Eddie Racked Up $40K in Credit Card Debt Over a U2/Pearl Jam Trip
Credit card debt is close to an all-time high in America right now, sitting somewhere in the trillions. Bobby brought it up on the show recently, and it made him think of Eddie, who's actually been through it firsthand.
How It Started
Eddie's debt didn't come from anything crazy — it started with wanting to see U2 and Pearl Jam play together in Hawaii. He and his wife were a couple years into their marriage, young, and didn't have the money. But they had a credit card.
"We don't have the money to do that, but we have a credit card. Put it all on the credit card," Eddie said.
Once that door opened, it didn't really close. They had a kid soon after, life got more expensive the way it does, and the credit card just kept covering the gap.
The Number Got Big
Eddie doesn't remember the exact peak, but he thinks it got up to around $40,000 across a few different cards. By the time they started making real progress, they'd knocked it down to about $20,000 — and that's when things got strict.
The hardest sacrifice for Eddie wasn't anything financial, it was food. No eating out, cooking at home every night.
"I guess food's so important to me that that sacrifice felt like the world to me," he said.
Their Plan
Eddie gives credit to Dave Ramsey, who came on the show and laid out his strategy: line up your cards from smallest balance to largest, throw all your extra money at the smallest one first, kill it, then move to the next.
The rule in Eddie's house was simple — figure out your bills, decide the minimum you need to live on, and everything left over goes straight to the credit cards. No exceptions. That included the nights Eddie wanted pizza. Delivery was off the table. If they wanted pizza, it was the frozen kind — Tony's or Red Baron.
Where They're At Now
They eventually paid it all off, and Eddie says it felt great. But the bigger shift was in how they think about credit cards now. Before they buy anything on one, the first question is: can we pay this off? If yes, cool. If not, they skip it — they're not trying to end up back in that spot.
Still Worth It?
Bobby asked if Eddie looks back at the trip any differently now, knowing what it kicked off. Nope, not at all.
"That was so cool," Eddie said. "Now I can say it's worth it now that I'm out of it. But man, that was a cool trip."
Bottom Line
It's an easy trap to fall into — one trip, one purchase, and suddenly the credit card's just covering everything. But Eddie and his wife show that a solid plan and a little (okay, a lot of) discipline can get you out of it.
Never miss any of the fun! Follow us on social, listen to The Bobby Bones Show LIVE every morning on radio stations nationwide and on demand on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hit us up on The Bobby Bones Show on Instagram
Join the conversation with The Bobby Bones Show Facebook Community
Watch all the funny moments on The Bobby Bones Show YouTube Channel