Episode 5 : Pet Checking Accounts

 How to Get Rich 

Season 1, Episode 5 

Pet Checking Accounts

A recently engaged drag performer living paycheck to paycheck needs to get his finances in order. A couple with a good portfolio makes risky investments. 

( "Your Taxi" by Raphael Lake, Dion & Aaron Levy playing ) 

♪ Tonight you'll think that I'm a drunk But I'm just dirty sober ♪ 

Are you Drew?

Hi. Mike. Good to meet you. 

Ramit: Wow, this is quite a scene.

I did not expect this today. So, are you all Drew's friends? Well, I'm his fiancé. 

I'm marrying them in two weeks. 

I'm the officiant. 

You are? 

Oh my God. 

This is awesome. 

host: Yes. 

Bringing your last performer, make some noise for Duke LeSling! 

♪ School's in session 

Get your books out ♪ 

♪ But even if you don't, you'll be read ♪ 

♪ When I deathdrop people gag Can't believe they're stealin' my craft ♪ 

My name is Drew, I am 34 years old, and, b¡tch, I am from Chicago. 

I've always wanted to do that. 

( crowd cheering )

I've been in the restaurant industry for 18 years. 

It's a serving job, but then picking up that gig or that gig. 

You know, just making that cash where you can. 

I am old. I am jaded. 

My back hurts. My feet are fat. Like, no, I'm over it, girl. 

( chuckles ) 

( crowd cheering ) 

Let's hear it for Duke LeSling! 

( all continue cheering ) 

( Ramit laughs ) 

Hey, how you doing? Good. 

How are you? 

I'm great. 

So it takes a lot of financial planning to look this trashy. 

( Ramit laughs ) 

I don't know how to do it, which is why I look this way. 

So I need your help. 

I'm here to help. 

Perfect. Meet me here. In a little bit. 

Okay. 

Sounds good. 

And save my life, please. Save my life. 

I'm with you. Let's do it. 

All right. 

This is gonna be fun. 

I'm excited. I'm very excited. 

Thanks. 

Cool. Thank you. 

Mikey: You have your work cut out for you. 

So Mikey and I met six years ago. 

He doesn't know I'm living paycheck to paycheck. 

With money, it's like the side mistress we don't talk about.

I feel confident. 

But I feel like I'm in for some more surprises. 

Many more surprises. 

♪ Let it go, let it go You know what it takes ♪ 

♪ Hit the road, hit the road Don't know why you wait ♪ 

Mikey and Drew are getting married in two weeks, which is amazing, and it also is great timing because people need a reason to pay attention to money. 

So if Drew's about to get married, he's gonna be receptive to making changes. 

( knocks on door ) 

Gigi. Hello, sir. 

Ramit: Hey. How's it going? 

Good. How are you? 

All right. Good. 

Welcome to... This is Gigi. 

Hey. 

Hi. 

Wow. Cool place. 

Thank you so much. How was the show? 

The show was great. I was totally surprised. The splits. 

I'm gonna have to go to the doctor tomorrow about that... 

That heel broke. I didn't know it broke until I got home. 

Then I was like, "Oh, you're actually snapped." 

Damn. You know, I didn't know much about you before we met, but I did look at your financials. 

Mm-hmm. 

So do you get paid in cash? 

The drag show and burlesque shows are cash. Right now at the restaurant... 

'cause I'm a full-time server is, like, my nine-to-five. 

How much did you make today? 

I can show you it. The bag. 

You wanna see it. You sure do. 

Do you have it? 

( upbeat music playing ) 

Look, there's literally a dollar bill at the bottom... 

Oh, yeah, I'll take my clothes off to shower tonight, and I'll find one in my underwear.

Wait, wait. I gotta look at this thing. Hold on. This is crazy. 

I feel like we're in Fargo right now. 

No, exactly. 

I swear, I have no dead bodies. I don't have any drսg. 

Yeah. ( laughs ) 

So, like, on a good day, what would you say you would make? 

Drew: For me? 

Yeah. 

Fifty bucks in tips. 

What about the costs? 

How much do those heels cost that broke today? 

Those were 60 bucks. 

Okay. 

And those were on sale. 

Did you buy those on your credit card? 

No. 

Cash? 

I bought 'em on Mikey's credit card. 

What about the wedding? 

Who's paying for that? 

So he's pretty much covering it all now. 

And I'm gonna contribute 5,000 to it. 

Okay. 

But it'll pretty much be me paying him back the $5,000. 

So how do you split your finances up? 

Kinda like a "pay what you can." 

He makes probably, like, $150,000 a year. 

Okay.

I'm right now, at like... um, mid 30s. 

And does he talk about this with you? 

He tries. 

He's been transparent about, "Here's where my money is." 

"Here's my main account. Here's the savings." 

"Here's my retirement plan." 

That's cool. 

You don't have joint accounts? 

We don't... 

Our only joint account is Gigi's checking account. 

You have a checking account for your dog? 

Yeah. 

What happens in this checking account?

It pays for all her bills. 

I put $150 in a month. 

That's a lot. 

Well... Do you have a retirement account? 

I don't. 

You have a checking account for your dog and not a retirement account? 

Um, you don't need to call me out, even though that's why you're here. 

So why don't we just do the same thing with you?

Why don't we put 150 in an account right now? 

I don't know. I get... I get scared. 

And, you know, I put money into my own retirement account, then what's left for gas and my HOA and, like, just, like, my portion of the bills. 

The C word. 

"Contribute."

 Can I contribute to this relationship? 

I hate feeling like I rely on him. 

I don't want to be like, "I wanna do this, but I want you to pay for it." Like, I'm not... 

I would love a sugar daddy, but Mikey is not my sugar daddy. He's my partner. 

I can't take care of my life right now. 

And it's, like, I don't... 

Mikey's kind of all I have. ( whimpers ) 

'Cause I rely on him so much, and I don't want to. 

Like, we're a team, and I don't feel like I'm pulling my weight right now. 

Like, I'm tired of feeling lost. I'm tired of feeling I don't have control. 

And I think my biggest fear is, like, "What if I'm not fixable?" 

( dramatic music plays ) 

( sobbing, exhales ) 

I don't love hearing you feel bad about money. 

I think there's a way to feel good about money. 

I don't know how to... start. 

Like what? 

Like thinking, planning. 

Like, budgeting. 

Like, any of that. 

I'm just like... 

Were you ever not honest with Mikey about his money questions? 

Um... 

I don't... 

No, that's a yes. 

That pause right there is a yes. 

I don't specifically lie.

I just don't tell... the full side of the story. 

Like, what's an example? 

We were talking about the credit card debt, and he said, "Well, are you paying the credit cards?" 

And I was like, "Yes." 

To him, that meant every month I'm paying it back down to zero. 

Okay. 

I'm just paying my minimum. 

Ramit: Money secrets aren't simple lies. 

Money secrets aren't like my dad telling my family that he was allergic to dogs for 18 years until we finally found out that he's not allergic, he just doesn't like dogs. 

Money is not like that. 

Money cuts deep. 

And because most of us feel so insecure about money, when we lie about it, it goes much deeper than just numbers on the page. 

When you were performing, you were so confident. 

Put me in a pair of heels and some shitty makeup, and I feel like I'm on top of the world... 

But when I see you talking about money, I see you almost shrink. 

I know, with a little bit of work, you can become confident by becoming competent. 

You'll be able to talk about money openly. 

Wouldn't that feel great? 

Yeah. 

Ramit: I want you to use this journal. 

Okay. 

What's that chapter one right there? 

"Design your rich life." 

Yes. What is your rich life? 

Pay my bills. Not worry about it.

Pay my bills... 

This sucks. 

You want to pay your bills. 

That's it? 

That cannot be your rich life. 

My rich, rich life would be being able to have the money to do experiences, create memories, and just have awesome times with Mikey. 

Like with our honeymoon. Being like, "Hey, Mikey, guess what? Surprise." 

"We got first-class tickets on the way back." 

Here's my plan of action for Drew. 

First off, I want him to talk to Mikey. 

Be honest about his financial situation. 

Next, I want him to find a higher-paying job, and I want him to land that job, and finally I want him to make a plan and start paying that debt off aggressively.

 When Drew takes this plan and starts making it happen, he's going to feel like an equal partner in his relationship. 

The second thing, these heels, I want you to call up your credit card company and ask them if they will reimburse you for a broken pair of heels. 

Mm-hmm. 

Cash is cool, but you have all this protection when you use a credit card, and once you do this, you're gonna start to take control of your money. 

I guess. 

Yeah. 

( both laugh )

Thanks for having me. 

Pleasure. 

Thank you. 

A lot of you think these credit card companies are evil, and they are, but they also work for you. 

They have tons of perks most people never take advantage of. 

Did you know if you buy a laptop and you accidentally spilled coffee in it, they will write you a check? 

Did you know if you buy something with your credit card and you lose it, they'll write you a check? 

These cards have perks that are free, they're available to you, you should use 'em. 

( upbeat music playing ) 

The homework stresses me out. 

All these numbers. 

Just seeing all this makes me feel like I'm spending way too much money on top of the things that are fixed. 

Child, Ramit and this conscious spending plan is about to take me out of town. 

It's just... It's a lot. 

I don't do numbers. 

I suck at math. Y

ou could take out $200 from my account for a dump truck in Minnesota, and I probably wouldn't know 'cause I don't check my bank account balance like that. 

I mean, I spend the bulk of my money on clothes, the gym, nails and toes and haircut, and I haven't even factored in brunch. 

( doorbell rings ) 

Oh. Guess he's here. 

Welcome back. 

Ramit: Thank you, thank you. 

Ramit: Until now, Frank hasn't really had any guidance on how to set up healthy money behaviors. 

He spends a lot. 

He's in $200,000 of debt, and he doesn't think about investing for his future. 

But he has a lot of potential. 

He won $150,000. 

He makes good money as a therapist and an influencer. 

Ramit: Oh, that's what I like to see. 

Frank: Yeah. 

I wanna show Frank how he can stop avoiding his money problems and start tackling the biggest problem head-on, and that is his debt. 

So how did it feel after we talked yesterday? 

Overwhelming. 

Yeah? 

I've never had this conversation with anybody. 

In your whole life? 

Never. 

How old are you? 

28. 

At 28, you have a long time. 

These magical years between now and 40 can be worth millions. 

You preachin' now. 

Let's break it down. 

Okay. Let me come over here. So what do you have? 

Monthly expense, rent. 

This is my favorite one. 

I know. 

It's so low! It's really good. 

It's my favorite too. 

Car payment, 457. 

That's high? 

Yeah. 

I thought it was pretty good. 

Clothes, $400 monthly. 

Is that true? 

I think so. Yeah. 

350 monthly on your nails and toes? 

They look great, though. 

You wanna show it for the camera?   You're here, you might as well get... 

Look at that. Debt pa... 

What is this? Zero? 

You had $230,000 in debt there. Zero?   Are they sending you a lot of notices? 

Yeah, they call me once a week. 

Oh, really? Okay. 

What does it all add up to? 

I didn't know we were gonna do that. 

Well, you got a phone, right? 

Add it up. 

Oh God. 

Frank: So my relationship with money is really tricky. 

Growing up, I think people were scared to correct me on a lot of things. 

Only way they knew how to pacify me was through gifts, through spending money. 

But look at me now. It's kind of, like, hurting me because I take those same things. And when I'm having a bad day, I wanna go to the mall and ball. 

Or go to the bar and not have to think about how much money I can afford to spend. 

Ramit: What do you got? 

$4,514. 

It's gotten a little hot. Hold on. Oh. 

You good? ( chuckles ) 

I like it when you start to sweat. Then I know we're getting somewhere. 

I mean, I feel like that's around how much I make in a month. 

What does it make you feel? 

A little uncomfortable. 

Because? 

I need to tighten up, or I need to make some more money.

Preferably the latter. ( chuckles ) 

Uh-huh.

 'Cause I like how I live right now. 

Yeah. And I don't want to... scale back. 

Yeah, makes perfect sense to me. 

What's your credit score? 

Mmm, 638. 

How much is your car payment interest rate? 

13%. 

If somebody else with good credit were to buy a car, what would theirs be? 

Probably six or seven, if that. 

Yeah. 

Maybe lower. Like, three. 

Yeah. 

Wow. 

How much do you think that that costs you? 

Thousands. 

Yeah. 

Ramit is digging down right now. 

I feel inferior. 

I don't like that. 

This is that money that's being invisibly bled out of you. 

That means if you wanna go out more, or you wanna buy some nice sunglasses, your credit score directly affects how much you can afford. 

You told me something yesterday. I think it was kind of a joke, but it also wasn't a joke. You told me... 

I was gonna take 'em to the grave? 

Yeah. 

Oh, I wasn't joking. 

This isn't gonna be paid off in this lifetime. 

'Cause I just don't wanna pay it. 

Okay. 

You don't have to pay it. 

I mean, they will start taking money from your paycheck. 

And they will not let you buy a house. 

Yeah. 

And they will not let you get a car for anything less than 13%.

But if you wanna not pay it... 

You're gonna be stuck at the same level you're at right now, forever. 

Okay, well, that's not good. 

Okay. Now we're being honest. 

It's not good. How you gonna get that to be better? 

I don't trust myself with money. 

Yeah. 

So the fact that I have... more money than I ever have touched, all at one time... 

Yeah. 

To say, "Hey, here's $20,000 toward debt," it seems like, "Oh, you might need that.   You might... get in a situation where you're... facing eviction again." 

"Or you may not have any money during the week, and you're living paycheck to paycheck." 

And that's... To me, I'm gonna be like, "I should have just kept that $20,000." 

If you have $30,000 in savings, you can withstand something happening to you. 

And you're about to get another $75,000 from your winnings.

 You wanna do something with it? 

Uh...

Work on that debt? 

Nice! 

You could pay off half of that debt in a year. 

Frank: Mm-mm. 

You don't think so? 

No. 

You know, what I'm noticing talking to you is that you don't have a great role model for money, at all. 

I know somebody I want to introduce you to. 

Erin Robertson from Season 15 of Project Runway. 

She went into the same situation that you got into. 

So I want to put the two of you together, so she can give you a little advice. 

Okay. 

Coming into a windfall of money like this is very unusual, and it requires changing your habits... and doing it quickly. 

If he plays his cards right, it could completely change the entire trajectory of his life.

I think if we get your finances dialed in, and you feeling confident about 'em, a lot of other things are gonna unfold in a really positive way. 

Okay, well, I need the help. 

All right, thank you so much. 

Not everyone is gonna win $150,000 on a game show, but there are situations where you may run into some unexpected cash. 

This could be a tax refund, a legal settlement, maybe an inheritance. 

So what do you do with that money? 

The way I think about it is I take 50% of any unexpected income, and I spend it. 

I spend it on guilt-free spending on something I love. 

And I take the other 50% and I invest it. 

Your plan might be different.

You might want to pay debt off faster. You choose. 

But the important thing is to make a plan that fits your life. 

If you don't make a plan, then money will just get sucked up into your day-to-day spending. 

And that's what I don't want for you. 

( "No Stoppin' Me" by NJC & Sun-Me playing ) 

♪ I'm on a mission making decisions ♪ 

♪ I'm gonna do just what I please ♪ 

♪ I've got a vision You'll think I'm missing... ♪ 

This is... 

"Judgment of others for selling it." 

"Save up for trips." 

( upbeat music playing ) 

Ramit: Sophina's in a really difficult position. 

She's spending too much on her condo. 

What I'm really trying to get Sophina to do is to take ownership of her financial life. 

Owning a condo is a big decision. 

How much to invest is a big decision. 

These are some of the biggest decisions you will ever make in your life. 

Hey! How you doing? 

Hello! 

Welcome back. 

Thank you. 

It's good to be back. 

Thank you. 

Let's sit on the couch! 

( exhales ) All right. 

You can't put your head in the sand, then magically turn into a millionaire. 

You've got to make decisions to get there. 

Nice to see you. It's been a while. 

I know. It's been forever. 

I wanna know what's going on. I have so many questions. 

Ask away! 

Okay. 

So you had a lot of time to think about your rich life. 

When we started talking, your face lit up. 

It was all about taking trips with friends. 

Yeah. 

Where do you want to go? 

Where's your big trip you wanna go? 

Oh. Jamaica. Yeah. 

So paint the picture for me.

You're in Jamaica. What's happening? 

We're going out every night. 

We're getting gifts for people. 

We're doing, like, tours and excursions, staying in a nice hotel. 

Let's talk about how you're gonna do it. 

When we started, we talked about option one, option two, and option three. 

Option one was to make no changes. 

No changes. 

Option two was to... Little changes... 

Little changes. 

...like starting to earn more. 

And option three was big changes, sell the condo and earn more. 

Right. 

Okay. 

What have you decided? 

Okay. 

My option is three. 

Sell my condo. ( chuckles ) 

Are you serious? 

Yes. 

You're gonna sell this place? 

Really?

Yeah. 

This was a tough decision! 

Very. 

Because, when we started talking, you were like, "No." 

I am blown away that she's told me she's gonna sell it. 

This means that she's gonna free up cash flow to be able to invest and to be able to travel. 

You know what else it means? 

She's finally gonna have hot water! 

Finally! 

What did it take to come to this decision? 

Finance is extremely important, but also, like, my happiness. 

They go hand in hand. 

Money and happiness. 

Yeah. 

And researching and looking at everything, I was like, "HOA is ridiculous." 

Who knows if it'll go higher, and saving more from what I'm spending now to put other places is really important. 

And I thought... see, I don't know if you were gonna be happy with this.

I would love to buy again... 

Mm-hmm.

 ...but rent in the meantime. 

That sounds great. 

Let's talk about earning more. 

I got invited to a camp in Berkeley to teach girls gymnastics, and so... 

Really? 

I'm also offering one-on-one sessions. 

Great! 

How much? 

$150 an hour. 

Love it! ( chuckles ) 

Beautiful. 

Well, I'm really proud of you. 

Thanks. 

This is a big step for you, and I think it takes your money and it points it towards your rich life. 

Yeah. 

Ramit: You know what I really admire about Sophina? 

She's paying attention to the numbers, she's charting a path forward that's right for her. 

Sophina is on her way, and I think she's gonna realize the possibilities for her rich life are even bigger than she ever thought possible. 

Send me a picture when you go on the first big trip that you're planning. 

Sophina: Oh my gosh. 

Yes. 

For sure. 

That would be awesome.

Ramit, I just want to say thank you for giving me the tools to stand up for myself and be decisive. 

I think I still have, like, more to learn, but I'm ready to make some big changes. 

Safe travels! 

All right, you too. 

I'll text you! Bye. ( chuckles ) 

Oh, yeah, I'm gonna slide into your DMs. 

( chuckles ) 

Keep a lookout because I still need help. Our work is not done. 

( laughs ) 

♪ I've been waiting for a minute For a crime like this ♪ 

♪ 'Cause now I know there's no limit ♪ 

What's your name? 

My name's Rahan. 

Nice to meet you. 

Yeah. 

Myine. 

Myine? 

woman: Can I ask you a question? 

Sure. 

Ramit: I get a lot of questions from couples. 

Sometimes, they avoid talking to each other about money. 

They don't know how. 

The first time you sat and started talking about money with your wife... 

Yeah. 

...how did that go? 

It was... challenging. It was difficult because it's very... 

It's very invasive. 

It's very personal. 

Ramit: Mmm. 

You know, money cuts across everything in a relationship. 

It's not like two partners decide, "You're gonna empty the dishwasher, and I'm gonna take out the trash." 

It's not like that. 

Money involves where you live, what kind of food you eat, where you vacation, schooling, children, retirement! 

Here are three questions to help you kick-start a dialogue. 

Number one, how much do you make, how much do you owe, and what's in your bank account? 

Number two, how do you want to use money together?

Number three, how were you raised with money? 

That is a beautiful way to start off the series of conversations that you're gonna have. 

People go their whole lives worrying about money, scared of money. 

Why are you afraid of money? Let's take the fear away. 

It's just a thing! 

Pleasure. 

Thank you so much. 

♪ You can call me superstar, whoa ♪ 

♪ You can call me superstar, whoa ♪ 

♪ Ooh, they wish they got this far Whoa... ♪ 

Hey! 

So nice to meet you! 

Frank: Ooh! 

You look so cute! 

I did The Circle about nine months ago. 

And it feels really good to be sitting across from someone who can relate to my situation because she's blown up on social media, her life has changed. 

It's... it's really kind of cool that I kind of get like a mentor, if you can say that. 

Well, it's winner's table only. 

Period. 

Winner's table. 

Congrats. 

Thank you! Congrats to you!

Yeah, thank you. 

So, not many people can even relate to winning a reality TV show or even being on one. 

Yeah. 

And you're winning how much? 

$150,000. 

How does that make you feel? 

Frank exhales: Mmm. 

Overwhelmed. 

Yeah. 

Uh, interesting, I've never possessed such a large sum of money at one time. 

Same.

I don't come from a lot of money. 

Same. 

So... it's just like a culture shock. 

For me, that was, like, one of the biggest things I've also worked on was, like, my relationship to money. 

But, like, coming from no money... it's a hard stage to be between. 

This thing is such a blessing, but it also, like, you have to dig deep and go inside. 

Yeah, I'm still... I think I'm still learning. 

I've... Well, talking to Ramit, um, and he was just talking about how I'm still living from the mindset of someone who has not had money... 

Mm-hmm. 

...someone who has been evicted, someone who has had to live off, like, $13 for a week before. 

So how did you switch? I mean... 

Well, I made mistakes.

Okay. 

So let me tell... ( chuckles ) 

I was in Boston, and like, I got a space that was like $3,200 a month in rent. 

Biggest regret. 

So I, like, would definitely be careful with how you spend your money. 

You should 100% reward yourself, 'cause you just did something really major. 

And get yourself a few/couple things that will like... you know. 

( whispers ) I did. 

Good, you should! 

( chuckles ) 

You have to. You have to. 

But I think, like, if I could go back, I wish I was a little bit more... plan-oriented. 

Like, I'm... I'm not an organized person.

No, me either. 

So, like really work on it. 

Oh God. 

Yeah. 

And I just faced the fears of, like, dealing with my financial illiteracy. 

Oh, child, yes. 

Well, no one knows from social media, but my bank account's gone down low. 

It's, like, really embarrassingly low. 

But then I'm like, "Okay, cool, let me hurry and make something." 

A literal "make-it-work" moment. I'm like... 

Yeah. 

To pay the bills, like... 

Yeah. 

So I think that for you, it's like, what kind of services are you wanting to offer, like, post-winning The Circle?

 I've been influencing a bit this year. 

Yeah. 

I made $11,000 on partnerships this year.

Nice. That's amazing. 

Yeah. 

A lot of my time spent creating is spent from when I get off work. 

I can't create... 

It's hard. 

...unless it's the end of evenings, which is late, 'cause I work two jobs. 

And I have over $200,000 of debt. 

God. Wh... 

Looming! 

Yeah. It's a lot. 

I think the biggest thing is knowing that you deserve money. 

And that, for me, has been like the best lesson I've, like, taught myself over the years. 

Hearing you be able to say that you kind of feel like you deserve money now. 

I'm still in the beginning stages.

The beginning phases.

 And I'm... scared that one day, I'm gonna wake up and it's gonna be gone. 

I'm a little bit apprehensive about how I'm gonna spend the second half of my Circle winnings. 

I feel like the initial phase of me spending and doing wild things is just gone. 

I have to play this one a bit smarter. 

Well, I appreciate it. I'm gonna have to get your number. 

I mean, of course. 

So that I can get an outfit. 

Yes! 

Ah, no, seriously. 

Cheers. 

Cheers to the rich life.

Yes... 

Cheers. 

Okay. 

( upbeat music playing ) 

( line ringing ) 

Oh God, this is giving me so much anxiety. 

( voicemail ) 

This call will be monitored and recorded, and your voice may be used for... 

( voicemail speaks Spanish ) 

( in English ) Please enter your 16-digit credit card account number. 

If you're calling to report your car... 

( keypad chimes ) 

The option you've selected is not available. 

For balance and avail... 

To help our specialists better assist you... 

( line ringing ) 

Thank you for continuing to hold. Your call is... 

Did you know that most claims can be filed in... 

Thank you for continuing to hold. Your call is important... 

( keypad chimes ) 

Hello? 

( line beeping ) 

( sighs ) 

( upbeat music playing ) 

Ramit: All right. 

Millie and Christian, a young couple from New Jersey.

Let's look at their individual amounts.

 Let's start with Christian. 

This is an investment account... valued at... wow. $253,000. Okay. 

And... Well, this is insane. 

Look at this. 

It's grown by $78,000 in one year. 

A 28.57% return. 

That's actually pretty amazing. 

Usually, you can expect an average of about 7 to 8% returns per year. 

All right, I'm gonna move on to Millie. 

So she's got $23,000. 

That's a lot of money sitting around in checking/savings, but let's see. 

Show me your Vanguard numbers. Let's get to it. 

All right, love that this person has a Vanguard account. 

You show me somebody with private wealth managers and the type of fees they charge, I start getting suspicious.

You show me somebody with Vanguard, I go, "This person knows what's up," because it's low fees. 

So $32,000, and of that money, 92% of it is in stocks. 

I'm impressed. 

Okay. What do they have together? 

Joint checking, 2,000 bucks. 

Joint credit cards, $6,800 balance. 

Okay, good. Paid it all off. 

Oh. ( chuckles ) 

Okay, lots of Home Depot purchases. And, uh, Target, Walmart, Shop-Rite... 

This is like suburban heaven. 

Next. 

Oh, that's what I suspected. 

Robinhood? 

Robinhood's fine. 

But you shouldn't be using it. 

Robinhood is meant to encourage people to trade. 

It looks beautiful. 

Here's this app, and if you download it, you'll get a free share. 

"Start trading today!" 

And you go, "Oh my God. This is free?" 

"I think I'll do it."

Don't do it. It's a trap. 

You might make a lot of money in the short-term, but over the long-term, you're almost certainly gonna lose money. 

Day traders buy when things are hot. 

They sell when things are down. 

They're like the worst type of investors in the world. 

But that's what people think investing is. Trading and selling and buying.

They're incurring fees. They're incurring taxes. 

They're basically losing money, but it seems exciting along the way. 

Investing should be boring! 

Okay? 

You set up your investments to happen automatically. 

Once a month, money goes automatically into your investment accounts. 

It's automatically allocated. 

And then you know what you do? 

You turn off the computer... and you get on with your life. 

'Cause a rich life is lived outside the spreadsheet. 

All right, let's take a look at what's going on in here. 

So the most amount in here, $54,000, is in DraftKings on margin.

Okay... so we're gonna gamble, are we? 

It's funny that this is joint, by the way. 

I can't think of a couple that would want their portfolio to look like this, but whatever. 

Your rich life is yours. 

So Christian makes $130,000, and Millie makes roughly $35,000. 

The good news is they seem to have pretty good money. 

There just seems to be a slight disconnect between what they're doing individually and what they're doing together. 

( tires screech ) 

♪ I want it all I want the best or nothing at all ♪ 

♪ I want it all Give me this, give me that... ♪ 

Millie: I'm so nervous. 

Christian: Don't be nervous, girl. 

Just trying to pick his brain. 

"Ramit, make us rich."

( chuckles ) 

( upbeat music continues ) 

Ramit: Hey, Millie? 

Nice to meet you. 

Nice to meet you. 

I'm Millie. 

Christian. 

Welcome to our home. 

Thanks for having me. 

I wanted to be a part of this process because we had all these goals. 

We weren't reaching them fast enough. 

So I was hoping that Ramit could help us figure out what we're doing wrong. 

So how did the two of you meet? 

In high school. 

Ramit: Oh, really? Wow. 

Christian: Yes. 

Millie: We started dating after high school, but met in high school. 

So it's gonna be 12 years this year. 

Twelve years? 

And are you married? 

Not yet. 

We're engaged. Our wedding is in November. 

Oh, that's great. How long has the engagement been? 

A while. Yeah. 

Christian: 2018? 

July 2018. 

Okay.

We wanted to buy property first. 

Ramit: Ah, okay. 

Do you own this place? 

Millie: We do. 

Ramit: Okay, congrats. 

Christian: We have tenants. 

Nice. 

Upstairs, it's a three-bedroom. 

Ramit: Okay. 

Downstairs, it's a two-bedroom. 

Ramit: Okay. 

This house cost how much? 

We purchased it for $460,000. 

Okay. How much every month? 

When we initially purchased it, it was 3,000... like 200 a month. 

3,400 was the mortgage. 

And the two tenants, what do they pay? 

So the tenant upstairs right now is paying $2,120, and then the ones downstairs pay $2,000. 

Wow. 

So you're profiting on this. Every month. 

Because it's not even 3,400 anymore. 

We refinanced, and now it's much less. 

What is your interest rate, out of curiosity? 

Right now, we refinanced to a 2.375... 

Oh! 

...from a 4.375. 

That's crazy. 

So you're saving tons every single month. 

Plus the profit.

Yeah. 

I've been accused of being anti-home ownership, but that is not true. 

Christian and Millie are a great example of responsible homeowners. 

They treated it like an investment, they ran their numbers, they know their expenses, and they are making a profit each month. 

That is a good example of being a homeowner and an investor in real estate, and doing it the right way. 

What is your current income? 

I make $130,000 dollars a year, salaried job. 

Okay. 

And Millie, what about you? 

Mine is very, um, like, sales-based. 

Ramit: Mm-hmm. 

So it just depends on the sales that I make. 

So what would you say, on average, you make in a year? 

On average? 

Maybe like 30,000? 

$30,000 a year? 

$30,000 a year. Okay. And what about your investments? 

So, I have a 401(k) with my job. 

Ramit: Mm-hmm. 

And then we each have an IRA. 

Ramit: Mm-hmm. 

And then I like to play golf, so me and my friend were out on the golf course, and he was telling me how he was selling puts and all these things about puts and calls, and it just interests me. 

( pensive music playing ) 

Oh my God. 

Puts and calls? 

Christian is options trading, which no individual investor should basically be doing. 

It's like walking in a casino and saying, "I got a system. I'm gonna win." 

Mmm, no, you're not. 

It might take a day, it might take a month, but you are going to lose. 

We're playing, and he goes, "Hey, so, you know how the pandemic is hitting and everything's shutting down, right?" 

"Well, I'm gonna buy a ton of calls on Zoom." 

Okay. 

Christian: Right? 'Cause everything's gonna shut down and we're all going to Zoom, right?" 

So, literally, I bought $30,000 worth of calls on Zoom. 

And I know what happened to Zoom. 

And in a span of four days, uh, those $30,000 became $150,000. 

Yes. 

What did you feel at that moment? 

Oh, we were ecstatic. 

Yeah.

We were shaking looking at the account. 

Like, "We need to put our money here." 

Forget the savings. 

Like, get it out of the savings account. 

It needs to go here. 

What'd you do? 

Christian: We left the money in, and it started to go down. 

Tell me the numbers. 

So, it went from 150,000 in profit to 100,000, like, in the span of a week. 

So, I told Millie, I was like, "Let's move half of that, invest in the S&P 500." 

So you have half of it in S&P... Yeah. ...and then half of it is where? 

Christian: Is... tied up in DraftKings stock. 

And we've lost a lot of money. 

You have. I'm shocked. 

My plan was not to leave it in DraftKings for long. 

But then it just kept going down and down and down, and now we're like... 

$80,000 worth in the hole. Like... 

What does that mean? 

Now it's worth about $20,000. 

You never told me that. 

Why didn't you tell me that? 

You didn't know that till now? 

I didn't.

Then talk amongst yourselves. 

I wanna hear... 

Oh, this is not good. 

Um... 

( chuckles ) 

( upbeat music playing ) 

♪ Never turn your back on your dreams ♪ 

♪ Never hesitate to believe ♪ 

♪ The power is in you and in me ♪ 

♪ One step at a time This became our reality ♪ 

♪ Shine ♪ 

♪ Shine, shine, shine, shine ♪ 

♪ Shine, shine, shine, shine ♪ 

♪ Shine, shine Shine, shine, shine, shine ♪ 

( song fades )