‘Don’t Worry About This Loan,’ Parents Said — $221K-A-Year Caller Now Stuck With $104K As ‘Ramsey Host’ Says, ‘That’s Not Fair To You’

A college promise made years ago is now driving a financial and family standoff.

John, a Chicago-based father of four, told “The Ramsey Show” that his parents took out a $104,000 Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students when he was 18. He said the loan was never meant to be his responsibility until expectations shifted after his father’s death.

“Don’t worry about this loan,” John said his parents told him while encouraging him to live on campus and get the full college experience. Now 34 and married, with a combined household income of $221,000 a year, he said he is being asked to repay the entire balance himself.

“That’s not fair to you,” co-host Rachel Cruze said.

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John said the understanding around the loan influenced how he planned his adult life. After his father became ill and could no longer work, he began making payments even though repayment had never been part of the original understanding.

“I felt obligated. Kind of guilty,” John said when personal finance expert Dave Ramsey asked why he started paying.

The balance remains at $104,000. John said his late father left behind a life-insurance payout estimated between $200,000 and $250,000, but none of it went toward the loan. Instead, the funds went toward paying for his sister’s wedding, renovating the family home, and clearing his mother’s car debt.

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Later, John learned the loan had been consolidated without his knowledge. During a call with his mother and sister, he realized that payments he had been making were briefly applied to his sister’s student debt.

He said he ended up paying nearly $2,000 toward her loans before discovering the issue. His sister now lives with their mother and is not paying her own student debt, he said.

John said he had gone along with the arrangement for years, saying he had become a “doormat.”

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Ramsey outlined two options: continue paying without complaint or stop and set a firm boundary. John said continuing was no longer realistic after he and his wife paid off more than $120,000 of their own debt and committed to shared financial goals.