A South Dakota woman called into “The Ramsey Show” recently looking for help, but instead got a dose of tough love from hosts Dave Ramsey and John Delony. While Ramsey had strong words for her insurance company, State Farm, he didn’t hold back criticism for the caller’s own decisions, either.
Caller Stayed In A Hotel For 2.5 Years After A Natural Disaster
Kim explained that her family had lived debt-free for over 20 years, driven by Ramsey principles. They paid cash for used cars, saved diligently, and were even paying for their daughter’s college out of pocket. But after a natural disaster made their home unlivable, things quickly unraveled.
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They had a high-deductible homeowners policy with State Farm, thinking their $100,000 in savings would cover emergencies. Instead, the company allegedly delayed payments and denied coverage, forcing them to live in a hotel for two and a half years. “We became the Bank of State Farm,” Kim said.
Ramsey came out swinging. “State Farm screwed you,” he said. “But so did those decisions. You quadrupled or 5x’ed your cost.”
Financial And Medical Strain Collided
At the same time, Kim’s daughter had to undergo open-heart surgery and receive treatment at both Stanford and Mayo Clinic, adding more hotel stays, travel, and food expenses to the family’s mounting debt. Their household income is $188,000, but they still racked up tens of thousands in credit card debt.
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“It doesn’t take two and a half years to rebuild a house. I built an entire house in 11 months,” Ramsey told her. “The third month, not the third year, I sue State Farm and move out of a hotel.”
He challenged Kim on why they didn’t rent a different home, even if it wasn’t perfect. Kim said their 95-year-old neighbor, who needed hospice care, required a single-story setup, and that limited their housing options. Ramsey didn’t accept that as justification.
“Only the strong can help the weak,” he said. “Right now, your knees are broken. We can’t do anything.”
Let Go Of The Past
Delony jumped in with emotional insight, pointing out how clinging to their former lifestyle only made things harder. “For every emotional health challenge, there is this distance from this scary, terrifying line called reality,” he said. “The life you had is over. You’ve got a new one now.”
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Ramsey agreed and encouraged the caller to stop treating things like fully funding college or caregiving as untouchable obligations. “You’ve got to start putting some limitations on some of these things that you keep declaring as absolutes,” he said. “The absolute is we got to have a place to live and we got to keep our daughter healthy,” Delony added.
Kim said they were doing everything they could to cut costs, even hauling their own trash to the dump. But Ramsey emphasized that the core problem wasn’t lifestyle inflation, but the refusal to adapt to reality fast enough.
“If it’s any consolation to you at all, State Farm has a horrible reputation on claims. You’re not the only one,” he said. “Sue their butt. But I’m not going to wait around on them to fix my life either.”
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