250. "We spend 97% of what we make—and can’t stop"

Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi

Ramit Sethi

Business, Relationships, Society & Culture, Investing

4.6 • 124 Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 85 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich talks to John and Victoria, a couple in their thirties with three children who own a home they adore in the suburbs of New York. Despite a beautiful house and growing family, their financial reality is grim. They are facing a structural financial problem, with 97% of their take-home pay consumed by fixed costs and less than a week's worth of savings. Ramit helps them confront the deep-seated issues that are keeping them in a constant state of financial precarity, from their avoidance of tough money conversations to inherited money scripts from childhood. Can John and Victoria break free from their cycle of justification and short-term thinking to secure their family's future, or will their dream home remain their biggest financial burden? In this episode we uncover: • How 97% fixed costs lead to a desperate financial situation • The role of a vacation in triggering their mortgage payment crisis • Their alarming "once a year" approach to discussing money • The mental gymnastics behind their Amazon purchases • A revealing peek at their "money wishlist" revealing crazy renovation plans • The shocking truth about their combined total net worth • The impact of a significant annual financial gift on their spending habits • Victoria's avoidance of medical bills and connection to her mother's money habits • Ramit's candid warning about their path to losing their home • The critical choice they face: the house or their financial stability Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction (00:02:37) The Mortgage Crisis and Vacation Spending (00:07:45) Their "Once a Year" Money Talks (00:16:14) The Amazon Justification and Money Wishlist (00:25:10) A High Net Worth, Zero Liquidity (00:30:15) The Emotional Cost of Financial Struggle (00:41:50) The True Cost of Their Grocery Spending (00:48:10) Understanding Their Credit Card Debt (01:09:31) Ramit's Dire Warning: The Threat to Their Home (01:13:07) A Fork in the Road: House vs. Financial Stability This episode is brought to you by: DeleteMe | Get 20% off all consumer plans when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/ramit and use promo code RAMIT at checkout Superhuman Mail | Turn your inbox into momentum. Sign up at https://superhuman.com/ramit3. Gusto | Try Gusto at http://gusto.com/ramit and get 3 months free when you run your first payroll Trust & Will | Protect what matters most in minutes at https://trustandwill.com/ramit and get 10% off plus free shipping ZocDoc | Go to https://zocdoc.com/ramit to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today #sponsored Connect with Ramit • Get my new book, Money For Couples • Get Money Coaching with Ramit • Download the Conscious Spending Plan • Listen to my book—now on Audible • Get my New York Times best-selling book • Get my no-numbers journal • Other episodes • Instagram • Twitter • YouTube Do you want to retire in the next 5 years but wonder if you have enough? If so, I'd like to help. Apply to be coached for free on this podcast at iwt.com/apply

Transcript

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0:00.0	Does this sound like you? You want to retire in the next five years, but you're wondering if you have enough.
0:06.6	Do you have enough saved? What if something unexpected happens? Can you actually travel the way you want in your retirement?
0:13.5	If this is you, I want to help. You can apply to get coached for free on this podcast. Apply today at IWT.com slash apply.
0:23.4	That's IWT.com slash apply.
0:26.2	How do you reconcile having $55,000 of credit card debt
0:31.1	and still buying thousands of dollars of Amazon purchases every week?
0:35.8	You avoid it.
0:36.9	I just don't open them out.
0:38.9	You ever say no?
0:39.9	To myself, no.
0:41.3	You're spending 97% of take-home pay on fixed costs alone.
0:44.5	You are broke.
0:45.8	Yeah, we are.
0:47.4	We barely paid the mortgage.
0:49.6	That was the story of my childhood, avoiding financial responsibility.
0:56.2	Our expenses are more than his income,
1:01.8	and that's why it's crushing. The credit card of interest is killing us. You have less than one week's worth of savings with three kids. What does that tell you? We're not doing this right.
1:08.3	Severe danger. Red flag.
1:11.3	We can maybe worry about that in a few years.
1:13.1	We don't have a few years.
1:14.7	I don't even know if we have a few weeks.
1:18.1	Today I'm speaking with John and Victoria.
	...

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