‘I’ll just ask Grandma for money’: Caleb Hammer’s crashout over man who borrowed for a Lady Gaga concert
Financial advice host Caleb Hammer is known for blunt assessments, but a recent episode featuring a 29-year-old unemployed Houston man pushed him to his breaking point.
The guest, Jason, racked up more than $60,700 in debt while routinely asking his 73-year-old grandmother for money, including funds that financed a $1,300 trip to Chicago to see Lady Gaga.
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"You are one of the worst people who has sat in that seat in a long time," Hammer said. "You are disgusting. Manipulating your grandma for money to pay your bills. Then you don't pay your bills, and then you go to Chicago (1)."
After getting fired from his $21-per-hour job for tardiness, Jason moved back in with his parents, his third housing arrangement in as many months. With $15.64 in combined accounts and owing his grandmother $23,000, he represents an extreme case of financial dependency gone wrong.
Yet he repeatedly justified his actions, stating, "I know she has money … If I don't have it, I can ask for it. (1)"
The enablement epidemic
But Jason isn't alone in this. According to Savings.com data, 50% of parents with adult children now provide regular financial assistance, averaging $1,474 a month or nearly $18,000 a year.
What's more, working parents contribute 2.3 times more to their kids than to their own retirement funds, which puts their long-term financial security at risk (2).
Jason has been unemployed since September and admitted he’s barely looking for work. He isn’t tailoring his resume to the roles he applies for and spent $600 on bartending classes he never finished. He has no experience to show for it.
He also has no plans to stand on his own two feet. He has no savings, no retirement fund and no career path. At this rate, his instability could get worse as his grandmother ages.
For her, supporting Jason's lifestyle carries serious risks. Retirement savings should be preserved for medical expenses and long-term care. Instead, she's financing his concert trips and paying $400 each month for mystic sessions, while he racks up debt from maxed-out credit cards, two repossessed cars and buy-now-pay-later schemes.
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