YouTuber Caleb Hammer has built a career digging into people’s poor money decisions on his show, “Financial Audit.”
He says there’s one mistake he sees most consistently.
“It’s the cars,” he said during a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider. “People are obsessed with getting whatever big truck or SUV that has the new year on it. And they say it’s the safety features, because, you know, we were making cars one year ago that were just killing everyone. So you’ve got to get the 2027 Ford F-150 Turbo edition.”
Hammer, who also sells a budgeting app, Dollarwise, and financial education courses, conceded that it’s not entirely people’s fault that they fall into the car trap.
“You need to have a car to have a job, and you need to have a job to have a car,” he said. “We have that endless loop because we have horrible public infrastructure in this country. We built everything around the car. So people are stuck in that loop.”
Still, he said, people will also try to justify spending beyond their means on their “dream car.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” he continued.
Hammer, 31, speaks from experience. He once racked up $120,000 in debt by paying for college, a car, and some impulse buys. He taught himself about money management, which inspired him to start his show.
Now, he has a mortgage and a modest amount of debt, and has shifted his priorities. He spends on the occasional dinner out, his dogs, and hiring good people for his company.
“I still love McDonald’s,” he said. “I try not to get it, and my girlfriend doesn’t want me to because it’s bad for me. But at least I can afford it.”
Hammer said he doesn’t see the financial situation of everyday Americans improving anytime soon, especially with the rise of buy-now-pay-later services.
“With Klarna being baked into everything and Afterpay, unfortunately, I have a feeling the show’s going to be going till I’m done,” he said.
Read our full interview with Caleb Hammer here.
