“We book $10K vacations, then panic about money”
12/23/20251 hr 37 min
Cheryl (67) and Michael (69) have built rich, full lives: multiple careers, reinventions, and nearly 12 years of marriage. Yet when it comes to money, they feel stuck. They earn about $120,000 a year, have roughly $600,000 saved, and regularly book $10,000–$15,000 vacations focused on travel, family, and experiences. Then, almost immediately, panic sets in. With mostly separate finances, lingering trust issues from past decisions, and no clear retirement plan, they’re embarrassed to admit that they don’t actually know when (or if) they can retire. Cheryl wants clarity and confidence about the future, while Michael wrestles with fear, guilt, and uncertainty around spending and se...
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First 90 secondsRamit Sethi· Host0:00
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Cheryl· Guest0:29
Three or four weeks ago, we started looking at this very cool tour of the Faroe Islands, where you fly to Copenhagen, and then you fly over to the Faroe Islands.
Ramit Sethi· Host0:38
How much is this thing gonna cost?
Cheryl· Guest0:39
I can't see that it would cost anything less than $10,000, and it might cost more than that.
Michael· Guest0:43
It's not like we have $10,000 in cash sitting around that we could just shell out.
Cheryl· Guest0:47
Oh, we do, actually.
Ramit Sethi· Host0:48
What's happening right now? Do you or do you not have $10,000 of cash?
Cheryl· Guest0:52
He had some money, some cash that he was supposed to put into, like, our reserve fund.
Michael· Guest0:56
Put it in a bad spot.
Cheryl· Guest0:57
He put it in a bad place and lost it.
Ramit Sethi· Host1:00
How much are we talking about?
Michael· Guest1:01
12,000.
Cheryl· Guest1:02
I really lost it. I was very upset. I felt very much like I had been betrayed in a way. I have the classic cancer survivor brain of, "What if it comes back and I haven't done all the cool things?"
Ramit Sethi· Host1:15
Guys, you're close to 70 years old. We need to be realistic here. The decisions you make today, no joke, they're very important, because if you get it wrong, you end up 85 years old, no money, and that's it.
Cheryl· Guest1:27
We're at the age where our friends are dying. So do you