She co-signed on a motorcycle loan for an ex-boyfriend six years ago, and although she hasn’t seen him or the bike in over four years, the lender hasn’t forgotten about her.
“I had an ex-boyfriend about five, six years ago and we got motorcycles,” Annie said on a recent call to “The Ramsey Show.” “I sold mine, but we co-signed for each other. He hasn’t made a payment. I don’t care about my credit, but they keep calling.”
What shocked the hosts wasn’t just the missing motorcycle; it was that Annie admitted she didn’t even know if her ex was still alive. “I haven’t seen the bike in over four or five years. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead,” she told them.
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“It doesn’t matter where that motorcycle is,” co-host George Kamel said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s dead or alive. You owe that debt. That’s exactly what co-signing is.”
The loan balance is still about $10,000, and Annie is now retired, barely making ends meet on about $1,600 a month. Her new husband brings in around $3,000, but the couple keeps finances mostly separate. “I take care of the bills and he just puts money in my account,” Annie said. They have no savings.
Annie and her husband are trying to fix his broken-down truck, and she’s planning to go back to work to help cover expenses. Meanwhile, repo agents have come looking for a bike that hasn’t been around in years.
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Annie admitted to having around $10,000 more in credit card debt, bringing the total closer to $20,000. But the motorcycle loan, which she co-signed out of what Kamel called “true love,” has become the most pressing issue.
Co-host Jade Warshaw encouraged Annie to stop focusing on the ex. “Forget all about him because he’s somewhere eating a sandwich. He is not thinking about you,” she said. “Add it to the list of debts. The best thing that you can do in this situation mentally and emotionally is say, ‘You know what, this is a mistake I made.’”
She also told Annie to start a deeper financial conversation with her husband: “Over dinner, I want you to say, ‘I’ve really been thinking and I don’t feel peace about our finances. I feel stressed. I feel like we’re disconnected.’”
Warshaw emphasized that getting aligned financially as a couple would be key to digging out of the hole.
