Personal finance YouTuber Caleb Hammer has seen it all, from Models who only want to “spend, spend, spend” on 40-year-olds who flat out refuse to work.
But one of the most recent guests on his show, Financial Audit, may have been the most frustrating yet for the host.
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Racso, a 24-year-old Vedic astrologer from Austin, Texas, had lost an immense amount of money trading CRYPTOCURRENCIES and now finances his lifestyle with Credit cards.
Getting a regular job, he explained, is only a "worst-case scenario," but Hammer believes Racso's current situation couldn't get any worse.
"I'm almost ready to kick you out," he told her. "This is the angriest I've ever been."
From “half a million” to bankruptcy
Racso started trading cryptocurrencies in 2020 with $40,000. He eventually turned that into $440,000. Unfortunately, his intraday trading was driven by immense leverage up to 17 times its capital.
This is excessive by conventional metrics, but is not unusual in the cryptocurrency industry, where platforms can offer leverage ratios up to 125. However, excessive debt is a double-edged sword, as Racso eventually discovered.
He said he lost 70% of his portfolio when the FTX trading platform and the Terra/Luna cryptocurrency crashed in 2022. According to his own analysis done through Vedic astrology (which focuses on karma Regarding personality traits), the events that happened to Rocso were driven by the “eclipse of Taurus and Scorpio.”
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) My dearthat more than $450 billion in market value was destroyed when the Terra/Luna project collapsed, while the FTX bankruptcy dissolved another $200 billion.
In total, the cryptocurrency industry lost $1.8 trillion that year, leaving three-quarters of retail investors (40% of whom were men under 35) with significant losses.
Undeterred by his inability to predict this market crash, Racso now believes he can make a living as a Vedic astrologer predicting the fortunes of others. However, he admitted that he currently does not earn any income.
Meanwhile, his wallet has shrunk to pennies, so his monthly salary budget It feeds on credit cards.
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Unsustainable debt
Racso has several cards, some with outstanding balances of up to $4,373, and admitted to using some to pay for others. He even pays the rent with credit cards, since he can only make the minimum monthly payments.
He also has a loan for partial ownership of a car he shares with his sister.
Excess consumer debt is a longer-lasting trend than cryptocurrency speculation. Non-real estate debt had reached $4.9 trillion by the end of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve's latest household debt and credit report. report. Credit cards alone account for $1.13 trillion in aggregate debt for Americans. Meanwhile, car loans now they weigh more student debt.
Racso justified his car loan because he intends to use his car to generate income by ride-sharing. Although it has registered, it has not yet started offering trips. His lack of income and monthly debt service have left him with only $2 in his checking account.
Hammer simply described him as a “ridiculous clown.”
However, Racso's situation, although serious, could potentially be saved with a solid source of income, tighter monthly budgets and letting go of credit card addiction. The only problem is that he first has to admit the problems to himself if he hopes to overcome them.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
