252. "I’m 35, in debt, and spend everything I make"
3/17/20261 hr 32 min
Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich talks to Lina, 35, and Mike, 28, a married couple living in South Florida with their 8-month-old son. Despite earning almost $200,000 annually, they've been entangled in debt since their wedding three years ago. They consistently make plans to conquer their financial woes but never follow through. Their debt has soared to over $750,000, and their fixed costs devour 98% of their take-home pay, leaving them with zero savings.
Lina attributes their financial struggles to unexpected events, like her pregnancy, which led to her cutting back on work and an increased focus...
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRamit Sethi· Host0:00
If you or your partner has fallen for a scam, I wanna help, especially if you've recently fallen for an email or text scam, or you've gotten bad financial advice from someone who did not keep their promises, or maybe you just have not even told your partner because you are embarrassed. If this is you, I wanna talk. Apply for free coaching with me by being on my podcast. Apply today at iwt.com/apply. That's iwt.com/apply. You said, "We are spending more than we're making, but we're over $100,000 in debt."
Lena· Guest0:36
I'm not very frugal. Comfort is not something that I'm gonna cut back on.
Mike· Guest0:41
Once I have my mind set on something that I want, I'm very stubborn.
Ramit Sethi· Host0:45
Lena, you mentioned you're the one on top of these numbers. How can you be on top of them if your fixed costs are at 98%?
Lena· Guest0:51
To me, it looks worse than what I feel. I kind of have, like, this sense of optimism that we're gonna be okay.
Ramit Sethi· Host0:58
You've taken on some of those attitudes which are like, "My family was wealthy. I'm gonna be wealthy. I'm not cutting back on freaking grocery delivery." You don't have the finances to actually make that feasible.
Mike· Guest1:10
If we're a plane, we're about to crash.
Ramit Sethi· Host1:13
Yes.
Lena· Guest1:14
I rather go out and make more money than have to be home cooking every day.
Ramit Sethi· Host1:19
Hold on. I didn't wanna do this, but I'm gonna do this. [gentle music] Today, I'm speaking with Lena, who's 35, and Mike,