Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi

Today’s couple is actually on the same page when it comes to their Rich Life, but they’re not making much progress toward it. Alex brings in $70k from a full time job. Charlotte runs their joint business that isn’t making much money yet, but should be soon. They both know what they want, they just have different perspectives on how to get there. Despite their income recently doubling, they are liv...

How do you manage your finances when your monthly pay is inconsistent? Vince makes around $300k a year in the mortgage industry, while Kasey focuses on raising their kids at home. Despite that rather high average income, the actual monthly takeaway is incredibly variable—one month could be $25k, the next month just $2k. That uncertainty is causing Kasey a lot of stress. On top of that, Vince’s inc...

Making a lot of money is surprisingly easy. But if you’ve lived with too little of it most of your life, getting over the fear of spending it can be another story completely. Nicole and Michael have a combined net worth of over $5.7 million—yet they find themselves arguing over the price of a minor car repair. Nicole has crippling anxiety when it comes to spending any amount of money, no matter ho...

It’s common knowledge that building a business takes time—but how long should you be willing to wait? Rob works a full-time job. Olivia is split between part-time work and her own business. Rob doesn’t think her business is making enough money and has been urging Olivia to call it a loss and get a “real job.” He thinks her entrepreneurial dreams are holding them back from making their current real...

By now, you know: living a Rich Life is more about mindset than money.  Look at today’s couple, Jack and Rachel. Following the principles described in I Will Teach You to Be Rich, they’ve managed to turn a $150k income into over $5 million in savings! Despite that, Rachel finds it difficult to actually spend the money—she doesn’t truly believe it’s there. She thinks that, with one wrong move, it c...

Alex and Nicole are getting married this summer and plan to start a family in a few years. That much, they know. How they’ll get there is another question. Nicole doesn’t want to deal with finances—she prefers to ignore it. Alex, on the other hand, is in the position of having to handle finances on her own for the both of them. Naturally, that leads to stress and resentment. Delegating financial r...

Rebecca and John are both attorneys and make good money. While John makes more, he’s legally obligated to pay around $70k annually in alimony and insurance tied to a past divorce settlement.  On top of that, his income can vary widely, making the future difficult to plan for—and he has debt. He’s 61 but sees no way he can retire any time soon.  They’re dealing with not only the very real financial...

Money can be a way of showing love, but what happens when you’re spending money you don’t have? Does spending any less mean you love the people in your life any less?  It seems simple, sometimes it’s not. Meet Jessica and Javier. She’s tried to help him with his financial literacy, but Javier only knows how to show love through spending. Unfortunately, his love is bigger than his paycheck. Not onl...

Sarah and Nat are physical therapists that are making things too hard for themselves. The enormous cost of education coupled with relatively low pay has left them burdened with debt that colors every decision they make—including whether or not to have more children. They’ve spent ten years worrying about it but are still without a decent plan. I want to help them discover what it would look like t...

Ashley and Josh have come to a stark conclusion: That if they can’t manage to find some common ground in their financial struggles, their relationship has no future. They both earn roughly the same amount of money. Besides this huge roadblock, they see a path to marriage and children. But they can’t come to an agreement about who pays for date night. Even worse, individually, neither of them has a...

Ashley and Josh both have high incomes but they find themselves arguing about who pays for what. Like a few past guests, Ashley thinks certain things are the man’s responsibility to pay for, but Josh wants a partnership. He feels like her spending is more out of obligation than true togetherness. These unspoken expectations are toxic. They’re eating away at what they both like about being together...

Martin and Arly feel suffocated by mounting interest on their debt and are jaded by the corporate world. Martin earns $125,000, but Arly is selling essential oils in a network marketing business (read: SCAM!). With $300 coming in every month, this venture is going nowhere very quickly.  The solution seems painstakingly obvious, but their internal narrative is shortcutting their logic. I’m going to...

Today is part two with John + Lindsey, and progress on finding a solution that sticks for the couple is slow. Listen to how John gets riled up with rage and resentment when I ask him simple questions. I don’t think he gets it. We need a dramatic solution to pull him through this mess.   Will getting into the weeds help them interact on the same page again? Or will his past cloud John and Lindsey’s...

Lindsey and John are stuck. Despite earning a joint income of $150,000, John’s debt is crippling their relationship and financial future. They respond by self-soothing. John runs on auto-pilot avoidance strategies and refuses to get honest about his situation. Lindsey distracts herself with mindless spending sprees at Target.  But neither are working together on a sustainable solution. It’s time t...

It’s time to create a plan of action for Brad and Becca’s unsophisticated spending habits that we learned about in part one. I want to get them away from the gimmicks of monthly payments and immediate gratification, and instead push them to carve out a Rich Life vision that goes beyond getting to zero debt. There will be resistance. The question is, will Brad be willing to lean into it, even if it...

Brad and Becca are in debt. Lots of it. Together they make $105,000 a year, but Brad makes impulsive flash purchases on credit cards. There is no saving, no long-term plan–only short bursts of gratification.  This is not how you build a Rich Life. I want to get them out of this unsophisticated loop with money, but is Brad finally willing to listen?  Connect with Ramit Website Instagram Twitter Fac...

Most people think if they earned 25-50% more, all their money problems would disappear.  Katie and Shawn are a living example that that’s not true.  They earn almost half a million dollars per year, so there is no reason they should be arguing over a $600 Roomba. Their world is not in sync with their income.  So why does Katie obsessively penny-pinch and prepare for the worst? Let’s just say it ha...

It all started with a splurge at Target. Tami spent $250 and tried to hide it from her husband, Mike. He likes to make digs and police her spending habits. She likes to make jokes about his bad purchases. They’re sparring over gas station snacks and unused kayaks, and each “win” gives them the satisfaction of saying, “I told you so.” These seemingly minor annoyances are covering much deeper resent...

My conversation with Mira and Dan was supposed to be about tax returns. He hasn't filed his yet, and it's making Mira feel insecure, anxious, and unsafe. Dan wants her to relax and trust him for once!  I knew something else was amiss here, but I was shocked to see how fast the conversation took a turn.  Connect with Ramit Website Instagram Twitter Facebook YouTube Linkedin If you and your partner...

Meet Gemma and Jack. Jack believes that people who delegate certain tasks, like cleaning and laundry, are lazy. It’s one of his many strong opinions that’s causing a wedge in their relationship.  Recently, he refused to hire movers because it was a “waste of money.” As frustrating as they are, listen to the layers behind his financial opinions. They have a household income of $200k, but it’s not a...

On paper, saving for maternity leave shouldn’t be an issue for Hannia and Alex. She earns $100,000 a year, but she likes to spend her money as soon as payday arrives. She plays many subconscious tricks (I call it the “Innocent Doe” technique) to justify a $300 drop at Target and her Old Navy credit card debt.  Let’s disregard the distractions. What’s the real reason why Hannia cannot save money? A...

Lauren and Alex bring in $425,000 a year, and they’ve just invested in a $1.3 million dollar home. Alex feels like they’re flying high, but Lauren’s lost her sense of security. She wants to save for a beach house in Carmel, not invest in double-glazing windows. Their savings plan has gone awry, and all she can hear is her father’s phrase “It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you save” every t...

Alexandra and Brandon have a household income of $135,000. Alex just handed in her one week’s notice, but she still has financial needs, and she’s scared to broach the subject of spending money on herself with her husband. As we talk, it becomes apparent that self-agency has been absent from other aspects of their lives. From their relationship to career choices, both have been playing by everyone...

This is part two with Charles and Michelle. He has a net worth of well over $10 million but still uses someone else’s Netflix password. After 21 years, Michelle has reached her limit with his relentless cheapness. Charles is trying to rewrite his internal money story, but after years of playing the “I’m not the kind of guy who blows money on X, Y, Z,” card, he still worries about extreme what-if s...

Charles and his wife, Michelle, are worth $10 million, and he earns over $2 million a year--but he’s cheap. So cheap, he still insists on sharing someone else’s Netflix password.  Michelle has been pushed to the limit. Divorce is on the cards unless things change. She wants to start with landscaping the backyard, but I want to investigate the roots of this invisible script that’s costing him his m...