251. "We own a $1M house but can’t pay for groceries"

Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi

Ramit Sethi

Business, Relationships, Society & Culture, Investing

4.6 • 124 Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 97 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich talks to John and Victoria in a follow-up episode. This couple, in their thirties with three children and a home in suburban New York, is facing severe financial challenges with 97% fixed costs and over $100K in non-mortgage debt. In their last session, Ramit highlighted the urgency of their situation, presenting them with two stark choices: sell their house and clear debt, or double down on income and aggressive cuts. They chose to keep their house, which required Victoria to return to work, both of them to significantly increase their earnings, and drastically cut spending. Ramit challenged them to implement these changes within two months. This episode reveals how John and Victoria fared in those crucial eight weeks. Did they truly embrace change, or did old habits resurface? In this episode we uncover: • Their initial feelings after the first money coaching session • The surprising reason for Victoria's job loss • How they managed to cut $500 from their grocery bill • Why John thinks dry cleaning is a necessity • Ramit's radical advice on debt repayment versus savings • The true meaning of "rich life" for John and Victoria • How their childhood money beliefs impact their present • The hidden challenge of Victoria's student loans • Their struggle with an external vs. internal locus of control • The danger of a financial plan that requires 100% perfection Chapters: (00:00:00) The desperation that led to an application to Ramit (00:03:00) How a hotel bill leads to a missed mortgage payment (00:05:25) The once-a-year money conversation (00:10:47) The devastating results of Victoria’s annual money spreadsheet (00:19:18) Justifying thousands in Amazon purchases with high debt (00:28:15) Understanding their $600K net worth and zero liquidity (00:35:10) The crushing reality of 97% fixed costs (01:10:46) Victoria’s inherited money trauma fuels her avoidance (01:19:40) The importance of taking decisive action (01:21:05) The couple’s future plans This episode is brought to you by: Facet | As of the date of this recording, Facet is waiving the enrollment fee for new annual members, and for my audience, Facet is offering $300 into your brokerage account if you invest and maintain $5,000 within your first 90 days. Head to facet.com/ramit to learn more about which membership option is best for you. Offer expires March 31, 2026. #FacetAd MasterClass | For unlimited access to every class and an additional 15% off any annual membership, go to https://masterclass.com/ramit Fabric by Gerber Life | Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/ramit Netsuite | Get the free guide “Demystifying AI” at https://netsuite.com/ramit 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 If you or your partner get stressed spending $150 on dinner, or are covering up spending, 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	Okay, let's say you want to retire, but your partner isn't sure that it's time. Maybe they say, what if we don't have enough? But you say, what if I want to start living my rich life right now? If this sounds like you and your partner and you are not on the same page about retirement, I want to talk. I love talking to couples about these big life changes. And sometimes it's not really the numbers that are the problem,
0:22.9	but there's an unaddressed dynamic in the relationship.
0:26.2	We are currently casting couples for the next season of this podcast.
0:29.8	This is basically a free three-hour coaching session call with me.
0:33.6	You can apply right now at IWT.com slash apply to be considered. That's IWT.com
0:40.6	slash apply. Previously on money for couples, you will probably lose your house. You're spending
0:47.2	more than you make. You're running out of savings. We need to make better decisions on
0:51.0	how we're spending. Anything that doesn't get directly applied to our debt doesn't keep us in this house, basically.
0:58.7	You're spending 97% of take-home pay on fixed costs alone.
1:02.0	You are broke.
1:03.2	Yeah, we are.
1:05.1	Severe danger.
1:07.1	Red flag.
1:08.4	Stop everything.
1:09.9	What do you want to do?
1:11.6	Last week I spoke with John and Victoria, a couple in their 30s with three kids and a home in suburban New York that they are desperately trying to keep.
1:19.6	On paper, they have a net worth of over $600,000, but almost all of it is trapped in their house.
1:26.6	And here's the reality, 97% fixed costs,
1:30.8	which means they are spending more than they make every single month.
1:35.1	Their savings is just $1,155.
1:39.0	That's less than one weeks of expenses if John loses his job.
1:43.4	And they're carrying roughly $100,000 in non-mortgage
	...

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