Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi

262. "We make $167k. Why do we feel poor?"


Listen Later

Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich talks to Drew and Amanda, a married couple earning around $167,000 a year with a net worth of over $800,000.

On paper, they look financially successful but behind the scenes, their fixed costs are dangerously high, their savings are low, and their spending decisions are causing tension in the relationship.

Drew admits he struggles with spending, while Amanda finds it difficult to say no, leaving them stuck in a pattern where money feels stressful instead of empowering.

In this episode we uncover:

• Their household income of around $167,000 a year

• Why they still feel financially stretched despite a strong net worth

• Their surprisingly low savings compared with their assets

• How fixed costs reached around 89% of their gross income

• Drew’s struggle with spending and impulse decisions

• Amanda’s difficulty saying no without feeling like the “bad guy”

• The hidden relationship dynamic behind their financial stress

• Why eating out 6–8 times a week became a major spending leak

• The role of bonuses in justifying bigger spending decisions

• Amanda’s childhood experiences with financial instability

• Drew’s “you only live once” money mindset

• How their daughter is learning from their financial behaviour

• Ramit’s challenge for them to stop making emotional money decisions

• Why vacations may need to pause while they rebuild savings

• Their plan to create a family money philosophy and emergency fund


⏩ CHAPTERS

(00:03:15) Why Drew applied to the podcast

(00:07:00) The hidden decision-making problem

(00:10:30) Why they don’t feel like a team with money

(00:16:15) Their financial numbers revealed

(00:21:15) The reality of their household income

(00:29:25) Fixed costs are the real problem

(00:33:10) The truth about eating out

(00:35:50) How bonuses fuel spending

(00:39:30) The couple who struggle to say no

(00:45:30) Amanda’s childhood money story

(00:56:30) Their inherited money beliefs

(00:58:20) Starting their Rich Life vision

(01:04:00) Pausing vacations to rebuild stability

(01:10:00) Drew practices saying no

(01:16:30) Amanda’s role changes

(01:20:30) Cutting subscriptions and eating out

(01:29:30) Redirecting money toward savings

(01:36:00) Creating a family money philosophy

(01:44:30) Ramit’s final advice


THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Shopify | Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at https://shopify.com/ramit

Gelt | Book a tax consultation with Gelt at https://joingelt.com/ramit. As a member of my community, you can skip the waitlist

DeleteMe | Get 20% off all consumer plans when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/ramit and use promo code RAMIT at checkout

Wispr Flow | Try Wispr Flow for free at wisprflow.ai/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


Calling LA couples: Apply to be coached for free on this podcast at https://iwt.com/apply

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Money For Couples with Ramit SethiBy Ramit Sethi

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

3,308 ratings


More shows like Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi

View all
Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices by Paula Pant, Personal Finance Expert | Cumulus Podcast Network

Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

3,565 Listeners

Money Guy Show by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson

Money Guy Show

3,242 Listeners

The Stacking Benjamins Show by Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP

The Stacking Benjamins Show

2,000 Listeners

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi by Farnoosh Torabi

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

1,955 Listeners

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky by Jean Chatzky Her Money

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

1,479 Listeners

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast by ChooseFI

ChooseFI | Financial Independence Podcast

5,156 Listeners

BiggerPockets Money Podcast by BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

3,081 Listeners

Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen) by Suze Orman Media

Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)

297 Listeners

The Personal Finance Podcast by Andrew Giancola

The Personal Finance Podcast

1,435 Listeners

All the Hacks: Money, Points & Life by Chris Hutchins

All the Hacks: Money, Points & Life

1,615 Listeners

Mile High FI Podcast by Doug Cunnington & Carl Jensen

Mile High FI Podcast

205 Listeners

Financial Feminist by Her First $100K

Financial Feminist

6,469 Listeners

The Money with Katie Show by Morning Brew

The Money with Katie Show

1,540 Listeners

Catching Up to FI by Bill Yount & Jackie Cummings Koski

Catching Up to FI

357 Listeners

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

1,788 Listeners