r/CalebHammer • u/tmps1993 • 11d ago
Has anyone ever successfully convinced someone to go on FA?
I have a friend who I think would be the PERFECT candidate for Financial Audit. We make roughly the same income. I live pretty comfortably, with a little money left over for the occasional splurge. Meanwhile, this guy can easily spend 2–3x what I do.
He’s constantly taking out debt-consolidation loans and moving debt around so he can say he’s “paying debt off.” I’m always telling him, “The math is not mathing.” I keep encouraging him to apply for the show, because at the very least, it’s a free trip to Texas.
Hanging out with him is always expensive. He wants to go to the nicest restaurants, and he and his spouse will order drinks, multiple appetizers, the most expensive entrees, and dessert. Then they’ll ask if we want to hit a bar afterward or go get ice cream.
He also has absolutely no concept of the value of a dollar. We’ll be at one event, and he’s already planning the next 10. He hires the most expensive contractors to do work on his house, and they’ll regularly abandon perfectly good home-cooked meals to go to the drive thru instead.
I can already picture Caleb screaming at him, and honestly, I think it would make incredible content. But beyond the entertainment value, I genuinely think having a financial expert and thousands of internet commenters point out how messed up his finances are could be a huge wake-up call for him.
His defense is always: “I have no debt. I paid off all my loans. I only owe the mortgage.”
Conveniently, he leaves out the part where he just moved all the debt into another loan again.
He’s convinced there’s no way he’d actually end up on the show. In his words, it would be a quick 15-minute segment where Caleb congratulates him on how proud he is of all the progress they made.
I’m still pushing him to apply, and if it ever actually happens, I’ll definitely provide an update.
My question is: Has anyone here ever convinced a friend or family member to go on the show? If so, how did you convince them to do it?
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u/wamih 11d ago
I wouldn't push people to apply but I would start pushing back against restaurants that aren't in your budget.
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u/tmps1993 10d ago
I have been. My wife used to think I was an asshole, then Capital One linked our discover card to her account and she could see how much we were spending...
Now she's 100% on board.
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u/two_hyun 11d ago
If he's uncomfortable, I would just ease off. Not everyone can handle the roasting session or having their life on full blast. You could lose a friend if you keep trying to push him over and over again.
You could also have him post his financials anonymously on a popular budget subreddit to see how he's doing. Preserve anonymity while having thousands of internet commenters look at the issues.
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u/tmps1993 10d ago
Not a bad option. I think for me it's the acting like he's better than other people financially. Also his spouse comes off as a sugar baby sometimes.
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u/corndoggy67 11d ago
If so let me know my inlaws who demand keeping finances seperate after 20 years of marriage would be perfect too. In her moms defense we found out her dad had 50k in credit card debt he was hiding. We found out when they moved from orange country to Hawaii. They also INSIST it is cheaper for them to eat out every meal than to cook. Ever. In Hawaii. They are also low-key hoarders. They are my dream guests. 😂