Sal’s ‘Negative Equity’

June 3, 2008
Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Sal came in to tell the crew about the not-so profitable garage sale he held recently. A big, “dark,” Haitian looking guy showed up and offered Sal a quarter for a book, but when he realized he didn’t even have a quarter, he asked if he could have it for free and Sal quickly conceded. The guy then intimidated Sal simply by asking if anything else was free, causing Sal’s prejudices to get the better of him and he started worrying about the safety of his family. Sal placated the guy with a free box of matchbox cars, which he even carried out to the guy’s car and put in his trunk for him. Sal also revealed that he was so broke (a state he called “negative equity”), he and his family had to take a DIY tour on a city bus on a recent vacation. A caller asked Sal how to get by with “negative equity,” so Sal explained that you write checks and then race to deposit money in your checking account before it’s cashed.