Colin is 22 years old, a military veteran, and sitting inside a financial hole that gets deeper every month. A year and a half ago he received around $40,000 in a lump sum. Through a series of car trades and a roommate dispute, he burned through most of it. Now he has about $11,000 in stocks, a truck payment of $1,200 a month on a $76,000 vehicle, and he’s underwater by $16,000. He’s moving from Florida to Texas and figures he can save $500 to $800 a month after bills. The question he brought to The Ramsey Show: what do I do now?
The answer from John Delony and Rachel Cruze was direct, and it was right.
What the Ramsey Team Actually Said
Delony told Colin: “I would sell that stock and I’d go take out a $5,000 loan from a credit union. I would sell that truck, or maybe a $7,000 loan from a credit union. I would take that stock, put the 11 grand towards it, get this truck sold, pay the difference, and then buy a $2,000 1988 Corolla with 400,000 miles on it that’s still driving.”
Cruze backed it up: “That’s exactly what I would do, which would be about a $7,000 loan and a crappy car versus a nice truck that is worth $76,000 and I’m underwater.”
The math behind this advice is what makes it compelling. Colin owes $16,000 more than the truck is worth. When he sells the truck, that gap has to be covered. The plan: use the $11,000 in stocks plus a credit union loan of around $7,000 to cover the shortfall, then attack that loan aggressively. The $1,200 monthly truck payment disappears, replaced by a far smaller loan obligation on a vehicle that costs almost nothing.
Why the Truck Is the Core Problem
A $1,200 monthly payment is crippling on Colin’s income. At $500 to $800 a month in potential savings, the truck payment alone exceeds Colin’s entire savings capacity. Every month he keeps it, he falls further behind. He cannot build an emergency fund, he cannot invest, and he cannot create any financial cushion before a crisis hits.
Being $16,000 underwater means selling the truck leaves a gap that must be covered. That negative equity has to go somewhere. The credit union loan route converts an impossible situation into a manageable one: a smaller loan at a reasonable rate, likely in the range that today’s 3.75% federal funds rate environment supports for creditworthy borrowers, versus carrying a depreciating asset that bleeds $1,200 every month.
The broader context makes this more urgent. The Consumer Price Index has climbed from roughly 320 in March 2025 to 327.5 as of February 2026, meaning everyday expenses keep rising. Consumer sentiment sits at 56.4, a level that historically signals widespread financial stress among households, reflecting the financial pressure millions of Americans feel right now. Carrying an underwater luxury vehicle in this environment is a compounding mistake.
The Payoff Timeline That Changes Everything
Cruze encouraged Colin to make an aggressive goal of paying off the $7,000 loan in five to seven months. That timeline is achievable. If Colin saves $800 a month and directs it entirely at the loan, he clears it in roughly nine months. Add any extra income from the move or a side job and five to seven months becomes realistic.
The psychological shift matters as much as the math. Delony framed it this way: “I want to reestablish trust again with Colin. Colin’s a guy that does the next right thing.” Paying off a $7,000 loan in five months is a concrete, winnable goal. It builds the kind of momentum that a $76,000 truck payment never could.
Who This Advice Fits
This approach works for anyone whose monthly payment on a depreciating asset exceeds their ability to save. The specific trigger: if your vehicle payment is larger than what you can put away each month, the vehicle is actively preventing financial recovery. Selling underwater and taking a small consolidation loan is painful once. Keeping the truck is painful every month indefinitely.
Colin attributed some of the car-flipping decisions to mental health effects from traumatic military events and noted he is now getting help through the VA. Delony’s first question was about that: “Will you make that a top commitment when you get to Texas?” That framing matters. The financial plan works only if the underlying behavior changes. Colin has both pieces in motion now.
Sell the truck. Take the small loan. Pay it off fast. The beater gets you to work just as well, and it costs you almost nothing to own.
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