0:00 Download the Conscious Spending Plan so you can use your money GUILT-FREE: iwt.com/csp-youtube Please remember: These are real people who had the courage to come on my podcast and ask for help. Would you be willing to come on this podcast and share every detail of your financial life? Feel free to leave comments based on what you think, but remember that we are here to help in a supportive way, not to demean and criticize.
I don’t have debt, I live within my means. However, I indulge my adult daughter, but play small when it comes to me. The message that my parents gave to me is “we’re simple people” and there was a discomfort around “indulgence”. We save. We don’t invest. Our investment is our home. However, I need to protect my money and learn to invest, so I can live my rich life and leave a $ecurity for my daughter who has multiple physical health issues.
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. As far as the follow up video...I really didn't know what to say. We have done a lot to tighten our belts since then. Maybe in a year or two he will let us do a follow up. In regards to your "leaving it to their wives" comment...She has a masters degree in business. She's way more qualified than me in that regard. And we have regular talks about our finances now and have made great changes to get us in a good place. If I was a master tradesman in something like plumbing or construction I would do that type of work around the house, not my wife. It's no different than her handling the bills. She wants to do it and that's what she's good at. I'm the big gorilla outside, moving boulders around with a skid loader, planting trees, taking care of our chickens, stocking the pond, and more. This summer will be repairing our deck (rotten boards need replacing). We're close to having it ready to sell. My mom has a condo she's not living in and we'll probably rent it from her for a year or two to save even more money. Why we have a school loan at 55? Yeah, she went back to school and got her Masters Degree, while working full time, raising kids, being a great wife, taking care of a home, AND FIGHTING CANCER. (She had breast cancer before and colon cancer while doing all of this.) She's the strongest person I know. It was a big wakeup call to change the path we were on (not a good one financially), simplify, and do a thing together while we still can (living the RV life). It's a goal we're shooting for.
Thank you and your wife for being willing to share your financial story. It's a vulnerable position and easy for people online to judge. Keep learning, making adjustments and taking this experience one day/step at a time.
I also struggle with the living for today/planning for tomorrow balance that I think has to be struck to live a life that feels… secure. Because just living for today makes me feel anxious about tomorrow, but only living for tomorrow makes me feel like I’m missing out on today. It is hard. My father-in-law was diagnosed with a terrible form of leukemia (AML) at age 71 and died by age 72. He had not even retired (business owner). Life can change in an instant, and it really woke me up to how precious it all is, and how important it is to find joy and levity where you can. So if that’s Star Wars for you, I think that is awesome. I agree with Ramit, no one has hobbies anymore, just smartphones. Good for you! I think it is a virtue that you shop second hand, it is easier than ever to do so nowadays with online shops and you can find amazing stuff for dirt cheap. It prevents waste and saves money, I was honestly shocked when Ramit was pushing you to buy new when you already have the habit of buying second hand. I understand he’s trying to get at the psychology, but I don’t think most people buy second hand because they don’t feel they’re “worthy” of buying new, it actually makes you feel so good to find a great used item and, at least for me, the item itself feels so much more special because it is living out its full life instead of going to waste. New is not always better. Anyway, like all the other couples who do this, you were brave to come on and thanks for sharing! The pond sounds amazing, my dad has wanted to build a bog filter pond forever, you two would get along great 😅 it’s an accomplishment. Maybe consider renting out the house instead of selling it, it would be such a shame to lose it to enjoy in your later years with grandkids. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for braving the show and the comments. I just want to say as a woman with an MBA, while my degree started me on the financial journey, it's not what taught me personal finance. I learned how to do my finances by listening to podcasts such as this, reading books and articles, and a lot of trial and error. You can be every bit as educated as your wife in this regard. Please don't leave her to this alone. Even if she's still doing the nuts and bolts, you can be a listening ear, someone to bounce ideas off of, or giving your thoughts. There's a lot of emotional labor that goes into finances that you can help alleviate.
There are plenty of people who don't have a master's degree in business who are very well versed in personal finance. Please don't use that as an excuse because you don't need any degree to learn personal finance. It's not serving you to bury your head in the sand. Re: "She wants to do it and that's what she's good at." Your wife is a good person but not as good with money as you think she is. I mean, you're on this show for MONEY problems. It's rarely good when one spouse us tuned out about the marital money.
The story I tell myself, "I was born a poor black woman from Arkansas and I'll die a poor black woman from Arkansas." Meanwhile I'm a licensed CPA in California. I haven't lived in Arkansas since 1st grade and I'm not poor.😮
I know you're not trying to be funny, but when I read this, it called to mind Steve Martin in The Jerk "I was born a poor black child." Really highlights the "stories we tell ourselves." :)
My story is that “I don’t know where the money is and if my husband got hit by a bus, I’d be screwed. I’d eventually lose all of it.” We live in the Bay Area and have a high income and low debt. You have changed my world because I’ve dialed in and learned about our finances. I’m teaching my kids in their twenties. And in honor of you, I set up retirement accounts for my 20 yr old twins with $1000 and automatic contributions of $100. That was their Xmas present. You’re wonderful and I tell people about you constantly. Now I look forward to Tuesdays when you drop a new episode. Thank you for your passion, wisdom and hard work 🤩
Ramit's kayak analogy reminded me a sea cave kayaking tour I went on in the Channel Islands (highly recommend). I was supposed to go with my mom but she got injured a few days before. I found myself in a kayak alone with about six other couples in two-man kayaks. Desperate not to be the last one and holding everyone back, I furiously paddled with the guides. At one point, I looked up and noticed something strange--I was far ahead of all the other couples. They were all struggling at working together. Some kept going in circles and others against each other; with some laughing about it and others arguing. This went on for an hour or so. As we made our way around the island, a couple or two caught up with me and some eventually passed me. By the end of the trip, a lot of the couples had figured out how to work together and were faster than me alone. Some never did and I out rowed them despite being single and smaller. As a single person, I always thought two people ought to outpace me at finances but this reminds me that isn't always true. It's about your ability to work together.
They should use an Adirondack guideboat in which the couple faces one another- the person in the bow is facing backward and is rowing; and the person in the stern is facing forward and is paddling and steering. It’s a WONDERFUL couple experience!
I don't think u realize how much u do to help the black community. Unfortunately, a lot of us don't get this type of information. I correct, dream, learn, and feel encouraged when I listen. I'm 48 and I have only managed to save 20k. I don't have debt but still I have work to do. But my kids will be different. I'm talking to my 13 year old about bills and money. I made my 20 year old promise he would invest at minimum 100 per month forever. Thank u
Definitely part of the black community that has been educated in this area and come from generations of educated black people both academically and financially. It happens and I’m blessed to have a black friend group with all PhD’s that also have the same background. It would have been great if you thanked him for helping YOU 😊
3+ year RV based nomad. It’s at least 2x as expensive financially, emotionally, physically, than anyone ever plans for. It’s great but it’s VERY VERY expensive. Especially in 2024 vs. pre vanlife boom. Lots of “free” land has gotten shut down, and campgrounds are average $45/night or $800 monthly. Anyone looking to be a nomad should look at the costs and realities TODAY as they’ve changed a lot since pre-2020
So I'm going to agree but disagree. Source: 2.5 yr vanlifer (solo) a couple years ago, also someone who full-time traveled w/backpack for couple years, who is also looking to RVlife in near future with my husband. Yes, campsite prices have gone up. HOWEVER, it really depends on the lifestyle. For instance, rig setup- I'm not sure what you are saying, there is still plenty of "free" land you just have to be willing to go to it and not have services. Even in NJ where we live we can get primitive sites at $3/night. Now I highly doubt someone looking at an $80-90k rig (this doesn't include ongoing expenses to get it set up- solar, starlink if still working, gas, etc) is going to do that but it can be done. If they are serious about doing sooner than later they should look at a small lightweight trailer- Casita, Scamp, etc. Husband got ours for $6k couple years ago- maybe now closer to $10-20k used? Can find many cheaper trailers than that though too if not as nice. Will be much cheaper as far as gas goes too.. We love boondocking and are setting our rig up for that- grey water saving mods, compost toilet, solar, limited appliances (basically a small fridge and electric for computer to work). Husband is in the trades so we are just paying for the materials, it's my job to get discounts (on most items we have saved about 20-60% of brand new cost either with discounts or buying used or DIY kit rather than full item). We have a budget for this, we are not spending over a certain amount ($6k) for everything. Our budget which includes us still keeping our PAID OFF house (taxes + utils- in NEW JERSEY) is $30k/yr BUT that is a VERY simple lifestyle which we are already testing out now to see if it's realistic or not (so far, yeah, on things like food going out etc). For this to be doable at all they need to get rid of that debt, at least any debt that is not federal student loans (they didn't say if he will still be working when they do RV life- if not, the student loan payments might go down a lot if it's income-based) Anyway more important thing is right now we are very focused on making this happen. Limiting our spending to make sure we have the savings to do this. We both got a late start on retirement savings, we have been saving 50% of income last couple years. House will be paid off before we dare take the leap- and we don't plan on that money either towards the RV- what will the couple do when they are tired of RV life and are older/god forbid sicker? We might sell our house but if we do we will put it in HYSA and investments until ready to buy again. We will test it out to make sure the lifestyle is a good fit (we already have the RV). Both of us are in the process of selling/donating our stuff, can't take it with us in a small RV. Any home improvements are 100% out for us, we won't be here to enjoy. This is where the couple really needs to get their values aligned with their goals. If it's not really their goal that's 100% ok too but be honest. Without some drastic changes there is no way that their dream happens for them, maybe ever.
@@dawn6275 there is plenty of free land still, but it doesn’t sound like this family wants the boondocking, Quartzite, Bob’s RV experience. I primarily boondocked, using solar and no hookups for months at a time while working full time. It’s possible, but it became a total energy suck and slog for us to keep up long term. I have personally seen hundreds of acres of BLM land that I formerly camped on be closed down. We are stationary now, but we’re just down the road from where we did a lot of camping in our nomad days. Hundreds of spots whittled down to 12 that you must reserve. It happened in front of my eyes near Yellowstone, I actually had to move my rig from a spot they were fencing off (I was in a legal spot, other people had been irresponsible). The majority of the BLM that is in Moab is being turned into site-based camping. It’s possible to live a very simple life in an RV, and it’s also possible to have a grand, lifetime adventure where you see all the National Parks. It’s very difficult to do both, especially when you account for her needs working full time. The money is nice to count on as a full time worker but it requires space, inflexibly, and internet at a level that isn’t cheap.
I’ve listened to all the podcast on Spotify since the beginning, but watching on RUclips makes such a big difference. You see so much more of the important nonverbal communication.
"The question is, why do you make $250,000 and have only $2,900 in savings? That’s the question we should be asking." I agree, but I don't feel like the answer was fully explored. I understand we are seeing a condensed version of the conversation, but Ramit, because they have so much money coming in, low housing expenses, kids are out of the house, and she plans to continue to work during the RV travels, it would have been satisfying to hear specifics (other than stop renovating) about what you suggest for them. With a clear path, changes to how they spend, and another 7+ years of income, couldn't they continue to fund their investments, pay off the debt, create savings and make the RV thing work? I love when Ramit goes into tactical problem solving mode, and missed that here. When we learn that she is a cancer survivor, it becomes clear that he's not just afraid of not being able to climb a mountain. He's afraid of losing her and doesn't want to wait until retirement to spend quality time together. Is it really out of the question?
Agreed, with that high of an income it was extremely unclear where the money was actually going. Also, I couldn't tell in the follow-ups if the husband was dead serious about thinking the only thing left was to stop using premium gas... or if he was straight up trolling after all the advice they were given to see the big picture. I can't believe Ramit didn't address that directly, maybe he saw it was trolling and didn't take the bait.
I didn’t like it when Brad was ridiculed for buying second hand clothes for himself. Ramit, you say “ Cut mercilessly on things you don’t care about”. Brad tried to defend himself, but Ramit and Angie told him he shouldn’t be buying second hand clothes. There are decent everyday clothes in second hand stores and those stores keep all of those clothes/items out of landfills. Brad was actually helping his and Angie’s bottom line in that way. Was Angie?
Agreed. If clothes are not important to Brad let him buy at Goodwill. Just yesterday I had reason to shop the men’s button down shirt section and there are some really nice quality shirts there, but they are $9.48. Lesser button downs are $5.48. If you can hit Goidwill stores when they have 75% off certain wares off you can get deals.
He said he was buying at good will for the wrong reasons. If he truly enjoyed goodwill that’s different, but he bought there because he was worried about his money situation
I’m not sure why people are calling him a child for having something that he enjoys buying while going to the thrift stores for clothes . We all have a thing & his thing might not be your thing.
Totally nothing wrong with his hobby. I think what's getting people riled up is his insistence that he is a simple man with simple tastes who wants to get rid of clutter and downsize. His hobby is very expensive and opposite of simple. His very backdrop belies his words. His hobby isn't childish but his refusal to engage with money is.
This is so much of America right now and I'm sure everyone has a handful of friends like this: the instant gratification leak turned waterfall. I'd be curious to know how long this couple actually thinks about something before jumping on it, I have a feeling they're the "oh we talked about a pond last night and started today!" type. Why are you spending 50k+ on renovations for a house you want to sell soon to travel anyway (and house sale at only 200k!). It isn't because it makes any sense, it's because they cannot have the RV NOW and need something NOW even if it doesn't align with their long term goals. I'm sure it is very sad to look back knowing you made enough income to have your dream but filled buckets you plan to toss anyway. The instant gratification high doesn't last long and you can see it in their faces. I admire this couple for coming on as I feel like this is a very big issue for many that hopefully others in the same situation can learn from.
I feel like there's a disconnect here between doing all these renovations on their house and having all these nice things in their home, and saying they want to go do the RV life. After all that renovating they should stay home and enjoy it.
@@KatrinaLAlexanderLandscaping which seems to be most of it, and is the worst ROI investment. A pond is a liability, not an investment. Worse than a pool.
@@KatrinaLAlexander Most renovations result in less of a gain than is spent on the renovation, particularly things like decorative ponds. They are likely to get less than 50% of the cost of the pond back at resale. There is no reason to be spending money on these kinds of unnecessary renovations if you don't plan to stay in the home long term. They don't increase the value of the house - its like burning money. If this was their forever home, it wouldn't be such a bad idea as at least they could enjoy their pond forever. But spending thousands on a pond that doesn't increase home value and that you will only enjoy for a couple years is a bad idea.
Honestly "deserve" is the most dangerous word in the english language. It creates self justification to live recklessly. No one deserves anything in life. Anything in life needs to be earned through hard work, and more importantly... respect.
You nailed it. The word should be “earned” not “deserve”. And unless you have a couple grand cash laying around, you haven’t yet earned a big vacation!
it's a product of the US advertising industry. We are bombarded by messages that we "deserve it". We hear it from the time we're kids. These marketers know human psychology and are very good at what they do. After a while it penetrates our defenses and we say "You know what? I DO deserve it!". And out comes the credit card.
Keep the house. Rent the RV and try out RV life for a while. The daily luxuries like showering and going to the bathroom is so much harder in a RV. When you get older, say 70s, RV life is not glamorous. You want a warm place to sleep, your own shower.
The fact you say luxury and then shower in the same sentence makes me think the RV life won’t be a barrel of laughs. We went to New Zealand last month and spent a month driving around - in a car! We debated an RV and decided in our retirement years we’re not shovelling sh1t and using “dump stations”. Nah, life’s too short and we had a blast staying in decent motels with en-suite bathrooms!
This is a perfect example of why it is usually never about the numbers but instead their relationship towards money/debt and the identities they created for themselves. They are a great couple. They seem to care for each other, but I see them getting the RV in the foreseeable future and living the "dream" till it becomes a nightmare.
I was glad to hear Ramit talk more about wealth v income. The unfortunate truth is they are nowhere near where they should be at their age. To achieve their goal of retiring to an RV in even 10 years from now, they should have a net worth around 4X higher than they currently have. Their debt situation is pretty out of control, especially with their income. If I am them, from a practical standpoint, I would attack the CC, HELOC and student loan debts HARD for the next two years to become debt-free except for the mortgage. If Brad can increase his income, that would certainly help. If they were in their 20s, I would probably tell them to only attack the CC debt and not worry much about the student loans or HELOC since their interest rates are around 6%. But 6% is a relatively high interest rate on debt in your 50s. They need to eliminate this ASAP. With the $3k+ monthly that this will free up, they can add rapidly to their retirement accounts to be okay by retirement. But it's clearly going to be a longer road than they previously thought and will take some short-term sacrifice to get out of their non-mortgage debt.
I think they were in denial about what they were doing. He's saying he wants the "simple life" in a room full of expensive memorabilia (those are the newer droids too, so he can't say he got everything over 40 years of collecting). Angie says she didn't think her family was poor while very much describing how poor kids think. I'm not sure how receptive they could have been to the advice on how to save and spend better since they couldn't even realize why they overspend in the first place.
Definitely denial. All I heard was that they can’t afford that RV and retired any time soon. Maybe even decades … hope they’ll succeed eventually though
@@innakats6931 That's another reason they should rent an RV first. I don't think they are prepared to live without the creature comforts of a house for too long. Many people overestimate their ability to do that.
Landscaping is the worst ROI investment. They will get $0 back for the landscaping when they sell. They might even get less money since the pond will be seen as a negative by many.
Good episode, Ramit. Thanks for the great content. Friendly suggestion: could we get more guests with lower incomes too? Median household income in the US is around $75,000. The vast majority of us - who also want a rich life of our own - can’t relate to a couple making 3-4x that amount. Thanks again!
Yeah, they did a wide range of incomes on the Netflix show, which I thought was interesting. There are financial planning fundamentals, but it's enlightening to see the different problems at each income level.
Thank you, yes! Would love to see more couples making $150K and less. Would speak directly to situation of more folks and be more readily applicable, increase viewership as more folks fit that category and share with friends, etc..
I think he does it in this order because he wants to highlight how, often, the "stories" and "invisible scripts" people have about their money and situation DO NOT MATCH the actual numbers.
These two are never retiring. Not just the debt but the lifestyle will not allow them to. With that much income and lack of savings/investments, it’s sad.
@@arigodutIt's comparable to people who LOVE Christmas decorating and cover the front of their house in lights and figurines and displays and it all looks good but there's a LOT, verses someone who just puts a few strings of lights in their windows and call it done and good.
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage.
@@theebigda you don’t need to justify your purchases by trying to make it a “virtue” that you spent so little on the items - no one cares what you spent, they care about your contradicting statement that you don’t want stuff when in fact you have LOTS of stuff
32:57 “we took a heloc out for renovations, so when we go to sell everything will be fine, we put a lot of sweat equity into the house” buddy you just took the equity out 😆😆😆
Yeah but in his defense he's not the only one who thinks that way. People think any money you put into a house is an investment that will earn back more than you spent. Almost never the case. The real estate/home remodeling/home improvement industries are very good at convincing people that a new bathroom or kitchen isn't a discretionary luxury purchase, it's an "investment". So go ahead - borrow more more more! lol
@@4thand133 Well, we took out our bath tub and put in a big walk-in shower. Most people prefer that nowadays over a tub. It looks so much nicer. The tub was very dated, like from the 70's. Buyers look at kitchens and bathrooms more than any other rooms.
@@theebigda sure and if you have the money and want a walk-in shower, go for it! But remember that you will likely get some percentage back on that upgrade when you sell the house, but not 100%. Therefore it's not an "investment" - it's just something you wanted, that you can sell for somewhat less later on. Again nothing wrong with a discretionary purchase if you can afford it.
They need to talk to ppl in the used RV world. They are very expensive to repair and maintained. They should rent an RV and go on a vacation. It will be eye opening. BTW…65 is just the beginning of a rich life.
Thank you Brad and Angie! I wanted to share an idea for your RV dreams. My husband and I just purchased a teardrop trailer as part of our rich life with our 2 little kids. It’s great because they can be towed with a smaller vehicle and unlike a big RV, no additional engine to maintain. The cost is a fraction of a large RV. It does feel more like camping because you aren’t hanging out inside as much, but for us that was a selling point. Good luck to you guys, thanks for sharing!
These last couple episodes and the recent WSJ article (about young people not listening to Dave Ramsey) shows how common it is to be desensitized to debt or a lack of understanding that debt is asking your future self to pay for current consumption.
Watching this just reinforced the fact that no matter how much you have, you’ll never be satisfied if you’re looking for happiness outside of yourself.
I really enjoyed this podcast and the thing that really hit home to me is that I also pay all the bills and manage the money. It’s not that my husband couldn’t do it, we just settled into a pattern years ago. We are in our seventies and I’ve know for quite a while that I should be showing my husband how to handle things if something happened to me. After watching this podcast this morning, I had my husband sit down with me so he could start to see where bills are paid online for us and his 98 year old father. Every time I get a new bill I’m going to continue this until he’s comfortable with it. Thank you for nudging me into action.
This is so important! Even have him go through your routine each month, review accounts, insurance, and key contacts with him. Make sure information is able to be accessed safely on more than just one device too, in case you have a tech failure. I have an aunt who handled everything for her and her husband. She unexpectedly had a stroke, and everything about their life has had to change because she can't manage the way she used to.
This couple is so sweet! Love them and hope they can enjoy their RV adventures . How fun will it be to make it a goal they can achieve together. I’d love to see an update. ❤
Angie said that she really wanted to travel around the US so that she can visit their 6 children. That would be their rich lives. RVs are not the answer. RVs are really expensive from our experience. Travel trailers require a expensive tow vehicle such as Suburbans or F150s. They also need maintenance and require extra fuel to use them to get to various places. We lost the full value of the first travel trailer as the floor rotted out after the first year (previous owners had not drained the water out properly and it froze). Our 2nd travel traveler has not been used since 2019 due to Covid and will likely need lots of work if we actually want to use it. I would also recommend that they do not sell their house to buy a RV. They would not be able to enjoy their renovations and Brads star wars collection. However they should not get carried away with more renovations, especially if they are planning to sell the house. Ask your real estate represenative about which renos have the highest pay back. Brad and Angie should also make an active plan to visit their 6 kids. Take advantage of their vacation or paid leave. They could likely stay with them and enjoy spending time with them and their grand children if they have them. There are lots of reasonably priced hotels along the US interstate highways so they would not need to take a RV. Most of them have breakfasts with refrigerators and microwaves in the room so you can pick up frozen dinners at the local Walmart or Grocery stores to save them money. With their high salaries they should be able to pay for this out of their rich life money. They should actively pay down their debts which looks like they are doing this with the large debt payments of their plan. Pay off the debts with the highest levels first.
I don't think they realize how little money they have. Living in Wisconsin made them think they are actually financially stable. The RV thing is not happening. Ever
agree, I don't like the "you're in the 95th percentile you're wealthy." They're just not. That's the whole reason they're on the show. They make good income. I probably wouldn't call them *poor*, but definitely would never call them rich.
I also thought it was interesting that she is too frugal to invest in a compost however she had a lake put in their backyard, paid an unknown amount for a family vacation, has a $30k car payment, wants to purchase a $90k RV, etc..
So the follow up from him is like not going out for lunch very often and putting premium gas in the car. Those are still mindsets of someone that’s poor so he still hasn’t taken the leap that he needs to take.
We have. I just didn't know what to say in the follow up. We've done a ton of stuff to tighten our belts, reduce debt, etc. Maybe in a year or two he'll let us do a follow up. The video does make it look like I'm not doing much to change, which isn't the case at all.
Ramit makes a comment during the episode where he lists off items that people typically underestimate the true costs. He notes that vacations are one of them. I'll add the college is another one. Most people really don't understand the true cost of education. Unfortunately, institutions don't make it easy either.
Why are we judging wealth by how much we spend?! It seems to me Brad‘s perfectly happy with doing things himself, wearing simple, clothes, etc. What is wrong with that? Because they are high earners we expect extravagance? That’s the whole problem!
A disempowering story I used to always tell myself was that my student loan payment would leave me absolutely broke every month. I avoided calling my loan servicer for too long scared that story was true. I prayed Biden would cancel all our loans, didn’t happen. Completed the CSP with my spouse and realized with his support, I have 30% of my income for guilt free spending, even paying $858 a month on loans.
Little Brad knew how to save that $20 little by little to buy the bike he wanted and not borrow from credit card, HELOC etc. Why can’t big Brad do that? Also, Brad is not the only big spender in the house…
Starting cost for a Harley is the same cost as the hole in the ground (pond) you just put on your property. It is not a criticism, but Brad, you mention how other people you know have Harleys. We all make choices and these choices block us from making other choices. Very few of us can do everything we want.
We are just simple people but have Star Wars toys, a $20k lake, and probably will get an $80k RV with a 10% loan in a few years...they should have at least $1 million in retirement investments by now
I think a lot of people think that way, or try to justify their spending by saying they dont overspend. But once you look around and do the math, there're not simple at all.
Lots of big/expensive ideas they seem oddly detached from. I’m not convinced they actually Want any of them. Makes me wonder what they truly want from the rest of their lives. What actually gets them excited? The sad thing about it is “going with the flow” has cost them financial stability in this stage of their lives. From the follow ups it doesn’t seem like this will change.
There was the one scene were the guy was pretty dismissive about his star wars collection. This is what he likes but he feels ashamed of it. In many ways, he is right that many people will perceive a 50 year old person collecting toys as childish. At the same time, the dream of going through the country with an RV is something fairly popular nowadays. It is a safe want.
Repeating pattern on this podcast... people make very good incomes but still overspend because they feel they "deserve it". Shows the power of the US marketing industry. Every advertisement is constantly telling us we deserve it. Then after a while we say, "Yeah, I DO deserve it!" Regardless of whether we can afford it.
My neighbor whom I’ve know for decades has this mindset . Hes probably told me a dozen times how much he deserves what he buys . He just a 2023 Mercedes S class that was 150k ! It was repossessed a few weeks ago because he stopped making payments because his business was slow and he had no savings.
Yeah we are bamboozled much in the U.S…….with new sneakers, phones, remodeling, cars, retiring early & made to feel guilty if we can’t make it all happen 🤦🏾♀️
So I’m only 10mins in… I LOVE the Star Wars office. It looks great, and I would love to have a collection like this of my husband’s favorite things in his office. It would make the both of us very happy, and it would be so FUN hunting for new items. This room can be 💯 part of your rich life even really expensive collection additions. Ignore the haters-some of these people are driving around different supermarkets to save $2 on blueberries.
My story is that in my 20s I was working a low-income job and told myself I was living paycheck to paycheck and was simply SOL, so learning to manage money was pointless. I didn't bother to set up automatic payments on my CC, didn't learn how to meal prep or feed myself on a sensible budget, didn't try to learn to manage my finances at all, and hid from my bank account. Now, in my thirties, even with a much higher income and a budget based on Ramit's book and wonderful tools like Mint that I regularly use to review my spending, I still find myself feeling irrational dread when I check my account, and seeking excuses to put off reviewing my finances! Our anxieties and fear-avoiding habits are both stubborn and sneaky, and will hang around and warp our daily lives long after we've moved on from the causes of those fears and anxieties.
There's a lot of inertia to overcome and I was sensing resistance from Brad about taking ownership and active participation with the money. As a kid, he had needs and a lot of wants taken care of by his parents and all the money he earned was his for spending on whatever he wanted! It feels as if he's still in that mindset -Angie's now the mom who makes a way to send him skiing with the rich friends.
She claims she using a budgeting app yet doesn't even know how much they make? HOW. How do you not know when the pay is a major factor in even accepting a job?
They should by a camper and start doing weekend trips to make sure they like the lifestyle and costs. Camping can be fun but it's not really a glamorous adventure like Instagram presents it.
Ramith, you were talking to me 10 years ago when you talked about the vultures! I need to fire my financial planner… I am so stressed! I am in my early 50’s and a widow!
To Ramit’s question about disempowering money stories: I’ve always told myself that my monthly performance bonus shouldn’t go in the budget because once I mentally spend it, it emotionally feels like it’s gone / just part of the rest of my income and doesn’t feel as exciting to make a big decision with it - even though it’d benefit me to account for the income in the budget to solidify a plan for it. For some reason adding it to the budget feels like I’m relying on the bonus and it is no longer “free” money to spend
That's fantastic! I hope you have none of the debt, are maxing out your retirement savings, have life/disability/health insurance, and don't plan to use your home as a bank account for new cars, vacations, or paying off credit cards. Also, never count on bonuses or equity in your budget. If you spend it before you have it, you could be rudely awakened. Expect annual raises to be 1-4% and to barely cover the rise in your benefits costs. Making 10% or more jumps in salary often mean changing employers. Keep fixed costs as low as possible. Pay attention to early out fees or penalties in the contracts you sign. Keep track of where you're spending your money and if there are areas that need to be trimmed. Having an emergency fund is a must. Having 4-8 months of your expenses in savings or an easily accessible investment account in case you lose your job or can't work for a period of time is important. Pay credit cards off in full every month or reconsider what role they play in your purchasing habits because paying 20+% on groceries, a night out with the guys, or a vacation means you can't afford those things. Have a great week!
In the 1990s (I know, in the last century!), I read a book called Your Money or Your Life. Among the many lessons from there was one that I think about a lot, but I don't always apply these days. Know how much an hour of your time is worth - meaning your salary minus all the costs of living (clothes at a certain level, car for commute, childcare, eating out for convenience, etc.) The number you get is how much one hour of your life is worth. When you go to buy something, calculate how many hours of your life each thing costs. If it's worth it to you, buy it. (Ramit's $1,000 sweaters are probably not very many hours of his life, so totally worth it - for him. Is it even an hour? Who knows....) This is more about a simple life bordering on minimalism, but to some people that is the "rich" life because they aren't always thinking about things, but experiences, priorities, and having a purpose. If this couple truly believes that they want this simple life on the road having adventures, maybe they need to figure out how much an hour of their time is worth and measure their purchases against that.
That was the valuable part of that book. What wasn't as good was the recommendation to avoid investing in stocks because the system is rigged and invest in treasuries. Really short-term thinking and obstacle from building real wealth.
@@jeyre5996 The idea was to find a way to live on the interest of your investments. The wealth building was just to get to that tipping point for a person to set a date to quit their job and do whatever they wanted knowing that their "income" is the interest (sort of like setting your own retirement date based on how much you need to live on). The bulk of the investment is untouched, so you need the most stable investment to keep your interest/income stable. This philosophy doesn't work for people who want $10 million homes, 7 cars in the garage, and blinding bling. It's still a hard concept for regular people who are influenced by societal norms. In the end, it's just different definitions of "rich."
So Brad learned that going out to lunch and premium gas in his car is why they have $2k in savings? He’s not willing to put in the work to better their situation. He just expects things to happen and land in his lap.
I relate so much to Angie, and that I am the one who handles most of the finances, not by choice, but because my husband refuses to really take a consistently active part. We go in circles a lot! And it is very hard on me.
I bet if someone took a deep dive on all their expenses, I'd bet that they piss their money away on $50-100 items all month long. I think they need to do come forensic accounting on their finances and they'll see what percentage of their income is for "wants". Also, can I please have a $1500 mortgage too?? Great job, Ramit. Cheers from San Diego.
I wonder if they went through their spending and it was cut or or if Ramit didn't do the dive into the numbers like normal? Seems like if they went through it the should have been able to find major places to find savings with such a huge income.
35:30 I tell my fiancé that we need to hold off on getting any new cars so I can pay down my student loans first in two years to get caught up and out of a hole
I’m not sure if they walked away with any tangible solutions. They were told to figure out their rich life, stop buying second hand clothes, and accept they can’t afford their RV dream.
Well, as far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond.
I considered the "sell the house, buy an RV" thing before. One thing Brad should realize by now if he's serious, or was serious about "2-5 years" is he needs to downsize his stuff and stop buying more (like collecting Star Wars).
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome.
@@theebigda I don't know if you meant to put your reply under my comment since I only mentioned downsizing (not cost) and your reply was much more broad. Overall, I would say you shouldn't feel like you need to justify anything to RUclips...most people in the comments live in glass houses, but aren't brave enough to do what you did and open your windows.
You should have at least 6 months of your expenses in savings that you don't touch, in the event of job loss or other emergency like that. Plus you should have a decent emergency fund in place (Maybe that's your current savings) that only gets used for true emergencies. Saving for cars, vacations, homes, and other big expenses is after these 2 are in place.
My disempowering story about money: I told myself that money is not important. I lived with my parents most of my life, ate home cooked meals, didn't have to think or worry about money till I had to live on my own. I came into adult world not knowing a lot of people struggle with money, not knowing that my parents are struggling to retire. It's definitely a mindset shift seeing people on this podcast and talking to my parents. All of that is motivating me to take care of my finances now so that my future self has one less thing to worry about.
This couple needs to research or talk to a good real estate agent about what house improvements actually get a good return at the time of selling the house. You're not going to get what you invested in a pond back. Kitchens and baths, probably. Also, they haven't factored in potential negative changes to the real estate market that may occur in the next 3-10 years. 1) Stop spending 2) pay off loans 3) build savings.
Update: We recently put our house on the market and in the first two days we had three offers and we accepted an offer on one of them. (For more than our realtor suggested we list it at.) We are currently living at my sister-in-laws house while the sale is happening (Should be closing at the beginning of November.) and for a while after , to give us a little time to save some more money, pay off some more debt, and to find the right RV for us. Then it's time to hit the road! We got rid of tons of "stuff" that we didn't need and didn't bring us joy and we put some things in a small storage unit that we'll need for the RV. Life is about experiences, and we want to have those before we're too old to do so. No one looks back on their life and says they wish they would've worked more or accumulated more "stuff". But they do say they wish they would have experienced more, traveled more, spent more time with friends and family, etc.
My disempowering money story(ies) is (are): "I'll never make a lot of money", "I'm not meant to have a lot of money", "I'm not good with money", "I'll always be stuck in low paying jobs". Though I gotta say, these podcasts are so good and I'm really starting to notice a difference in the way I think about myself and money.
This couple is looking for an adventure, but it may not be feasible now. Ramit provided valuable insight into their situation and brought Brad back to reality. It might be helpful for Brad to take a more active role in managing their finances and budgeting so they can make positive changes. While they may not be able to plan an extended vacation, they could still plan a shorter trip to enjoy some time away.
If she was following Dave Ramsey baby steps…. She was doing a debt snowball and would drain savings. Now she shouldn’t be putting into 401k if they are so they can get out of debt quickly. If you do Daveish.. you are not as effective with his program. I would have liked to see min debt payments vs what she is paying in fixed costs.
LOL - I love the irony when Brad narrates that he wanted to get rid of clutter and didn't need a lot of things while he's sitting in front of one of the most exquisitely cluttered Star Wars collections I have ever seen. "I don't feel like we have all these toys" 😆 Not to criticize his hobby though. He should live his rich life.
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. As far as the follow up video...I really didn't know what to say. We have done a lot to tighten our belts since then. Maybe in a year or two he will let us do a follow up. In regards to your "leaving it to their wives" comment...She has a masters degree in business. She's way more qualified than me in that regard. And we have regular talks about our finances now and have made great changes to get us in a good place. If I was a master tradesman in something like plumbing or construction I would do that type of work around the house, not my wife. It's no different than her handling the bills. She wants to do it and that's what she's good at. I'm the big gorilla outside, moving boulders around with a skid loader, planting trees, taking care of our chickens, stocking the pond, and more. This summer will be repairing our deck (rotten boards need replacing). We're close to having it ready to sell. My mom has a condo she's not living in and we'l probably rent it from her for a year or two to save even more money.
@@theebigda A brother-in-law of mine has a truly insane Star Wars collection. It is part of his rich life and he could afford it so I don't judge. I just enjoyed the ironic humor of the image of you speaking about it while all of it was behind you 😀 I did not comment on your yard or spousal roles but I do not disagree too much. I think the main point Ramit would make is you both did spend a lot of money remodeling, which there is nothing wrong with if it fits your rich life. However, in this case it may have impacted your rich life goal to live the RV lifestyle. Had you both worked more together as a team (even if she runs the spreadsheet) and knew your financial numbers you may have made different choices and be in a better spot to transition into the RV lifestyle sooner. I wish you both the best and thanks for sharing your story!
I'm 56, my net worth is 1.3 million but I haven't felt like I could afford a vacation in years. All my money is allocated to retirement savings, saving to buy another car in 2 years as mine is 12 years old or spent on home maintenance. I don't have any debt other than my home, which I owe $110K but is worth about 875K.
Not sure where you live or your circumstances ...if your $1.3m net worth includes your home, have you considered selling your place, getting into a new home for at least half of the ~$875k, and then investing a chunk of cash for some better returns?
If you file taxes, how do you not know how much your income is. I know what our income was last year, and have a good idea of how much my husbands raise was so I can guess this years income within a few thousand dollars, although it wouldn't be an exact number.
I just clicked on the video and haven't watched a second, and your comment popped up first, but I 100% disagree with you. There's never enough star wars merch
There is a very key difference between going through the motions of tracking money and actually understanding your cash flow and using that knowledge to move towards your financial goals. YNAB and manually inputting expenses is just going through the motions, that's why I am a huge fan of automated finance trackers. So you can focus on interpreting the trends, then just getting caught in the weeds of manually inputting expenses. Don't use manual budgeting apps.
I’m continually blown away by people who make 250k and have no savings . It’s mind boggling ! The “ I deserve it “ attitude will keep them in debt forever and they won’t ever retire early . I’m 50 , make 70k a year and have close to 500k in retirement and no debt of any kind ( car and home paid off ) My attitude is I don’t deserve s@@@ , I work my butt off now , so I can retire at 55. Also don’t understand what 450 a month of subscriptions they have ???? Like , what ???
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Please remember: These are real people who had the courage to come on my podcast and ask for help. Would you be willing to come on this podcast and share every detail of your financial life? Feel free to leave comments based on what you think, but remember that we are here to help in a supportive way, not to demean and criticize.
I don’t have debt, I live within my means. However, I indulge my adult daughter, but play small when it comes to me. The message that my parents gave to me is “we’re simple people” and there was a discomfort around “indulgence”. We save. We don’t invest. Our investment is our home. However, I need to protect my money and learn to invest, so I can live my rich life and leave a $ecurity for my daughter who has multiple physical health issues.
Ramit, you ask amazing money questions, when are you coming out with a card deck of conversation cards so that we can use them at home?
Ramit is 1/3 financial advisor and 2/3 psychologist! Much respect. Great episode.
I love hearing Ramit talk about why he does this work. It is definitely more psychologist than financial advisor.
2/3 plus for sure. You could teach a lot of psychologists to do this, doubt many financial advisors can do what he does.
Indeed! He did study psychology at Stanford.
There is a book and course on the psychology of money and behavioral finance
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. As far as the follow up video...I really didn't know what to say. We have done a lot to tighten our belts since then. Maybe in a year or two he will let us do a follow up. In regards to your "leaving it to their wives" comment...She has a masters degree in business. She's way more qualified than me in that regard. And we have regular talks about our finances now and have made great changes to get us in a good place. If I was a master tradesman in something like plumbing or construction I would do that type of work around the house, not my wife. It's no different than her handling the bills. She wants to do it and that's what she's good at. I'm the big gorilla outside, moving boulders around with a skid loader, planting trees, taking care of our chickens, stocking the pond, and more. This summer will be repairing our deck (rotten boards need replacing). We're close to having it ready to sell. My mom has a condo she's not living in and we'll probably rent it from her for a year or two to save even more money. Why we have a school loan at 55? Yeah, she went back to school and got her Masters Degree, while working full time, raising kids, being a great wife, taking care of a home, AND FIGHTING CANCER. (She had breast cancer before and colon cancer while doing all of this.) She's the strongest person I know. It was a big wakeup call to change the path we were on (not a good one financially), simplify, and do a thing together while we still can (living the RV life). It's a goal we're shooting for.
Thank you and your wife for being willing to share your financial story. It's a vulnerable position and easy for people online to judge. Keep learning, making adjustments and taking this experience one day/step at a time.
I also struggle with the living for today/planning for tomorrow balance that I think has to be struck to live a life that feels… secure. Because just living for today makes me feel anxious about tomorrow, but only living for tomorrow makes me feel like I’m missing out on today. It is hard. My father-in-law was diagnosed with a terrible form of leukemia (AML) at age 71 and died by age 72. He had not even retired (business owner). Life can change in an instant, and it really woke me up to how precious it all is, and how important it is to find joy and levity where you can. So if that’s Star Wars for you, I think that is awesome. I agree with Ramit, no one has hobbies anymore, just smartphones. Good for you!
I think it is a virtue that you shop second hand, it is easier than ever to do so nowadays with online shops and you can find amazing stuff for dirt cheap. It prevents waste and saves money, I was honestly shocked when Ramit was pushing you to buy new when you already have the habit of buying second hand. I understand he’s trying to get at the psychology, but I don’t think most people buy second hand because they don’t feel they’re “worthy” of buying new, it actually makes you feel so good to find a great used item and, at least for me, the item itself feels so much more special because it is living out its full life instead of going to waste. New is not always better.
Anyway, like all the other couples who do this, you were brave to come on and thanks for sharing! The pond sounds amazing, my dad has wanted to build a bog filter pond forever, you two would get along great 😅 it’s an accomplishment. Maybe consider renting out the house instead of selling it, it would be such a shame to lose it to enjoy in your later years with grandkids. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for braving the show and the comments. I just want to say as a woman with an MBA, while my degree started me on the financial journey, it's not what taught me personal finance. I learned how to do my finances by listening to podcasts such as this, reading books and articles, and a lot of trial and error. You can be every bit as educated as your wife in this regard. Please don't leave her to this alone. Even if she's still doing the nuts and bolts, you can be a listening ear, someone to bounce ideas off of, or giving your thoughts. There's a lot of emotional labor that goes into finances that you can help alleviate.
There are plenty of people who don't have a master's degree in business who are very well versed in personal finance. Please don't use that as an excuse because you don't need any degree to learn personal finance. It's not serving you to bury your head in the sand.
Re: "She wants to do it and that's what she's good at." Your wife is a good person but not as good with money as you think she is. I mean, you're on this show for MONEY problems. It's rarely good when one spouse us tuned out about the marital money.
Good for you, keep working towards the goal
The story I tell myself, "I was born a poor black woman from Arkansas and I'll die a poor black woman from Arkansas." Meanwhile I'm a licensed CPA in California. I haven't lived in Arkansas since 1st grade and I'm not poor.😮
I know you're not trying to be funny, but when I read this, it called to mind Steve Martin in The Jerk "I was born a poor black child." Really highlights the "stories we tell ourselves." :)
Guess it's time to move back to Arkansas so you can fulfill the prophecy lol. Just kidding, mazel tov to you for all your hard work and success!
Amazing insight, well done! 🙌🏽
My story is that “I don’t know where the money is and if my husband got hit by a bus, I’d be screwed. I’d eventually lose all of it.” We live in the Bay Area and have a high income and low debt. You have changed my world because I’ve dialed in and learned about our finances. I’m teaching my kids in their twenties. And in honor of you, I set up retirement accounts for my 20 yr old twins with $1000 and automatic contributions of $100. That was their Xmas present. You’re wonderful and I tell people about you constantly. Now I look forward to Tuesdays when you drop a new episode. Thank you for your passion, wisdom and hard work 🤩
What type of retirement accounts did you set up for your adult children?
@@TopVillainI assume Roth IRA
Ramit's kayak analogy reminded me a sea cave kayaking tour I went on in the Channel Islands (highly recommend). I was supposed to go with my mom but she got injured a few days before. I found myself in a kayak alone with about six other couples in two-man kayaks. Desperate not to be the last one and holding everyone back, I furiously paddled with the guides. At one point, I looked up and noticed something strange--I was far ahead of all the other couples. They were all struggling at working together. Some kept going in circles and others against each other; with some laughing about it and others arguing. This went on for an hour or so.
As we made our way around the island, a couple or two caught up with me and some eventually passed me. By the end of the trip, a lot of the couples had figured out how to work together and were faster than me alone. Some never did and I out rowed them despite being single and smaller. As a single person, I always thought two people ought to outpace me at finances but this reminds me that isn't always true. It's about your ability to work together.
Love this story and analogy!
They should use an Adirondack guideboat in which the couple faces one another- the person in the bow is facing backward and is rowing; and the person in the stern is facing forward and is paddling and steering. It’s a WONDERFUL couple experience!
Beautifully written!
This is amazing!
I don't think u realize how much u do to help the black community. Unfortunately, a lot of us don't get this type of information. I correct, dream, learn, and feel encouraged when I listen. I'm 48 and I have only managed to save 20k. I don't have debt but still I have work to do. But my kids will be different. I'm talking to my 13 year old about bills and money. I made my 20 year old promise he would invest at minimum 100 per month forever. Thank u
Thank YOU for following my material!
Absolutely love this! Best of luck to you and your family ❤
Definitely part of the black community that has been educated in this area and come from generations of educated black people both academically and financially. It happens and I’m blessed to have a black friend group with all PhD’s that also have the same background. It would have been great if you thanked him for helping YOU 😊
3+ year RV based nomad. It’s at least 2x as expensive financially, emotionally, physically, than anyone ever plans for. It’s great but it’s VERY VERY expensive. Especially in 2024 vs. pre vanlife boom.
Lots of “free” land has gotten shut down, and campgrounds are average $45/night or $800 monthly. Anyone looking to be a nomad should look at the costs and realities TODAY as they’ve changed a lot since pre-2020
So I'm going to agree but disagree. Source: 2.5 yr vanlifer (solo) a couple years ago, also someone who full-time traveled w/backpack for couple years, who is also looking to RVlife in near future with my husband.
Yes, campsite prices have gone up. HOWEVER, it really depends on the lifestyle.
For instance, rig setup-
I'm not sure what you are saying, there is still plenty of "free" land you just have to be willing to go to it and not have services. Even in NJ where we live we can get primitive sites at $3/night. Now I highly doubt someone looking at an $80-90k rig (this doesn't include ongoing expenses to get it set up- solar, starlink if still working, gas, etc) is going to do that but it can be done. If they are serious about doing sooner than later they should look at a small lightweight trailer- Casita, Scamp, etc. Husband got ours for $6k couple years ago- maybe now closer to $10-20k used? Can find many cheaper trailers than that though too if not as nice. Will be much cheaper as far as gas goes too..
We love boondocking and are setting our rig up for that- grey water saving mods, compost toilet, solar, limited appliances (basically a small fridge and electric for computer to work). Husband is in the trades so we are just paying for the materials, it's my job to get discounts (on most items we have saved about 20-60% of brand new cost either with discounts or buying used or DIY kit rather than full item). We have a budget for this, we are not spending over a certain amount ($6k) for everything.
Our budget which includes us still keeping our PAID OFF house (taxes + utils- in NEW JERSEY) is $30k/yr BUT that is a VERY simple lifestyle which we are already testing out now to see if it's realistic or not (so far, yeah, on things like food going out etc).
For this to be doable at all they need to get rid of that debt, at least any debt that is not federal student loans (they didn't say if he will still be working when they do RV life- if not, the student loan payments might go down a lot if it's income-based)
Anyway more important thing is right now we are very focused on making this happen. Limiting our spending to make sure we have the savings to do this. We both got a late start on retirement savings, we have been saving 50% of income last couple years. House will be paid off before we dare take the leap- and we don't plan on that money either towards the RV- what will the couple do when they are tired of RV life and are older/god forbid sicker? We might sell our house but if we do we will put it in HYSA and investments until ready to buy again. We will test it out to make sure the lifestyle is a good fit (we already have the RV). Both of us are in the process of selling/donating our stuff, can't take it with us in a small RV.
Any home improvements are 100% out for us, we won't be here to enjoy. This is where the couple really needs to get their values aligned with their goals. If it's not really their goal that's 100% ok too but be honest. Without some drastic changes there is no way that their dream happens for them, maybe ever.
@@dawn6275 there is plenty of free land still, but it doesn’t sound like this family wants the boondocking, Quartzite, Bob’s RV experience. I primarily boondocked, using solar and no hookups for months at a time while working full time. It’s possible, but it became a total energy suck and slog for us to keep up long term.
I have personally seen hundreds of acres of BLM land that I formerly camped on be closed down. We are stationary now, but we’re just down the road from where we did a lot of camping in our nomad days. Hundreds of spots whittled down to 12 that you must reserve. It happened in front of my eyes near Yellowstone, I actually had to move my rig from a spot they were fencing off (I was in a legal spot, other people had been irresponsible). The majority of the BLM that is in Moab is being turned into site-based camping.
It’s possible to live a very simple life in an RV, and it’s also possible to have a grand, lifetime adventure where you see all the National Parks. It’s very difficult to do both, especially when you account for her needs working full time.
The money is nice to count on as a full time worker but it requires space, inflexibly, and internet at a level that isn’t cheap.
We have friends and family who are planning on us Boondocking with them during the summer months.
I agree you have to know the cost before you just jump into things….
I’ve listened to all the podcast on Spotify since the beginning, but watching on RUclips makes such a big difference. You see so much more of the important nonverbal communication.
"The question is, why do you make $250,000 and have only $2,900 in savings? That’s the question we should be asking." I agree, but I don't feel like the answer was fully explored. I understand we are seeing a condensed version of the conversation, but Ramit, because they have so much money coming in, low housing expenses, kids are out of the house, and she plans to continue to work during the RV travels, it would have been satisfying to hear specifics (other than stop renovating) about what you suggest for them. With a clear path, changes to how they spend, and another 7+ years of income, couldn't they continue to fund their investments, pay off the debt, create savings and make the RV thing work? I love when Ramit goes into tactical problem solving mode, and missed that here. When we learn that she is a cancer survivor, it becomes clear that he's not just afraid of not being able to climb a mountain. He's afraid of losing her and doesn't want to wait until retirement to spend quality time together. Is it really out of the question?
Agreed. I feel like the more recent episodes barely show any numbers. I miss that.
Agreed, with that high of an income it was extremely unclear where the money was actually going. Also, I couldn't tell in the follow-ups if the husband was dead serious about thinking the only thing left was to stop using premium gas... or if he was straight up trolling after all the advice they were given to see the big picture. I can't believe Ramit didn't address that directly, maybe he saw it was trolling and didn't take the bait.
six kids?
When he said he just wants to do fun things with his wife, it doesnt need to be an RV….i cried ❤ wishing them the best.
same!!!
Me too
I didn’t like it when Brad was ridiculed for buying second hand clothes for himself. Ramit, you say “ Cut mercilessly on things you don’t care about”. Brad tried to defend himself, but Ramit and Angie told him he shouldn’t be buying second hand clothes. There are decent everyday clothes in second hand stores and those stores keep all of those clothes/items out of landfills. Brad was actually helping his and Angie’s bottom line in that way. Was Angie?
Agreed. If clothes are not important to Brad let him buy at Goodwill.
Just yesterday I had reason to shop the men’s button down shirt section and there are some really nice quality shirts there, but they are $9.48.
Lesser button downs are $5.48.
If you can hit Goidwill stores when they have 75% off certain wares off you can get deals.
And it’s good for the environment. I love buying second hand whenever possible, it reduces waste and saves money. It should be seen as a virtue!
Another vote for secondhand clothing! I buy 95% secondhand and get lots of great stuff that's high quality.
He said he was buying at good will for the wrong reasons. If he truly enjoyed goodwill that’s different, but he bought there because he was worried about his money situation
@@Capycorg
I’m not sure why people are calling him a child for having something that he enjoys buying while going to the thrift stores for clothes . We all have a thing & his thing might not be your thing.
I know, right? Ramit is all about living your rich life and people are making fun of Brad for knowing what his is!
Totally nothing wrong with his hobby. I think what's getting people riled up is his insistence that he is a simple man with simple tastes who wants to get rid of clutter and downsize. His hobby is very expensive and opposite of simple. His very backdrop belies his words.
His hobby isn't childish but his refusal to engage with money is.
It’s his thing. It’s about having fun in life.
Did you not hear his follow up? Brad said he’ll “eat out less and not put premium gas” as a way to save money. 🤡
It’s just his “money dial.”
This is so much of America right now and I'm sure everyone has a handful of friends like this: the instant gratification leak turned waterfall.
I'd be curious to know how long this couple actually thinks about something before jumping on it, I have a feeling they're the "oh we talked about a pond last night and started today!" type.
Why are you spending 50k+ on renovations for a house you want to sell soon to travel anyway (and house sale at only 200k!). It isn't because it makes any sense, it's because they cannot have the RV NOW and need something NOW even if it doesn't align with their long term goals.
I'm sure it is very sad to look back knowing you made enough income to have your dream but filled buckets you plan to toss anyway. The instant gratification high doesn't last long and you can see it in their faces. I admire this couple for coming on as I feel like this is a very big issue for many that hopefully others in the same situation can learn from.
I feel like there's a disconnect here between doing all these renovations on their house and having all these nice things in their home, and saying they want to go do the RV life. After all that renovating they should stay home and enjoy it.
They are going to get the equity out when they sell.
@@KatrinaLAlexanderyou think so? These two don’t seem like the type that would make financially savvy decisions when it comes to a remodel.
@@KatrinaLAlexanderLandscaping which seems to be most of it, and is the worst ROI investment. A pond is a liability, not an investment. Worse than a pool.
@@Julie-rg3mb I agree. I understand their thinking and what they’ve been sold. I have a list somewhere of expected ROI on renovations / upgrades.
@@KatrinaLAlexander Most renovations result in less of a gain than is spent on the renovation, particularly things like decorative ponds. They are likely to get less than 50% of the cost of the pond back at resale. There is no reason to be spending money on these kinds of unnecessary renovations if you don't plan to stay in the home long term. They don't increase the value of the house - its like burning money. If this was their forever home, it wouldn't be such a bad idea as at least they could enjoy their pond forever. But spending thousands on a pond that doesn't increase home value and that you will only enjoy for a couple years is a bad idea.
Honestly "deserve" is the most dangerous word in the english language. It creates self justification to live recklessly. No one deserves anything in life. Anything in life needs to be earned through hard work, and more importantly... respect.
I heard someone once say she hadnt had a vacation in two years! Poor thing! I am not a vacation person so no sympathy from me.
You nailed it. The word should be “earned” not “deserve”. And unless you have a couple grand cash laying around, you haven’t yet earned a big vacation!
it's a product of the US advertising industry. We are bombarded by messages that we "deserve it". We hear it from the time we're kids. These marketers know human psychology and are very good at what they do. After a while it penetrates our defenses and we say "You know what? I DO deserve it!". And out comes the credit card.
Why not though? Why do we not deserve great things?
@@StevenEdwardsAudio it's not about deserving as much as affording things. 🤷♀️
Keep the house. Rent the RV and try out RV life for a while. The daily luxuries like showering and going to the bathroom is so much harder in a RV. When you get older, say 70s, RV life is not glamorous. You want a warm place to sleep, your own shower.
I would recommend to buy a smaller house now that they are empty nesters 🙂
The fact you say luxury and then shower in the same sentence makes me think the RV life won’t be a barrel of laughs. We went to New Zealand last month and spent a month driving around - in a car! We debated an RV and decided in our retirement years we’re not shovelling sh1t and using “dump stations”. Nah, life’s too short and we had a blast staying in decent motels with en-suite bathrooms!
This is a perfect example of why it is usually never about the numbers but instead their relationship towards money/debt and the identities they created for themselves. They are a great couple. They seem to care for each other, but I see them getting the RV in the foreseeable future and living the "dream" till it becomes a nightmare.
I was glad to hear Ramit talk more about wealth v income. The unfortunate truth is they are nowhere near where they should be at their age. To achieve their goal of retiring to an RV in even 10 years from now, they should have a net worth around 4X higher than they currently have. Their debt situation is pretty out of control, especially with their income. If I am them, from a practical standpoint, I would attack the CC, HELOC and student loan debts HARD for the next two years to become debt-free except for the mortgage. If Brad can increase his income, that would certainly help.
If they were in their 20s, I would probably tell them to only attack the CC debt and not worry much about the student loans or HELOC since their interest rates are around 6%. But 6% is a relatively high interest rate on debt in your 50s. They need to eliminate this ASAP. With the $3k+ monthly that this will free up, they can add rapidly to their retirement accounts to be okay by retirement. But it's clearly going to be a longer road than they previously thought and will take some short-term sacrifice to get out of their non-mortgage debt.
1000%
I think they were in denial about what they were doing. He's saying he wants the "simple life" in a room full of expensive memorabilia (those are the newer droids too, so he can't say he got everything over 40 years of collecting). Angie says she didn't think her family was poor while very much describing how poor kids think.
I'm not sure how receptive they could have been to the advice on how to save and spend better since they couldn't even realize why they overspend in the first place.
Definitely denial. All I heard was that they can’t afford that RV and retired any time soon. Maybe even decades … hope they’ll succeed eventually though
Maybe he could sell some since he won't be able to take them all on the RV anyway. That can be his extra income🤷🏼♀️
@@innakats6931 That's another reason they should rent an RV first. I don't think they are prepared to live without the creature comforts of a house for too long. Many people overestimate their ability to do that.
We have actually changed a lot! We are now both maxing out 401k
@@angmarbar11 Awesome. Keep going!
Landscaping is the worst ROI investment. They will get $0 back for the landscaping when they sell. They might even get less money since the pond will be seen as a negative by many.
Good episode, Ramit. Thanks for the great content. Friendly suggestion: could we get more guests with lower incomes too? Median household income in the US is around $75,000. The vast majority of us - who also want a rich life of our own - can’t relate to a couple making 3-4x that amount. Thanks again!
Yeah, they did a wide range of incomes on the Netflix show, which I thought was interesting. There are financial planning fundamentals, but it's enlightening to see the different problems at each income level.
You should apply yourself
Thank you, yes! Would love to see more couples making $150K and less. Would speak directly to situation of more folks and be more readily applicable, increase viewership as more folks fit that category and share with friends, etc..
I wish we could review the CSP before the therapy session. It would be nice to have actual numbers as context to the discussion.
I think he does it in this order because he wants to highlight how, often, the "stories" and "invisible scripts" people have about their money and situation DO NOT MATCH the actual numbers.
These two are never retiring. Not just the debt but the lifestyle will not allow them to. With that much income and lack of savings/investments, it’s sad.
I think the high income is pretty recent (and seems to be almost all her income). He only makes 60k.
28:19 i just have to laugh when this guy mentions he doesn’t want “things” and “clutter” with the background he has
I don’t see his background as cluttered. It’s very organized and neat.
@@arigodutIt's comparable to people who LOVE Christmas decorating and cover the front of their house in lights and figurines and displays and it all looks good but there's a LOT, verses someone who just puts a few strings of lights in their windows and call it done and good.
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage.
@@theebigda you don’t need to justify your purchases by trying to make it a “virtue” that you spent so little on the items - no one cares what you spent, they care about your contradicting statement that you don’t want stuff when in fact you have LOTS of stuff
@@alexisballard1459 We've been doing TONS of decluttering and getting rid of stuff.
32:57 “we took a heloc out for renovations, so when we go to sell everything will be fine, we put a lot of sweat equity into the house” buddy you just took the equity out 😆😆😆
That part cracked me up. Sweat equity is the work you put into it. But he’s talking about the cash he put into it, thats just called equity lol
Yeah but in his defense he's not the only one who thinks that way. People think any money you put into a house is an investment that will earn back more than you spent. Almost never the case. The real estate/home remodeling/home improvement industries are very good at convincing people that a new bathroom or kitchen isn't a discretionary luxury purchase, it's an "investment". So go ahead - borrow more more more! lol
@@4thand133 Well, we took out our bath tub and put in a big walk-in shower. Most people prefer that nowadays over a tub. It looks so much nicer. The tub was very dated, like from the 70's. Buyers look at kitchens and bathrooms more than any other rooms.
@@theebigda sure and if you have the money and want a walk-in shower, go for it! But remember that you will likely get some percentage back on that upgrade when you sell the house, but not 100%. Therefore it's not an "investment" - it's just something you wanted, that you can sell for somewhat less later on. Again nothing wrong with a discretionary purchase if you can afford it.
The guy did say he did all the landscaping himself. Thats some hard graft
They need to talk to ppl in the used RV world. They are very expensive to repair and maintained. They should rent an RV and go on a vacation. It will be eye opening. BTW…65 is just the beginning of a rich life.
Thank you Brad and Angie! I wanted to share an idea for your RV dreams. My husband and I just purchased a teardrop trailer as part of our rich life with our 2 little kids. It’s great because they can be towed with a smaller vehicle and unlike a big RV, no additional engine to maintain. The cost is a fraction of a large RV. It does feel more like camping because you aren’t hanging out inside as much, but for us that was a selling point. Good luck to you guys, thanks for sharing!
Andra moorea is a big flex when it comes too this on Facebook good financial adviser she also is
Nice idea.
Absolutely, the follow up says they will be in the same place in 3 years. They will be in debt, but living in an RV
These last couple episodes and the recent WSJ article (about young people not listening to Dave Ramsey) shows how common it is to be desensitized to debt or a lack of understanding that debt is asking your future self to pay for current consumption.
Wait, there was a recent WSJ article about young folks in debt not listening to Dave Ramsey?
@@robh1961 I mean, fuck Dave for many reasons, but I'd read that article.
well Dave is pretty out of touch in general, he told someone to find free childcare for god's sake as if thats just easy to find.
Watching this just reinforced the fact that no matter how much you have, you’ll never be satisfied if you’re looking for happiness outside of yourself.
Thank you, Ramit for hosting these amazing couples. Angie, and Brad I appreciate you and I learned a lot from you.
Andra moorea is a big flex when it comes too this on Facebook good financial adviser she also is.
Me too.
I really enjoyed this podcast and the thing that really hit home to me is that I also pay all the bills and manage the money. It’s not that my husband couldn’t do it, we just settled into a pattern years ago. We are in our seventies and I’ve know for quite a while that I should be showing my husband how to handle things if something happened to me. After watching this podcast this morning, I had my husband sit down with me so he could start to see where bills are paid online for us and his 98 year old father. Every time I get a new bill I’m going to continue this until he’s comfortable with it. Thank you for nudging me into action.
This is so important! Even have him go through your routine each month, review accounts, insurance, and key contacts with him. Make sure information is able to be accessed safely on more than just one device too, in case you have a tech failure.
I have an aunt who handled everything for her and her husband. She unexpectedly had a stroke, and everything about their life has had to change because she can't manage the way she used to.
This couple is so sweet! Love them and hope they can enjoy their RV adventures . How fun will it be to make it a goal they can achieve together. I’d love to see an update. ❤
I wonder what 450.00 in subscriptions are? Yes,I did pause the video to look at the numbers 😁
I did too! LOL
Angie said that she really wanted to travel around the US so that she can visit their 6 children. That would be their rich lives. RVs are not the answer. RVs are really expensive from our experience. Travel trailers require a expensive tow vehicle such as Suburbans or F150s. They also need maintenance and require extra fuel to use them to get to various places. We lost the full value of the first travel trailer as the floor rotted out after the first year (previous owners had not drained the water out properly and it froze). Our 2nd travel traveler has not been used since 2019 due to Covid and will likely need lots of work if we actually want to use it.
I would also recommend that they do not sell their house to buy a RV. They would not be able to enjoy their renovations and Brads star wars collection. However they should not get carried away with more renovations, especially if they are planning to sell the house. Ask your real estate represenative about which renos have the highest pay back.
Brad and Angie should also make an active plan to visit their 6 kids. Take advantage of their vacation or paid leave. They could likely stay with them and enjoy spending time with them and their grand children if they have them. There are lots of reasonably priced hotels along the US interstate highways so they would not need to take a RV. Most of them have breakfasts with refrigerators and microwaves in the room so you can pick up frozen dinners at the local Walmart or Grocery stores to save them money. With their high salaries they should be able to pay for this out of their rich life money.
They should actively pay down their debts which looks like they are doing this with the large debt payments of their plan. Pay off the debts with the highest levels first.
Andra moorea is a big flex when it comes too this on Facebook good financial adviser she also is
I don't think they realize how little money they have. Living in Wisconsin made them think they are actually financially stable. The RV thing is not happening. Ever
This is the best comment. I’m sorry but they are poor.
agree, I don't like the "you're in the 95th percentile you're wealthy." They're just not. That's the whole reason they're on the show. They make good income. I probably wouldn't call them *poor*, but definitely would never call them rich.
welll yes. I shouldve put "poor" in quotes. I just hate that they dont see how bad their spending habits are smh@@awb19892
I also thought it was interesting that she is too frugal to invest in a compost however she had a lake put in their backyard, paid an unknown amount for a family vacation, has a $30k car payment, wants to purchase a $90k RV, etc..
So the follow up from him is like not going out for lunch very often and putting premium gas in the car. Those are still mindsets of someone that’s poor so he still hasn’t taken the leap that he needs to take.
Yeah I agree, too much focus on little things but the big things matter much more, control the bigger purchases and you'll be much more stress free
We have. I just didn't know what to say in the follow up. We've done a ton of stuff to tighten our belts, reduce debt, etc. Maybe in a year or two he'll let us do a follow up. The video does make it look like I'm not doing much to change, which isn't the case at all.
@@theebigdadid you get rid of the $450 subscriptions?
Heads up, the ad at 35:46 has the wrong text for the sponsor. Much love.
Ramit makes a comment during the episode where he lists off items that people typically underestimate the true costs. He notes that vacations are one of them.
I'll add the college is another one. Most people really don't understand the true cost of education. Unfortunately, institutions don't make it easy either.
Why are we judging wealth by how much we spend?! It seems to me Brad‘s perfectly happy with doing things himself, wearing simple, clothes, etc. What is wrong with that? Because they are high earners we expect extravagance? That’s the whole problem!
'I just want a simple life" says the guy in front of his star wars collection. 😂
Are you kidding me they built a pond do you know how much you’re going to get back on that, absolutely nothing.
These people have no common sense
When it comes to taming his love of Star Wars, May the Force be With Him.
I don't think Ramit knows how expensive those " toys" are
How expensive are those toys if you don't mind me asking ?
@@stefavalenzuela9115
@@leedsdrumacademybecause it’s probably worth $100k? Lmao
A disempowering story I used to always tell myself was that my student loan payment would leave me absolutely broke every month. I avoided calling my loan servicer for too long scared that story was true. I prayed Biden would cancel all our loans, didn’t happen. Completed the CSP with my spouse and realized with his support, I have 30% of my income for guilt free spending, even paying $858 a month on loans.
Little Brad knew how to save that $20 little by little to buy the bike he wanted and not borrow from credit card, HELOC etc. Why can’t big Brad do that? Also, Brad is not the only big spender in the house…
Starting cost for a Harley is the same cost as the hole in the ground (pond) you just put on your property. It is not a criticism, but Brad, you mention how other people you know have Harleys. We all make choices and these choices block us from making other choices. Very few of us can do everything we want.
We are just simple people but have Star Wars toys, a $20k lake, and probably will get an $80k RV with a 10% loan in a few years...they should have at least $1 million in retirement investments by now
I think a lot of people think that way, or try to justify their spending by saying they dont overspend. But once you look around and do the math, there're not simple at all.
Lots of big/expensive ideas they seem oddly detached from. I’m not convinced they actually Want any of them. Makes me wonder what they truly want from the rest of their lives. What actually gets them excited? The sad thing about it is “going with the flow” has cost them financial stability in this stage of their lives. From the follow ups it doesn’t seem like this will change.
That's such an interesting point. I think we get wrapped up in what we want versus what we think we should want.
There was the one scene were the guy was pretty dismissive about his star wars collection. This is what he likes but he feels ashamed of it. In many ways, he is right that many people will perceive a 50 year old person collecting toys as childish. At the same time, the dream of going through the country with an RV is something fairly popular nowadays. It is a safe want.
Repeating pattern on this podcast... people make very good incomes but still overspend because they feel they "deserve it". Shows the power of the US marketing industry. Every advertisement is constantly telling us we deserve it. Then after a while we say, "Yeah, I DO deserve it!" Regardless of whether we can afford it.
My neighbor whom I’ve know for decades has this mindset . Hes probably told me a dozen times how much he deserves what he buys . He just a 2023 Mercedes S class that was 150k ! It was repossessed a few weeks ago because he stopped making payments because his business was slow and he had no savings.
Yeah we are bamboozled much in the U.S…….with new sneakers, phones, remodeling, cars, retiring early & made to feel guilty if we can’t make it all happen 🤦🏾♀️
So I’m only 10mins in… I LOVE the Star Wars office. It looks great, and I would love to have a collection like this of my husband’s favorite things in his office. It would make the both of us very happy, and it would be so FUN hunting for new items. This room can be 💯 part of your rich life even really expensive collection additions. Ignore the haters-some of these people are driving around different supermarkets to save $2 on blueberries.
money isn't talked about on the east coast either. My mom was a single mom since 1980. The only advice was buy a house. She's on SS and 76 yrs old.
Great video I wish this couple well. They seem so genuine
My story is that in my 20s I was working a low-income job and told myself I was living paycheck to paycheck and was simply SOL, so learning to manage money was pointless. I didn't bother to set up automatic payments on my CC, didn't learn how to meal prep or feed myself on a sensible budget, didn't try to learn to manage my finances at all, and hid from my bank account. Now, in my thirties, even with a much higher income and a budget based on Ramit's book and wonderful tools like Mint that I regularly use to review my spending, I still find myself feeling irrational dread when I check my account, and seeking excuses to put off reviewing my finances! Our anxieties and fear-avoiding habits are both stubborn and sneaky, and will hang around and warp our daily lives long after we've moved on from the causes of those fears and anxieties.
There's a lot of inertia to overcome and I was sensing resistance from Brad about taking ownership and active participation with the money. As a kid, he had needs and a lot of wants taken care of by his parents and all the money he earned was his for spending on whatever he wanted! It feels as if he's still in that mindset -Angie's now the mom who makes a way to send him skiing with the rich friends.
She claims she using a budgeting app yet doesn't even know how much they make? HOW. How do you not know when the pay is a major factor in even accepting a job?
She probably knows the total net income, which to be fair isn't the same as total comp. Though, she should be more aware of compensation.
They should by a camper and start doing weekend trips to make sure they like the lifestyle and costs. Camping can be fun but it's not really a glamorous adventure like Instagram presents it.
Or rent one! Plenty of people decide they don't like it after all.
Yeah, that's good advice. What if they don't like it as much as they think they will? Sometimes doing things on a regular basis suck the fun out it.
They should rent it.
Ramith, you were talking to me 10 years ago when you talked about the vultures! I need to fire my financial planner… I am so stressed! I am in my early 50’s and a widow!
To Ramit’s question about disempowering money stories: I’ve always told myself that my monthly performance bonus shouldn’t go in the budget because once I mentally spend it, it emotionally feels like it’s gone / just part of the rest of my income and doesn’t feel as exciting to make a big decision with it - even though it’d benefit me to account for the income in the budget to solidify a plan for it. For some reason adding it to the budget feels like I’m relying on the bonus and it is no longer “free” money to spend
add it and then just assign it to the task you want (this is why I love YNAB, every dollar you have "has a job", be it for now or later)
they're a very cute couple....I am baffled that people can make so much money and yet are still struggling. It's scary.
The high income is hers and is very recent I think. He only makes 60k.
Ramit, would you ever consider doing two of these types of episodes per week? I love hearing these stories! ❤
They’re hilarious. I cackled at that straw doll comment. I like them
I have the same amount of savings and I JUST graduated college. They should be terrified and something has to change.
Yeah they should be a little worried…..
That's fantastic! I hope you have none of the debt, are maxing out your retirement savings, have life/disability/health insurance, and don't plan to use your home as a bank account for new cars, vacations, or paying off credit cards.
Also, never count on bonuses or equity in your budget. If you spend it before you have it, you could be rudely awakened. Expect annual raises to be 1-4% and to barely cover the rise in your benefits costs. Making 10% or more jumps in salary often mean changing employers.
Keep fixed costs as low as possible. Pay attention to early out fees or penalties in the contracts you sign. Keep track of where you're spending your money and if there are areas that need to be trimmed.
Having an emergency fund is a must. Having 4-8 months of your expenses in savings or an easily accessible investment account in case you lose your job or can't work for a period of time is important.
Pay credit cards off in full every month or reconsider what role they play in your purchasing habits because paying 20+% on groceries, a night out with the guys, or a vacation means you can't afford those things.
Have a great week!
In the 1990s (I know, in the last century!), I read a book called Your Money or Your Life. Among the many lessons from there was one that I think about a lot, but I don't always apply these days.
Know how much an hour of your time is worth - meaning your salary minus all the costs of living (clothes at a certain level, car for commute, childcare, eating out for convenience, etc.) The number you get is how much one hour of your life is worth. When you go to buy something, calculate how many hours of your life each thing costs. If it's worth it to you, buy it. (Ramit's $1,000 sweaters are probably not very many hours of his life, so totally worth it - for him. Is it even an hour? Who knows....)
This is more about a simple life bordering on minimalism, but to some people that is the "rich" life because they aren't always thinking about things, but experiences, priorities, and having a purpose.
If this couple truly believes that they want this simple life on the road having adventures, maybe they need to figure out how much an hour of their time is worth and measure their purchases against that.
Classic book!
That was the valuable part of that book. What wasn't as good was the recommendation to avoid investing in stocks because the system is rigged and invest in treasuries. Really short-term thinking and obstacle from building real wealth.
@@jeyre5996 The idea was to find a way to live on the interest of your investments. The wealth building was just to get to that tipping point for a person to set a date to quit their job and do whatever they wanted knowing that their "income" is the interest (sort of like setting your own retirement date based on how much you need to live on). The bulk of the investment is untouched, so you need the most stable investment to keep your interest/income stable. This philosophy doesn't work for people who want $10 million homes, 7 cars in the garage, and blinding bling. It's still a hard concept for regular people who are influenced by societal norms. In the end, it's just different definitions of "rich."
That book changed a LOT of lives!
Joe and Vicki. Simplicity royalty.
So Brad learned that going out to lunch and premium gas in his car is why they have $2k in savings?
He’s not willing to put in the work to better their situation. He just expects things to happen and land in his lap.
I relate so much to Angie, and that I am the one who handles most of the finances, not by choice, but because my husband refuses to really take a consistently active part. We go in circles a lot! And it is very hard on me.
They compare themselves to others too much.
I bet if someone took a deep dive on all their expenses, I'd bet that they piss their money away on $50-100 items all month long. I think they need to do come forensic accounting on their finances and they'll see what percentage of their income is for "wants". Also, can I please have a $1500 mortgage too?? Great job, Ramit. Cheers from San Diego.
I wonder if they went through their spending and it was cut or or if Ramit didn't do the dive into the numbers like normal? Seems like if they went through it the should have been able to find major places to find savings with such a huge income.
Move to Wisconsin
35:30 I tell my fiancé that we need to hold off on getting any new cars so I can pay down my student loans first in two years to get caught up and out of a hole
I’m not sure if they walked away with any tangible solutions. They were told to figure out their rich life, stop buying second hand clothes, and accept they can’t afford their RV dream.
Why are they making all these renovations to the house when their goal is to live in an RV in the next few years???? Makes no sense!
Well, as far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond.
I really hate when you compare money to fitness because it reminds me how bad I am at fitness compared to money 😂
You offered great advice - well done.
I considered the "sell the house, buy an RV" thing before. One thing Brad should realize by now if he's serious, or was serious about "2-5 years" is he needs to downsize his stuff and stop buying more (like collecting Star Wars).
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome.
@@theebigda I don't know if you meant to put your reply under my comment since I only mentioned downsizing (not cost) and your reply was much more broad.
Overall, I would say you shouldn't feel like you need to justify anything to RUclips...most people in the comments live in glass houses, but aren't brave enough to do what you did and open your windows.
I really enjoy listening to your discussions
What a pleasant couple. I really enjoyed this episode.
Consistently love the content... I just hope someone updates the spelling on the Conscious Spending Plan from "Parter" to Partner.
Andra moorea is a big flex when it comes too this on Facebook good financial adviser she also is
You guys are actually doing really well. Of course there’s always room for improvement but congratulations, you’re almost there. 🎉
We need to be in this podcast badly!!
We're 38. We have twice what they have in savings, but only like 1/5th of what they have in investments. It's a wake up call for sure
You should have at least 6 months of your expenses in savings that you don't touch, in the event of job loss or other emergency like that.
Plus you should have a decent emergency fund in place (Maybe that's your current savings) that only gets used for true emergencies.
Saving for cars, vacations, homes, and other big expenses is after these 2 are in place.
My disempowering story about money: I told myself that money is not important. I lived with my parents most of my life, ate home cooked meals, didn't have to think or worry about money till I had to live on my own. I came into adult world not knowing a lot of people struggle with money, not knowing that my parents are struggling to retire. It's definitely a mindset shift seeing people on this podcast and talking to my parents. All of that is motivating me to take care of my finances now so that my future self has one less thing to worry about.
This couple needs to research or talk to a good real estate agent about what house improvements actually get a good return at the time of selling the house. You're not going to get what you invested in a pond back. Kitchens and baths, probably. Also, they haven't factored in potential negative changes to the real estate market that may occur in the next 3-10 years. 1) Stop spending 2) pay off loans 3) build savings.
Update: We recently put our house on the market and in the first two days we had three offers and we accepted an offer on one of them. (For more than our realtor suggested we list it at.) We are currently living at my sister-in-laws house while the sale is happening (Should be closing at the beginning of November.) and for a while after , to give us a little time to save some more money, pay off some more debt, and to find the right RV for us. Then it's time to hit the road! We got rid of tons of "stuff" that we didn't need and didn't bring us joy and we put some things in a small storage unit that we'll need for the RV. Life is about experiences, and we want to have those before we're too old to do so. No one looks back on their life and says they wish they would've worked more or accumulated more "stuff". But they do say they wish they would have experienced more, traveled more, spent more time with friends and family, etc.
Hey Ramit, heads up. The audio on your mic in the intro and interim cutaways is messed up
Awesome show.
Loved your guesses, they are brave.
My disempowering money story(ies) is (are): "I'll never make a lot of money", "I'm not meant to have a lot of money", "I'm not good with money", "I'll always be stuck in low paying jobs". Though I gotta say, these podcasts are so good and I'm really starting to notice a difference in the way I think about myself and money.
This couple is looking for an adventure, but it may not be feasible now. Ramit provided valuable insight into their situation and brought Brad back to reality. It might be helpful for Brad to take a more active role in managing their finances and budgeting so they can make positive changes. While they may not be able to plan an extended vacation, they could still plan a shorter trip to enjoy some time away.
Wow, I also sold used golf balls as a kid!
time to accept you had your fun buying stupid stuff with debt and now its time to not have fun and work it off and sacrifice.
Just FYI. On the CSP graphic, partner is misspelled. It says ‘Parter 1’ and ‘Parter 2’
If she was following Dave Ramsey baby steps…. She was doing a debt snowball and would drain savings. Now she shouldn’t be putting into 401k if they are so they can get out of debt quickly. If you do Daveish.. you are not as effective with his program. I would have liked to see min debt payments vs what she is paying in fixed costs.
LOL - I love the irony when Brad narrates that he wanted to get rid of clutter and didn't need a lot of things while he's sitting in front of one of the most exquisitely cluttered Star Wars collections I have ever seen. "I don't feel like we have all these toys" 😆
Not to criticize his hobby though. He should live his rich life.
I really didn't want to read the comments, because I just knew someone would say something about the room I was in. I would say 90 percent of my Star Wars stuff is things I found at Goodwill stores for dirt cheap. It started during the pandemic when I had to set up a home office to work from home. I had a few Star Wars things in boxes so I got them out just to make the office a little more personal & fun and actually see them. Then when I started working in the office again I made it kind of a fun thing to do on my lunch break to see if I could find at least one Star Wars thing at Goodwill. Again, always dirt cheap. Most things were like $3.00 or less. Even the framed art on the walls are images I downloaded and printed myself and the frames are super cheap ones from the Dollar Store. Some of the vintage Star Wars stuff I restored, for fun. Before we move to the RV lifestyle I'll either sell it all as one collection, sell items that I have doubles of individually, or put it in storage. More and more people are just doing "Staycations". This pond has a beach, a floating island for kids to swim out to and jump off of, there's giant boulders around the edge as jumping off rocks too. I built it with a bog filter, which keeps the water crystal clear. The bluegills and bass were even breeding over the summer so kids and family can sit there and enjoy fishing without ever leaving the house. There's also a huge outbuilding (a two car garage with a shop) next to it which could easily be turned into a rental unit, an Air B&B, a big party room for entertaining, etc. This isn't a tiny koi pond. As far as our yard goes the previous owner was basically using it as his personal dump. It took me three years just to clean it all up, clear brush, burn out poison ivy and buckthorn, etc. Then we had a pretty large area with nothing there so we put in a pond. It's awesome. As far as the follow up video...I really didn't know what to say. We have done a lot to tighten our belts since then. Maybe in a year or two he will let us do a follow up. In regards to your "leaving it to their wives" comment...She has a masters degree in business. She's way more qualified than me in that regard. And we have regular talks about our finances now and have made great changes to get us in a good place. If I was a master tradesman in something like plumbing or construction I would do that type of work around the house, not my wife. It's no different than her handling the bills. She wants to do it and that's what she's good at. I'm the big gorilla outside, moving boulders around with a skid loader, planting trees, taking care of our chickens, stocking the pond, and more. This summer will be repairing our deck (rotten boards need replacing). We're close to having it ready to sell. My mom has a condo she's not living in and we'l probably rent it from her for a year or two to save even more money.
@@theebigda A brother-in-law of mine has a truly insane Star Wars collection. It is part of his rich life and he could afford it so I don't judge. I just enjoyed the ironic humor of the image of you speaking about it while all of it was behind you 😀
I did not comment on your yard or spousal roles but I do not disagree too much. I think the main point Ramit would make is you both did spend a lot of money remodeling, which there is nothing wrong with if it fits your rich life. However, in this case it may have impacted your rich life goal to live the RV lifestyle. Had you both worked more together as a team (even if she runs the spreadsheet) and knew your financial numbers you may have made different choices and be in a better spot to transition into the RV lifestyle sooner.
I wish you both the best and thanks for sharing your story!
The Collection! True, collections can make money disappear as through a sieve.
I'm 56, my net worth is 1.3 million but I haven't felt like I could afford a vacation in years. All my money is allocated to retirement savings, saving to buy another car in 2 years as mine is 12 years old or spent on home maintenance. I don't have any debt other than my home, which I owe $110K but is worth about 875K.
A very relatable situation.
Not sure where you live or your circumstances ...if your $1.3m net worth includes your home, have you considered selling your place, getting into a new home for at least half of the ~$875k, and then investing a chunk of cash for some better returns?
You are so ahead of game. Great job!
If you file taxes, how do you not know how much your income is. I know what our income was last year, and have a good idea of how much my husbands raise was so I can guess this years income within a few thousand dollars, although it wouldn't be an exact number.
I've often wondered this exact thing.
That’s what I don’t understand
You actually could and should find out the details if you wanted to
Because they probably hand their taxes off to an accountant to file and only care how much they owe or will be getting back.
Maybe he could cut back a bit on the Star Wars merch??
Doesn’t know where the money is going? Look behind you.
😂
You spend $200 a week on a toy every week or two weeks it’s easy for it to just feel normal and not expensive
Just started watching and that's the first thing I noticed.
I just clicked on the video and haven't watched a second, and your comment popped up first, but I 100% disagree with you. There's never enough star wars merch
Exchange an asset (house) for a liability (RV)... Bad idea...
There is a very key difference between going through the motions of tracking money and actually understanding your cash flow and using that knowledge to move towards your financial goals. YNAB and manually inputting expenses is just going through the motions, that's why I am a huge fan of automated finance trackers. So you can focus on interpreting the trends, then just getting caught in the weeds of manually inputting expenses. Don't use manual budgeting apps.
For me, manual budgeting apps (I used EveryDollar) helped me see how categories added up. They fail when you leave things out.
Enjoy your hobby man. You’re a grown man who works hard. The same reason I’m a 40ish year old with a Spider-Man avatar
I loved this couple. They truly love each other and want to spend time together after having children. I am rooting for them 🎉❤
I’m continually blown away by people who make 250k and have no savings . It’s mind boggling !
The “ I deserve it “ attitude will keep them in debt forever and they won’t ever retire early . I’m 50 , make 70k a year and have close to 500k in retirement and no debt of any kind ( car and home paid off ) My attitude is I don’t deserve s@@@ , I work my butt off now , so I can retire at 55.
Also don’t understand what 450 a month of subscriptions they have ???? Like , what ???