The Ramsey Show Highlights “Am I Allowed To Go on a Free Cruise Even Though I’m in Debt?
Jan 15, 2026
Jesse, a listener navigating personal finance, seeks advice on a company-sponsored cruise while in debt repayment. He learns the importance of prioritizing financial goals over fleeting pleasures. The hosts discuss reframing vacations and resisting rationalizations that lead back into debt. Jade uses a brownie analogy to illustrate how small exceptions can derail financial progress. They emphasize forming new habits and automating good behaviors to achieve lasting financial discipline.
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Use The Free Trip Without Losing Focus
- Decide to go only if you clearly prioritize paying off debt first and permanently change your spending mindset.
- Use the free cruise but commit all extra income and side-job earnings to your debt and stay disciplined on spending.
Change Your Money Mindset Permanently
- Winning over debt requires changing the 'altitude, attitude, and angle' of your heart about spending.
- Reframe short-term sacrifice as a price to pay now to live and give like no one else later.
Vacation Taken Away By Bankruptcy
- Dave recounts losing vacation options after bankruptcy which forced his long-term change in behavior.
- That involuntary loss shocked his spirit and rewired how he treats spending and entitlement.
