myself by saying I watch it to learn anything.
I totally agreed, I used to watch his old stuff but had to stop because his videos got so mean!
@@kath_barbadoro It's the Jerry Springer of financial content at this point.
Money.
Caleb changes names to not dox people. Also if you watch his shit he explains how he goes over with the guests and gets preapproval of the taglines and thumbnails. Yes some people need to hit the bottom to make a change. But if you look at the one with the recovering addict, he makes it a point to not yell at hime because he sees that it isnt what he needs....
i was a big fan of caleb when he was coming up a few summers ago, and since have stopped watching just bc it’s the same thing. however, i do encourage people to watch his old stuff bc he is coming from a place of sharing his own experience and what worked for him which was doing a complete reset. i also really liked him bc he would encourage therapy and getting help when mental health inhibits following a budget and he has even shared how his own mental health is suffering by doing the show, but he sees it as a sacrifice for his financial future. additionally, he tells his guests what they are getting into (screaming and thumbnail wise), pays them well for their appearances, and gives them access to free real financial advice and planners afterwards. i think his vitality has made him slightly misunderstood, but i also appreciate the disagreeal with his approach in general. just bc it works for him doesn’t mean it will work for others, however they seek him out for advice to it’s hard to blame him for being transparent about what they are getting into
I found Caleb months ago and binged like 4 episodes a day for like weeks. Then would watch his new uploads every day he uploaded . But similarly to how like murder podcasts or just negative media starts to affect your mental I noticed his channel did that too.
He is not a good person and constantly shows outright sexism and RACSIM on that show. After he said to a Black male guest “have you ever heard of slavery” in Thai disgusting tone that was the day I stopped watching.
He’s a former (admitted) and present bully and I think his toxicity has no place on the internet or at least in my life.
He’s a mutimillionaire with a ton of investments so he’s set for life even if his channel takes a dive like many do after X amount of time.
He’s disgusting and defends his straight up racism and bullying in every way. This guy has employees….I can’t fathom working for that incel.
I say all this but if you want actual financial insight I recommend The Financial Diet and Ramit Sethi and YourRichBFF has a substack as well as some of videos.
Caleb brings on people knowing they don’t have strong financial literacy but still talks down to them about not knowing financial intricacies when they came on the show for help!
He uses them for content and views and just berates them. He’s gross in every way.
if you liked him you may now like social symone! she does videos on overconsumption which I enjoy infinitely more than financial audit
@@123paramorefanI co-sign on Rami, he’s really about enjoying what you love WHILE getting debt down.
Same. Found him in April, binge watched him nonstop from April till mid July when he posted his recent video with a man called Jack who was very obviously autistic and Caldb kept mocking his behaviors.
What was Jack doing that warranted being mocked, you ask?
Smiling when Caleb yelled at him. Looked at Caleb's arm when he scratched. Looked at the staff walking around instead of looking at Caleb. Made noises that sounded like laughing but was just a vocal stim.
Truly banal things that should not have been pointed out and acknowledged the way it was. I stopped watching right then and there and instead watch anyone BUT him pretty much... my love for Tiffany came pretty much on the heels of my avoiding Caleb, so I thank him being a jackass with finding Tiff :)
I’m debt free. Debt becomes morally neutral when your spending is already under control. We can’t ignore the fact that there are lots of people who compulsively spend like it’s a disease. And for some people tough love works.
I should probably finish the video before commenting but a few thoughts spring up. I’ve been watching Caleb Hammer since some of his older videos and I do wish he’d go back to explaining certain concepts better and also picking guests who arent in it for the drama like most recent episodes. He actually used to do a really good job at explaining things. Now hes just repeated them so much that he expects everyone to know it which isnt fair.
That being said, I dont have as harsh feelings towards him as others in the comments. The occasional episode he posts with a normal guest (which are getting fewer in between) are quite civil. And by normal, I dont mean someone who agrees with everything he says. But when a guest understands the gravity of their situation and isnt lying to him, he tends to be a lot more gentle. He will even put in a small part for fun in their budget if he sees theyre taking it seriously. I also think his mindset of small decisions being a big deal is actually very accurate especially with most of the guests he has. Some of them literally say they can barely scrape by, but looking at their expenses theres hundredsss of dollars a month that are unnecessary. He reads off the purchases to show them the volume of it.
When he does follow up, a lot of guests will deviate from the plan and the ones that make progress but not as fast still get lots of encouragement due to making progress. He also takes into account mental issues and therapy costs. He recognizes when people are just genuinely in bad situations without much of their fault. I don’t see someone as evil if theyre paying their employees well above that position’s typical pay, and always giving travel expenses and reimbursements to each guest for their time.
I feel likes he gone a little bit off the rails with focusing on views and not honing in on each person gently, but I really dont think hes an awful person nor does his advice suck. I feel like graham is way worse for basically telling one of Caleb’s employees to be grateful that hes even getting paid because he’d have hired him just for the experience
I think it was really sweet on Caleb’s part how he gifted almost 2000 dollars to a guess for staying clean for 6 months.
Ok, the whole Spotify thing. It's a lot cheaper than going to any live music. Bars, concerts, county fairs etc.
When you look at it that way, it saves so much money.
A music concert, the Tickets, transportation, hotels, food, missing work/school
Let people have some joy
I've watched that whole episode. He wasn't just yelling about the $10/month charge. His point was why pay for a service that you can enjoy for free (with ads), when you're struggling with your bills and paying interest. It's not like you have to stop listening to music completely, just that the $10 is better spent on paying off the debt.
Have people forgotten how to download music?? It's not like Spotify pays artists fairly per view. If debt is not immoral, so is torrenting an album if you don't owe to nickels to rub together...
@@nischalbhandari5998while he’s not necessarily wrong, its silly for him to insist on that when his guest told him that those $10 spent is worth it for them. People are not robots we deserve to have that something thats worth paying for that improves out quality of life
@@nischalbhandari5998 It really is case by case. If Spotify without adds is what helps a person not spend more at bars/concerts/county fairs, I think it's worth it. If this what motivates someone to exercise or clean their home, its worth it.
Like I can use Free TH-cam, and actively Block the 20min commercials... That's sadly a thing.
@@raquelrodriguez9840girl bye. Downloading music cost money, unless you’re doing it illegally, so Spotify is still way cheaper.
Financial Audit rant -
You having only watched 2 episodes and a bunch of yes, baity tiktoks says more about you.
Caleb is very caring especially to those who cannot handle the tough discussions, there have been many instances where he said "oh am i going too hard? Im sorry, i need to work on that, im just worried for you"
They discuss in the shows what people are okay with or not and the titles and thumb nails all approved by the guest on the show.
Caleb's show is specifically pointed at people who question how they got into so much debt and feel like theyre drowning and he points out the overtly silly purchases on credit.
I am an Australian so the crazy use of credit cards is absolutely wild to me despite learning so much about the US side from that show.
But as Caleb points out - what is the use of lowering your credit score not being able to manage a credit card if you are not in any position to take out mortgage debt.
Thats just a dumb notion that the systems have set people up for.
And also if you arent sure about something then LEARN. I see so many being like "idk what a credit card was but I sighed up anyway"
Going back to Caleb however, he offers courses to boost resumes and a free budgeting course which is more tailored to the person, which would account for that extra $10 spotify cost, because of course the show is going to be the most strict as a wake up call to what the best case scenario would be.
Tbh though, I absolutely hate paying interest and I’m glad there are platforms educating people on how dangerous interest can be if you let it rack up, which most Americans tend to do.
We moved out of the US to a country with government healthcare. We were paying $20-30k per year for insurance and medical things. That was a huge part of our budget. They also have good public transit here, so our transportation costs are nearly zero now. We can afford ALL of the avocado toast now!!!
this is my plan too!
@@coolchameleon21 it’s tough, and some days we are like….what have we done? But overall it’s been great. We had a specific reason we were in danger in the US, but even just sending my kids to school without worrying about gun violence has been such a good experience
Long time fan, hi! :)
This is the first video of yours I've found that I soundly disagree with. Both in how you framed fellow creators, and what you feel is the best approach deal with a particular issue.
But I love that your video is a supportive voice for those who like the soft-touch slow-progress approach to goal setting. Sometimes those voices don't get heard as well in the financial change sphere. So I'm very glad you're here to affirm the ones who thrive best in that model!
Thanks for creating your videos for us with such diligence, even while working hard at growing a baby. I think your little one is going to be very lucky to have a mom who understands so well how to listen to others with compassion!
if paying $10/mo for spotify prevents you from hearing targeted ads, you might save money from unnecessary purchases
Perhaps, but I don’t think that’s the crux of the debate.
Good point!
You’ve got bigger problems if you are so easily persuaded to buy something. You can’t live your life covering your eyes to avoid billboards and advertisements and covering your ears to not hear ads. Being an adult is learning to have self control and discipline.
As someone who loves to consume financial media, I had to drastically reduce my financial media consumption. I realized so much of it was just people judging others for their bad financial decisions. I obviously ran into Caleb. I saw one of his videos and immediately hit the don't recommend on his videos. He would be happy to know he inspired me to trim these kinds of videos to one channel and that channel is from actual financial professionals with years of experience who aren't condescending on people who ask for advice because yeah, you can help people without condescending them.
What financial channel is this? I would be interested.
Not the original commenter, but highly recommend the Money Guy channel for US folks, they are actual certified accountants that make videos and live streams going over potential questions viewers may have
Dave Ramsey wrote a book called Financial Peace. Your life really is better with an emergency fund. Regardless of being debt free, having money in saving and enough free money in checking to not worry about an overdraft is a better life than going to the club a few times a month or eating out every day, but then freaking out because of needing a car repair or doctor visit and having to take out payday loans or increase your credit card balance.
I changed my behavior after I started watching Financial Audit and when I had a motorcycle accident in June, the thousands of dollars I spent on medical bills didnt wreck my finances. In fact it didn't cause me any additional stress over having a broken arm. I'm so thankful for Caleb's voice in my head shaming me for laying around the house when i had debts to pay.
Caleb used to be very good awhile back. I think this all changed when he hired that new producer guy noah who seems like a parasite. When noah came on, he did an audit with Graham stephan (who is a whole other story). This showed that he was incentivised to expand the business by any means necessary, much to the detriment of the guests coming on as well as the end consumers. Around this time the thumbnails changed to the current wild ones, the abusive titles started showing up and then the sellout post-show garbage that caleb hides behind a paywall. The course nonsense they are pushing and the at least 4-5 sponsors per video started coming up as well.
His rating thing is a laugh where he never brings on a guest that gets above maybe 3 on his scale unless they have a ridiculously high income like that amoramth video (which was a wild one).
Agreed. I really don't like the vibe that Noah brings to the show. It's aggressive and he thinks his insults are funny but they're not.
I agree, I don't just blame Noah because there's others in his production team who I think also push it. They were headed down it but after Noah it became a bro club. They pick guest for shock value vs educational value. They purposely egg Caleb on to be over the top. The thumbnails are Mr. Beast style and I hate them. They aren't useful for their update show. Also they tend to rename them sometime during the first day.
I did like the financial audits with Graham and The Money Guys reviewing Caleb. You could tell the difference between someone who was a creator and someone who is an actual financial advisor. If you haven't watched those two back to back it's pretty clear who's actually good with giving financial advice.
The assumption is often that people start from middle class and just make poor financial decisions. There are people (myself included) who grew up below the poverty line, went to college to “get a decent career”, and live paycheck to paycheck because guess what? If you start deep in the hole with no support, EVERYTHING works against you to dig yourself out.
I live in the city because it’s where my job is and I can’t afford a car and the payments and expenses that come with it, but it’s more expensive to live in the city. I never had the option to live at home and save up money, and I sure as heck didn’t have the option to have any of my expenses covered by family.
Bills and necessities caused overdraft fees. I lived off of canned food and ramen and couldn’t even think about buying a $6 Frappuccino, and it DID NOT MATTER because wealth inequality is a WAY bigger factor in who has debt and who doesn’t than minuscule financial decisions.
No connections, no accessibility, no generational cushion… you could make all of the right choices and still only break even. IF that.
People with money really discount the lasting effects of poverty. Sure getting out if it is technically possible, but it's becoming more and more rare, and those who struggle with it can't just "work harder" themselves out of it. A lot of ANY person's long-term success comes down more to luck than people want to admit, particularly in who supported and helped you along the way which is often one of the biggest predictors of how successful you'll be. And when fewer and fewer people who are doing well are helping those that aren't, that's how we end up in the financial climate we are today.
Same. I make more money than the annual household income of my family 😅 but to do that I have to live in a high cost of living metro area with no car and frequent Ubers. Life here is different than at college in my hometown, there are social obligations and dress codes that require me to spend on non-necessities occasionally if I want to have >2 friends. I put 8% of my income into two retirement accounts, have two high yield savings accounts, my dog has insurance and a good vet, my insurance/benefits are amazing, and without a car note I save a lot of money. So the amount of debt isn’t the only number to look at. I wish Caleb would look at other factors like support systems and the job market and financial education level before yelling. Bc some of us are starting from scratch and struggling to have a place in this country.
I’m a frequent Caleb watcher and I’m very confused where people are getting this idea that he’s a bully to people? Pretty sure most of his guests have an idea what they are signing up for. The ultimate goal is normally for them to have a “wake up” call that their finances are in fact bad. Not them as a person. The only time I recall him calling out someone’s character is when they are clearly there for the wrong reasons or disrespectful. I don’t think sitting back and pretending like people don’t have spending issues or not educating them on things like bad interest rates is helpful. Especially when THEY decided to go on the show.
The only debt we have left is our mortgage and WE STILL can’t retire for another 30 years because we worked so hard to pay off debt, now we have to keep working to pay for the opportunity to enjoy retirement. AKA: a f&cking year of our life before we die.
The funny irony of all this is the American economy totally relies on people taking on debt, particularly through credit cards, lines of credit and mortgages in order to function
🎉🎉
Say it louder!!! It’s so predatory, and then people are shamed for ending up in its jaws.
Financial literacy urgently needs to become part of mainstream education from early on, so that as kids grow into young adults they’re equipped to recognise the traps to try & avoid, and how best to find their way through the pitfalls they can’t avoid.
Possibly an unpopular opinion, but here goes. People who are easily marketed to or influenced by content creators probably benefit from subscriptions that bypass the ads.
I have a TH-cam subscription now (it allows for content restrictions on my kids' music) so I don't see the ads. Prior to the subscription, Caleb had so many commercials it was unbearable, and they were commonly Temu ads. People in debt from shopping aren't doing themselves any favors by watching content that feeds them those commercials.
My grandpa lived by the mantra that you need to pay off your debts, live frugally until you do and that you can enjoy your money when you are retired.
Both of his wives died from cancer before they got to that point in life.
Here in France, people rarely ever use credit cards, it’s just not a thing. Either you have the money in your checking account or you don’t. People definitely have mortgages, car loans (though frequently we buy used cars for cheap -ish), and sometimes take out personal from the bank, but it’s rare. I guess cheap education and almost free healthcare has it’s perks. As for retirement, so far it’s still paid for by our taxes (until the system crumbles but that’s another subject).
This will be interesting because I have been binging Caleb for the last month or so and am still enjoying his content. Yes he can be mean sometimes and can be unrealistic. But the guests blow my mind sometimes at how BAD and irresponsible they are with money. Like how on earth does it make sense to rack up thousands upon thousands of credit card debt and loans for things they absolutely didn’t need. I know things happen but a lot of them are just financially illiterate and I feel like his show is needed. I luckily decided to get my financial shit together in January after getting a better paying job in October, and watching him makes me feel better about the debts and progress I’ve made so far.
Right? His videos have helped me and others immensely. Sometimes you need to see how bad things are and be shown you can do better. The people that come on the show know this is going to happen and help him pick titles and thumbnails even. He's not bullying people.
Even after a month of watching you are still surprised that some people have a hard time managing their money?
I just don’t understand comments like this where someone is seemingly so delighted to announce how stupid they think other people are.
@@MidlifeMoneyMoves I said sometimes it blows my mind because some situations are just so incredibly bad. Obviously I know people aren’t good with money duh. And who said I was delighted?? Or “seemingly” delighted. I said I’m glad I decided to get my finances together and i feel the show is needed, very much needed. I don’t think he’s bullying people, they chose to come on his show and expose their finances for the world to see… I would never do that. They need to see what mistakes they’ve made and how they can get their stuff together. Everyone needs tough love at some point, especially when the choices they’ve made are just dumb, straight up dumb.
@@MidlifeMoneyMovesI don’t think they’re announcing this with delight at all? To me it reads with dismay towards how it’s possible in a country so hyper-focused on money for someone to have grown up without being taught financial literacy.
People make bad choices and want to be told its ok, its all someone else's fault. If you cant do the bare minimum now, how can you expect to be better off in the future?
I am confident a real financial advisor would be totally fine with a Spotify subscription.
I think you go to conclusion about CH too soon without watching full clips. Most of people in the show are really reckless with their spending. Sometimes, these people need some tough love, not pampering them that everything will work out.
Caleb isn’t for everyone, but he’s helped a lot of people, including education and support for his guests. I’ve learned from his show, and I understand his approach-but it wouldn’t be the right thing for everyone. It fills a niche.
Dave Ramsey has indirectly helped a lot of people, but I'm not going to support him because he legit fired an employee for getting pregnant.
You're right. He's not. However, I have watched so many of his vids. I sat with the discomfort of my own finances and within 6 months of watching his vids my credit has gone up over 100 points. I totally see how he's not for everyone though and completely get why people feel the way they feel about him.
My husband and I watch a lot of Caleb. He did used to make more well rounded content with a wilder variety of guests. Every since he got the new producer they have been leaning into the rage bate ESPECIALLY in their clips. But often it is just clickbait and he doesnt judge people for past financial decisions. That being said, he also isnt the best at being PC and will prod in the episode. He's better than Dave Ramsey but leans into the rage bait to a fault.
Big agree: the addition of Noah definitely marked the shift.
Many people go into debt and pay enormous amount of interest because of our culture of overconsumption. Too many people give into their wants and justify them as needs. Mcdonald's and chipotle are not essentials. Yeah going to a restaurant for a $10 avocado toast is stupid when you can make it at home for $2.
I think it’s not fair to judge calebs financial advise through these short clips … often the advise is legit and he is big on mental health, treating oneself, animal welfare and he is very empathetic to a lot and f guest - sure he has clickbaity titles but he literally explains ans discusses them with the guests
It is possible for something to have both positive and toxic aspects. It's still rage bait.
I used to watch Caleb when he had less than 50k subs and it felt like the faster he grew the more mean spirited the conversations got and I could not keep watching. Glad someone is mentioning how just mean/infantilizing some of this content can be
i do have to disagree with the general sentiment that “debt is morally neutral”. debt is what can lead to people losing their homes, cars, and more importantly retirement. the point is that as a generation, we are more focused on instant gratification and small dopamine hits, then recognizing the long term goals such as retirement, buying a home, funding education for your children. i think it’s detrimental to state that something when not acted on with control (taking out a student loan or a mortgage and paid off accordingly) can be “neutral” and should something happen, this debt can land onto someone else and become another person’s burden!
while i think caleb is a white man from middle of nowhere michigan who has no understanding to the nuances of culture and obligation, which is fundamentally not helpful to the conversation or the guests situation is a fair assessment. he is the typical cishet white dude who makes flagrant commentary that is fairly inappropriate from time to time.
however, i do think he depicts situations where people are somewhat affluent and their utilization isn’t appropriate or young individuals who have little understand of debt that lead to situations they could have avoided. but morally neutral? i don’t think so.
Retirement is for the wealthy dear, noone from a low to middle income will be able to comfortably retire or even retire at all, not sorry but the boomers have made this absolutely impossible for low income earners and it is not a low income earners fault either, and the boomers knew well and truly what they were doing as they've clubbed it into gen x to take over the rot that is the economy they've made way worse.
I’m so glad someone pointed out exactly what I was thinking!! Like I liked Caleb, especially at the beginning… you can tell he is not a bad person, but the thumbnails and the way he speaks to their guests is just RIDICULOUS. Like did he forget they are the reason why HE is making a ton of money? He needs them to have his show. The fact he thinks it’s okay for him to yell, curse, insult them and be rude to them while he does the very basic financial audit…
I imagine a mini Caleb in my brain when I think about making a purchase I know is a bad idea. It works for me, but know that it doesn’t work for everyone. One thing I definitely wish in Caleb’s videos is if he did include a budget for “fun stuff” like Netflix or Spotify. Definitely the more realistic approach to budgeting. Doesn’t need to be much. When I was in credit card debt, I let myself have $200 a month for miscellaneous stuff and worked a second job at the movies in my mid 20s. Def had to put my pride aside, but it was only temporary. One thing I do agree with Caleb is laying in the bed you make. I put myself in credit card debt, so I’m the one who has to make the short term sacrifices to get myself out of the debt. Everyone’s situation is different, so everyone answer to get out of debt will be different. The feeling of being debt free was so worth it for me.
The fun money thing is why I like Ramit Sethi. His spending plan has a category called "guilt free spending". In fact, my secondary checking account is just for that now. I never have to think "do I have it in my budget to afford this?" because every month it's accounted for in that spot.
That kind of stuff can go in the TP fund he puts in the budget.
This kind of financial advice reminds me of diet culture. "It's simple: burn more calories than you consume!" "It's simple: spend less money than you make!" It ignores that depriving yourself constantly is unsustainable. You will break, and you will be worse off because of it. It is inhuman to make yourself suffer continuously when you don't have to.
Also, nothing about dieting is simple. Current scientific research still can’t fully grasp complete nutrition or the pathology of why some people gain/lose weight easier than others. Because biology is never black and white and never applies to everyone. People say it is “simple” to either sell you something or try to encourage you to try (it’s easy, you can do it!) completely ignoring the fact that if then the person struggles or fails they feel isolated and alone or weak because “everyone finds it so easy, why can’t I do it?” Sadly there is no easy “one size fits all” it’s a lot of trying and failing to find what works for you and what you can sustain doing for a long time.
@@rebeccajesse4604 I see your argument, but I would like to disagree. :) We can teach the chemistry of how energy is converted in our cells to a middleschooler. We know how much energy is contained in a gram of sugar /protein / fat. And know how to calculate how much energy certain tasks take. It's simple, *not easy*.
Same for our finances. It's tough to realize that going to the movies for 13 bucks, popcorn and getting a burger for 14 and boba for 10 ends up being over 50 bucks w/ tips spent on a single evening. The math can be done by a pre-schooler. But it doesn't feel right.
Caleb keeps repeating that his show is meant as a wake up call for people who spend more than they make while wasting a lot of money on superfluous stuff. That said, he's human and sometimes he crosses the line with guests. Whenever it goes too far for me I leave a dislike and watch another episode. But I've also seen him tell people that Spotify is okay if they were willing to make the cut somewhere else. But nuance rarely makes it into the Tiktok clip format, I guess.
Some of his guests have credit cards and car loans well in the 30K with an interest rate of over 20%. The math tells you that these people are paying $500/month in just interest for the loan, and they're blissfully ignorant. It also tells you that (assuming the loan is 5 years), directing $100 to your debt would save you $150 in interest over the course of the loan. If I was him I would ask my guest if they would keep their Spotify if it was $25 - because that's the real cost of it when you have cc debt.
Caleb, Dave and all the other shows like it may have their flaws, but they're an overall net positive.
@@DanikaLeighEllis Allowing yourself treats is a good way to snack yourself back to maintenance. I learned it the hard way.
I've been working out hard on average 3 times a week, the only success indicator of weight loss was being hungry.
@@janisir4529 There's a difference between allowing random treats and "budgeting" in those foods. The latter is very healthy, especially psychologically, and will keep people on their goals longer. Anything in moderation and all that
@@lizzyblitz07 if you can do that good for you, you really only need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, but then you kinda have to budget out real food, and you just kinda reawaken sugar cravings that can lead you down a spiral of diet mistakes until you give up.
I think it's completely reasonable for everyone to be debt free. In the worst case scenario, you can file bankruptcy and start paying cash for everything. The thing with spotify premium and debt is - you're PUSHING BACK YOUR OWN RETIREMENT over not wanting to hear some ads. Is it worth it? 30% APR is what should be 'illegal', it's not just a $120/year subscription, its a $36/year for the rest of your life subscription. When you pay interest, you're paying for no product - you're taking away from your future. At least with a mortgage, that interest is potentially tax-deductible.
Yes his thumbnails are clickbait, he admits this and allegedly tells his guests before they come on that they are likely to be used in a clickbaity way.