The 62-year-old woman found out that her husband had run out of nest eggs and took on $126,000 in debt. Rachel Cruze offers a “rare” solution
Beth, of Nashville, Tennessee, thinks she will retire soon. But when her husband told her retirement savings were exhausted and the family’s consumer debt was imminent, her sense of financial security was broken.
She explained to Rachel Cruze and Jade Warshaw in a recent episode of The Ramsey Show: “He has three huge job losses, they All are well-paid jobs. “He did invest 401(k). I was never sure how much there was there, and I thought it might be $170,000. It disappeared!”
Beth puts her husband in charge of his finances and admits she is afraid to investigate his finances because “he will be very angry.”
Her unfortunate situation is a destructive portrayal of financial infidelity.
Despite being married for more than 30 years, Beth says she left darkness on the financial situation of her family. She said her husband experienced long hours of unemployment because he refused to put any job below senior management level. He recently revealed that he has been spending money in his retirement account during these extensions.
He also managed to accumulate $126,000 in debt, which included $77,000 in credit cards and $50,000 in HELOC co-signed with his sister. “Now everything is gone, too,” Beth sighed. “Honestly, he is not a good money manager.”
Unfortunately, it is common to have unfortunate money and concealing financial details from partners. According to a recent Bankrate survey, up to 40% of American adults commit financial infidelity in a firm relationship. 45% say this form of deception is as bad as physical infidelity, if not bad.
Not only did Beth’s husband ruin their relationship through deception, but he also made them both vulnerable after retirement. According to AARP’s 2024 survey, one in five Americans over 50 have no retirement savings. One in four (26%) of those who have not retired yet said they expect to never retire.
Without safety nets, many older people are forced to delay retirement or cancel retirement altogether. Beth said she is now working part-time and convinced her husband to work as a car salesman.
