Retired 73-year-old Ramsey caller has ‘$175 in savings’ and $57K in debt. Is it all over? 4 habits to avoid her fate

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At 73, Wanda and her 76-year-old husband receive $102,000 a year from military disability benefits, a pension and Social Security. Approximately $8,500 lands in their bank account each month.

Yet, when Wanda called into The Ramsey Show (1), she revealed that the retired couple had almost nothing saved for an unexpected expense.

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"I have $175 in savings. And that's it," she told hosts Rachel Cruze and George Kamel.

The couple also had approximately $57,000 in consumer debt spread across credit cards, a personal loan and a travel trailer Wanda no longer wanted. That figure did not include their leased truck or the roughly $350,000 remaining on their mortgage.

Is it all over? Cruze and Kamel didn't think so. The couple's reliable income gives them enough room to recover, but only if they change how they manage it.

Wanda's experience also offers a warning for Americans with decades left before retirement: A high income alone cannot build financial security. These four habits can.

Wanda and her husband had already attempted to solve their debt problem by moving it elsewhere.

They refinanced their home and used the money to pay off their credit cards. Two months later, they had accumulated another $14,000 across the two cards.

That is the danger of treating consolidation as a substitute for changing your spending. Moving several balances into one loan may reduce your interest costs and simplify your payments, but it cannot prevent you from charging the cards back up.

If you currently owe money, list every balance, minimum payment and annual percentage rate. You can prioritize the debt with the highest rate to minimize interest or pay off the smallest balance first to gain momentum. Whichever method you choose, avoid adding new charges while paying off the old ones. Developing good habits is the best way to stay out of debt.

But sometimes, managing all of those payments can be too much. That's when consolidating your debts into a personal loan through a service like Credible could be a good idea. Instead of juggling multiple monthly payments, you'll have one predictable payment to manage each month.