Wife Brought $100,000 Of Private Student Loans Into Marriage | Financial Audit

Hi, my [music] name is Brandon and I'm. 29 years old. My name is Lucy. I am 30 years old and. we're based out of Elicate City, Maryland [music]. and this is Financial Audit. All right, so we'll start with you. What do you do. for a living right now? I am a high school art teacher. Ooh, the arts. I studied music in. college for a little bit before I. decided. uh not apparently. Uh what do you what. do you make in that position? Um like in that position? Um I believe. it's going up to 448.

something 800 something. Um it just went. up this September. From what? From 41500. And I'm sorry just one more time for me. Where are you guys based out of? Elicate City. Uh. I work in Essex, Maryland. Oh, Maryland. Oo. Northeast. Very. expensive. Yeah. $44,000. How long have you been in this position? This is my second year. [snorts]. Okay, that makes sense. That makes. sense. And what do you do? So, I don't really have a job title, but. I work with a autistic gentleman who's a.

few older years older than I am. And I. shuttle him back and forth to our work. Uh, just one person. Mhm. 5 days a week. And I usually. average about 40 hours a week at $28 an. hour. Okay. So, just driving this one person. back and forth is 40 hours a week. Well, no. I I drive him to and from work. and then complete the work with him. at the job. So. Oh, very cool. What is this? I know you. said it doesn't have a title, but what. is a title that this job might be.

called? Cuz I've never heard of it, but. it's really cool. So, for context, uh I've been working uh. with my father and an inhome model train. e-commerce business since. 2016, I believe. And we've been doing. that just ever since uh the great. financial crisis after everything kind. of tanked through. The great financial crisis. indeed. Um but I've been doing that with. him ever since uh after he left his. original job when we moved to Maryland. and I just kind of picked that up after. coming out of high school and doing a.

little bit of community college business. courses and decided to get some more. practical experience. So, we grew that. out and then about 3 years ago, uh, this. kid that came along with us, his name is. Ross. And he just kind of melded with. us. He worked with us a couple days a. week. And then once COVID hit, then I. started working with his parents to say, "Hey, I can still bring him 5 days a. week over to the shop so he can lead a. fulfilling life and he can enjoy himself. doing what he does with us." And it's. matured into a bit of a.

So, who's paying you? The business or. this person's pay? I get paid through. the business from a state funded program. uh that works directly with uh the kid. and his parents through a self-directed. program. Uh you think he's living that fulfilling. life with this? You know, you said that. was kind of the intent. Oh yeah. Every day. Cuz I mean the. hardest thing for especially with uh. people of autism to his level of degree. is that they just it's hard finding. someone to really work with them or a.

job that can really give them a. fulfilling task. So he's not just. sitting there doing the same task over. and over again for four or five hours. volunteering. You know, he's actually. I'm working with him. He's helping me do. tasks. I'm helping him kind of push him. a little bit to be a bit of a better. person cuz he likes to be lazy. He'd. rather fall asleep if he wants to, but. he loves trains. He loves working with. us. We've developed a really great. friendship uh in a relationship with his. parents and it's just been a really nice. thing for the last few years. And if you like trains, you should hit. the subscribe button. And if you don't. like trains, you should hit the.

subscribe button cuz we're trying to get. to 750,000 subscribers. Thank you to. everyone who has subscribed so far. I. know you guys are. So, thank you very. much. So, saying taking two weeks off a. year, that's $56,000 a year. Does that. feel about right? Yeah, that'd be about right. Um, so. that's. How much money does this train business. bring in? I don't really know per se. I don't do. all the numbers. That's what my father. does. Yeah. Oh, okay. Are you inheriting it? I'm kind of. in the process of buying it out at this. point. Wait, how are you how are you possibly.

in the process of buying it out without. even knowing what it comes in? Why would. you even start that process if you don't. even know what comes in? You you'll find out later. Yeah. When we start going through our. financial statements, you'll find that. out. Okay. Well, what is our financial. situation today? Cuz I know there's some. disagreements. There's some disconnect. I think you I don't remember. You might. be the spender. You might be the debt. holder. I'm also the spender. Oh, okay. Well, she used to be the big spender. Yeah, but he kind of cut that off a.

little bit. Well, he cut that off. So, this wasn't like a joint agreement. thing. This was like a. This was more of a It was more of like a. financial coming out party two years ago. when we found out all of the um student. debt that she had laid up that I didn't. know about. You were already married? No, we got we got married two weeks ago. Dating? Yeah. Congratulations. No, it's actually 3 weeks. Three weeks. Okay. Wow. standing corrected. Um, no, we were dating like over four. maybe 3 years, but it kind came to.

light. Okay. Mhm. Yeah, we were dating for a long time. What do you mean it came to light? What'. that look like? Well, when I actually had to start. dealing with it and like my parents had. been working on it or paying off what I. thought and then [gasps]. after I graduated Yeah. And then after I. graduated with my master's degree, I had. to start paying for it. Masters, it's always the arts. The arts are just. they go in that a neverending cycle of. degree, degree, degree. I got my terminal degree, so I don't. need to go back to school anytime soon. You teach high schoolers.

I do. Did you need a master's degree to teach. high school? Yes, cuz I don't have a teaching. certificate or teaching license. So, I. have. What was your bachelor degree in. studio art with a minor in our history? So, I got the master's degree to teach. at a private school. So, what was the original intent with. the bachelor degree? was to teach or to. get into school or could because I. worked at a um art center for a little. bit and I did well at that but then I. wanted to travel so I found a job. traveling with an art gallery on a.

cruise ship and then yeah I know I had a. crazy life. Um and then. actually sounds pretty cool. It it was a sales job. I'm not a sales. person. Yeah, that's what that's the issue. Yeah. Um but I learned a lot. learned that I'm. not a salesperson. and then I got to retail then got into. the grad program still working through. retail while I was there. So. the bachelor degree was at a Republican. state. No, it was at a liberal arts school. [snorts]. Yeah. And the masters.

was at a art school. So liberal arts. Yeah. In Portland, Maine. In Portland, Maine. But we paid that. out. We didn't take a loan for that one. So. you're going to change your mind when. you see how much it is though. Well, the. loan is just the undergrad. What's the financial picture today? Where are we sitting as a couple? And. what would we rate ourselves as a. couple? 0 to 10. So, financial situation is we're living. pretty cheaply right now. I mean, after. I saw all this debt kind of come into. the light, I realized that, okay, we've. got a lot. Yeah, we'll get into that later. But, so.

once we realized that, um, yeah, I. realized that we need to really take. things down a little bit. There were. some other spending habits that we had. to pay off to try and kind of balance. out the financial relationship. We talk about you a lot. Where's your. head? I'm not great financially. I'm not. financial literate at all. So, Oh, okay. She's dyslexic, so between letters and. numbers, it's not very fun. The literacy makes sense, but in terms. of like the overall group project of.

finances, are you guys not together on. this thing? You're officially married. now. He is in charge of. we are we are now. It was definitely in. a very bad place uh about maybe like I. don't know 7 8 months to about a little. over a year ago but it's gotten a lot. better since and well for a financial. score. I mean I don't know it kind of. depends whether or not you factor in her. debt. So I'm going to say I'm going to. say like. why would the debt not be a thing? The. debt's a thing isn't it? Again you'll find out more about that. later. Um but I I give us a four out of.

10. Let's find out about four out of 10. Okay. Okay, let's find out about that. now. Then loan balances at 4%. I see. $20,000, $3,400, $29,000, and $41,000. What are those things? Oh, those are. student debt. This is just student debt. This is. Paige. Oh, no. The credit card as well. It's also worth noting that we had a lot. of purchases go on that credit card for. the wedding. The wedding was on the last, but most of that most of that's pretty. much gone by now. Why you guys you and the last couple. from the episode though was just. uploaded. Weddings. Wait, no. Two.

couples ago. Weddings expensive. Okay, these loan balances are 4%. That's. chill. This is a lot of these are all. individual federal student loans. No. No. They're all from Sally May, but at 4%. Not all of them. Four of them are. The other four are. not. They had to We had to split payments. between my my father and I. So, I pay a. portion and he pays a portion. Why does your dad pay? because they're. the ones that took it out to begin with.

Co-signed under him. Oh, they're co-signed. Yeah. Death. Okay. And I think the total. minimum monthly payments are around. $2,000 a month. A month. Cuz four of the loans are at 4%. but the other four are variable interest. rates and they're probably close to like. 13.5 almost 14% right now. I'm like that is absolute death. That's. garbage. Trash. Insane asylum. Jeez. That's stupid. Even the ones at 4%. add all the way up to 95 stupid,52.92.

So what are the minimum monthly payment? What are the minimum monthly payments. for. that I'm making? Um it's. the 4% ones. I just want to know the 4%. ones. What are the minimum? It is just under $600. Yeah. For all those combined. for all four of those. [snorts]. Jeez. For. I have nothing against the arts. I have. nothing [laughter] against the odds, but. this is not the way to do it. I know. So, so the original principal amount was.

$120,000 across these eight loans, but. they were all taken out by her parents, not her. She never knew how much was. actually taken out. She just went to the school and they. said, "Well, don't worry. We'll help. make sure we gets paid for." And that. was in the form of all the student. loans. So, she knew there were student. loans. She just didn't know how much. conversation needs to happen around this. as a society where the parents number. one goal for their kids is to get into. college and nothing else and it's bad. and then they'll do anything in order to. make it happen. That's why parents shouldn't pay for. your school. Well, parents can do whatever the they.

want, but there just needs to be a. different conversation and different. understanding around what options are. for individuals. It's not a. one-sizefits-all situation of everyone. going to school. So, the 15,000. Oh, okay. One second. the $15,247. at oh 14.25%. That's insanity. What's the minimum. monthly payment for that? I don't know. We would have to pull out her computer. to actually look that up because I.

wasn't able to generate just a single. statement. At some point about 4 months. ago, it went from creating a single. statement for all eight loans to like. dividing them up. So, she'd have to. actually show you them on her computer. What's this? the single $15,247.39. at 14.25. Oh yeah, that's probably on my father's. side. I would have to I know it's like. over. what? He pays for that only only. Hey, he he pays for that. Like again, it's divided up into two. separate. So he pays for a portion, I. pay for a portion down the middle. No,

he pays more. So she we're paying the 4% loans right. now. I had there was a conversation that. we spoke with them about maybe a little. over a year ago where it's like look we. can handle the 4% loans right now and. we'll pay those off but we can't handle. the balances on the on the variable. interest rate. What does he do? He's a meteorologist for the National. Weather Service. So you make good money? Yeah, he's it's steady. He's also going. to try to retire in a couple years. You want him retiring with this? No, I don't. Because we have other Sally.

May $56,91.93. at who knows minimum payment probably. debt stupidity at 14.625%. interest rate during the two and a half. was it 2 and 1/2 or 3 years you were at. graduate school. So during that whole. time they had assumed that the loans. were paused while she was going to. continue her education. They weren't. And so that's why I said originally it. was 120,000 in original principal and it. ballooned up to about I think 165 or 170.

something,000 during those few years. because debt just continued acrewing. Interest kept being charged and it. tacked on late payment fees. Gosh. See it's a it's a it's a total cluster. A Chase card $6,9 is what's owed on now. It was $7,340. We made it $3,235. minimum. Then we went and purchased. $1,833.30. with fees charge of $7063.

Yep. Why are we financing a lot of things. through this? Cuz you're doing like. financing programs through this a lot. So minimum. the fin the financing programs, they. were payment um they were payment plan. options where I was calculating the. amount of interest that was charged per. month. and it started getting to the. point where it's starting to charge more. than 1% per month. So, at this point, I'm not operating those payment plans. anymore. What I was doing, I was I was. paying off the card every single month. um and the interest savings balance so I. could take the remaining cash and then.

use that for my uh financial investment. portfolio. So, what what's the interest rate on. these that are financed? anywhere. between two and a half to maybe 6%. depending on the um depending on the. term of three or six months or 12. the monthly fees on them. it's flat so calculated so it's a flat. fee of say 3% for 3 months that's 1% per. month. so for me it made sense to finance it. out if it was going to be less than what. I could invest it for at 10% the two.

main ones that are on there I think. they're from FCP Euro uh was when I had. to do some major uh maintenance on the. vehicle that I purchased last year. You purchased a vehicle last year and. you have to do maintenance on it. already? I knew I knew it was going to need. maintenance. What is it? It's a 2005 BMW M3. Yeah. The wine bin, some parking and rocket. rave, cupcakes, some taquito. Some. titakes was part of the wedding and. Pandora and two Levy. Yeah, you guys. still chose to spend that money. Five.

guys and two Levy again. Levy Levy. So. this card is my card. We have the fees charged of $16, $17, $22, $6, $3, $3, and $70. Even if we're. 0% fin, they're not 0% finance, but even. low percentage financing when we're. trying to get our finances under control. when we're creating these minimum these. fees that are acrewing on a monthly. basis, it can really stack up and start. getting starts making me nervous for. like the average American unless very. very very disciplined. And we already.

talked about how the whole household. itself is not on like the same plan. So I can actually show you that. So I. mean it gets p that balance gets paid. off every single month. And that's. actually. up, right? But it's my credit card. So none. of that goes to her. You can't blame her. for any of that. Um but currently. currently it's down to about $3,000. right now. It's good. Yeah. Yeah, I make sure I I hate. interest balance on that thing at 20 I. think 27.99%. Like. no, you haven't paid interest rates on.

it, but what you have paid Yeah, those. were for the plans and that's in stock. I know, but what you have paid is $24026. of fees this year. Uh we have another. card now. This card has paid off. Whose. card is this? So I know who to blame. This is mine. Well, there's really no nothing to blame. here. We did have new purchases 249, but. we don't really 241, but we don't really. keep balances on this. So, we do pay. these off. The Pill Club, Amazon, Barnes. & Noble, and some insurance, and Home. Depot. The Pill Club is my birth control, so.

Okay. Yeah. And those are paid off. Mhm. Yeah. Again, it looks like we're uh we. don't acrew any fees or interest here. No interest has been paid uh this far. Do we have any other debts. or is it just the student loans? We're. just living that student loan life. No, it's basically the student loan. life. So, here's my student loans. Um, my dad. just is laced on a payment cuz mine are. automatically taken out. [gasps]. So, yeah,

that's not good. And you're on this as well, right? Yes, we're both on here. That could your credit pass two. There's. a. m there's three payments past due. Yeah, that's that's on him. Oh, [sighs]. what? Why is. they [snorts] don't. They're very They're very kind people. They just get to be forgetful about some. things. How old is he? He's 62. He did cosign and he encouraged for her. to go into. So, I'm not going to just.

I'm not going to just put it on you that. this is a thing. This is like. This is. I got to be able to see. Yeah. [sighs]. Uh, so 223 for the 15,000. Okay, so. minimum monthly payment for the 15,000. we're at 14% is 2 Oh, nope. I wish. 332.83. Yikes. 20,000 50,000. And then for the. other two highinterest ones, dude, how.

Okay, straight up. How do you feel that. your dad is paying for this? Cuz this. I don't like it, but I know that I can't. afford it cuz I know I can't pay $2,000. a month. Like that would be my entire. paycheck. It's about 16 Yeah, 1,600, which is. wild. I I feel bad, but I I don't know what. else I can do. Yeah. I mean, for your degree. Yeah, I know. That sucks. [snorts].

A degree that he encouraged you to go to. the school and he uh cosigned. So again, the blame is not I'm not going to put. the blame on anyone specifically. It's. just like it's it's a hard situation. So. I get it. That's difficult. Certainly we want to. get he wants to retire. Mhm. Um this isn't an audit on him. I don't. know what his finances look like, but I. would just be concerned having a parent. going into retirement paying basically. 15% on what does this add up to? $70,000.

of death private student loans. Yeah, gross people going into the arts. Yeah, I'm sorry you are going through this, but thank you for coming on and being an. example for many people who are in. junior senior year of high school right. now thinking of what to do and where. they want to go and how to pay for. college and if they're going to go to. college and what what what glad you have. a job in the arts though cuz of course a. lot of people that I know that I went to. school with in the music field, you. know, they don't have jobs in the music. field. So it's like [snorts] I am glad.

you're at least kind. Are you happy with. what you're doing? Yeah, I'm happy what I'm doing. I'm. sorry. I'm getting emotional. It's okay. You are having like the most. normal reaction anyone could have. And. could be worse. You could be fishbowl. right now and be like, "What?". No, [clears throat] it's just. and it's it's a it's a good thing that. you're feeling this way because it means. you at least recognize the situation. One thing, you know, and I'm going to. I'm going to make sure the audience. knows this. I mean what you just. mentioned was essentially that did there.

a lot of odd jobs in your 20s and you. know messing around and stuff like that. What we look at and what the debt and. stuff that I talk about the spending. that I talk about is what happened in. like the most recent month and where the. debt stands today. I am not going to be. here and if I've done it in the past. that's certainly a mistake. But what I. am not going to do is sit here and be. like, "Wow, you did this a decade ago? You're so stupid." No, we're going to. talk about where we are today. what. we're doing now and what we can do in. the future. We can learn from our past, but dude, a decade ago, I was like a.

dumb piece of I was like a bully in. middle school and I was a class Yeah. Yeah. nerdy old me with my classes, bullying middle school. And I was like a. a class clown who didn't give a about. high school and I've made plenty of. endless mistakes in my life. But guess. what? That is in the past. We learn from. our past and we make up for the mistakes. by trying to do better for our own. future. You can look back. You can. learn. But we're not just going to sit.

and judge ourselves forever. I'm not. going to judge you for the past. You. hopefully wouldn't judge me for the. past. And this is how we go. It's. personal growth. That's what the show's. all about. So yes, in the moment, absolutely. This number, this is. something that we look at right now cuz. this is your present. But the point of. this show is to get over this and have a. great life of which you will have. Especially since we're in a dual income. house, this is going to help. This is going to help a lot. Now, I will. say just especially for people out there.

again, if this was just your income, this would be very scary. Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. [sighs and gasps]. And we'll talk about this afterwards. just to make sure what you feel. comfortable with and everything like. that too because I want I want to. respect your privacy and comfort and. everything like that. Um in the checking. account we ended with 27001. That's. great. Well, high pops up everywhere. What's high? $760. That's a fuel station.

That is not gas station type refilling. money. That's some like taquito. So, the. way that I had it set up was that while. gas prices were starting to rise, it. actually makes sense to purchase along. the way as it hikes up. Otherwise, you're waiting for the price to actually. be at a higher point and then you end up. paying more. So, I'm very anal about. that. So, you're. essentially betting the oil market. It worked. It worked pretty well. Good. Does it always work every single. time? No, but right now fuel prices have.

stagnated, so we don't have to worry. about that. So that pops up a lot. So does Safeway. So yeah. Okay, that makes sense. That. this this this David's bridal. That. makes sense for what just happened. Yes. Yep. [snorts]. How much did we spend on this wedding. when we have these student loans and. credit cards? Um my parents paid for most of the. wedding and his family paid for most a. part of his while he paid. and then I paid for the rest. Yeah. How much? So, see the rehearsal dinner,

post-wedding brunch at Guinness, um the cake, which we turned out we. didn't actually need. Uh and a couple. other things. I think in total I was in. around like maybe like$9 $10,000. Why no cake need? We got surprised with a train cake since. I'm in the model train business and that. was a whole spectacle. [laughter]. It was really cool. All right. Yeah. My dad wanted to surprise him. and we can show you pictures later. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, you can send us. We we'll. put it up as you were talking about that.

if you'd like. Okay. Uh Imagination something 20 bucks. I. don't know if that's like a subscription. going on. Imagination. What's that? I see. I don't know. Imagination. IOC. Kelly's. Liquors. Some Zels. Well, there's a lot of the Sally May. autopays. I was like, "Oh my goodness, there's so many happening at the same. time." That makes sense. Yeah. I don't know why they do it that. way. Why they can't just say Sally May. and just be the total. It's. because it's for each loan. So, it's. being transacted separately. Yeah. Okay. Michael's Bright Side.

Medical. So, that's actually my last name. Oh, really? Mhm. I don't believe that. But medical. um that's fine. Was that bright? Was that bright? Um therapy. Oh, good. Very good. 25 bucks. That's fantastic. Yeah. Wow. For each session. And I just got on that insurance now. that we're married. I wish everyone. covered by Yeah, my the school that I. work at, the insurance is actually. pretty good, not going to lie. Awesome.

Call for entry. that. So, um, [snorts]. so I been trying to get back into the. art scene. since, um, I graduated. I basically took. a 2-year hiatus due to co. Sure. and had no space to work because I was. living with his parents. Mhm. And so this school offer basically. has the space for me to yes work with. the kids but also work on my own stuff.

So I found two shows and I got into two. shows. Well, I found multiple shows but. I've got into two of them. So one is. going to be. this no this month until the end of. September. So I'm happy about that one. Okay. Okay. That's awesome. Yeah. Whatever. I mean, obviously that's what. you you know, it's like your passion is. in and stuff like that and like I'm all. about it. So, that's great. Mhm. I think we need to build the budget and.

well, actually, before we even build a. budget, how have we been on a household. budget? We've only been married for 3. weeks, but where do we stand today when. it comes to overall budgeting? So, the. budget's been fairly well, budgeting is. hasn't been hard in the sense that we. have a hard strict budget. It's just. simply been cut back, be cheap, cut. back, be cheap. cheap and where does the. money go to? So, I think we try to spend well cuz we. get some tips at some of our uh other. outside source jobs uh part-time and so.

we try to use that for groceries. We try. to use that for fuel. No, no. Where does the money you're. cutting back on uh your budget? Where. does the extra money go then? No. So, the extra money that's not being. spent on living accommodations, debt, or. anything else goes into my financial. portfolio, which I have been trying to. push very hard for over the last couple. of years. You're 30. You're 30. I'm 30. You're 29. What is your retirement. account? My retirement account, I have an IRA. that I just withdrew out of to put into. a different portfolio. Since I didn't.

have much in it already, I've gotten. much better at learning how interest. What's your overall retirement look. like? So, right now, between my portfolio, the. IRA, and one other contribution that I. have to a private business is somewhere. in the neighborhood of about 55 $56,000. Business. How much is in the private. business? Uh about 46 or $48,000. Is this the train? The choo choo. Yeah. But you don't know how much money it. makes, but you invested in it. I don't know how much money it makes, per se, but I see a lot of the monthly.

statements on uh all of our revenues. going back and forth. Pay for a mortgage for a house. I'd also rather not go into our personal. finances when it comes towards uh my. father's business. It pays the house that it's under. Mhm. [clears throat] So, what's like the. equity share that you purchased? I'm not. really purchasing an equity share right. now. It's just simply um pure debt. holdings. And so we have an agreed 10%. APR uh that's worked out on it right. now. Wait, okay. It's a good return.

You're matching the S&P pretty much. But. why did the business do debt? So, the. business has been in debt for a while. when we first got access to a line of. credit and we were starting to build the. business and then it got to a place. where it was a little bit unhealthy of. the debt, but because the debt was so. cheap at the time on the line of credit. that it had, it made sense to have all. that debt out to be able to grow the. business that it was. And now it's in a. place where it's chugging along woot. woot, you know, nice and easy right now.

So it's it's not worried about a lot of. expenses and it's helping to pay for all. the bills. It helps pay for what I do. So I didn't need to take out debt from. you. Well, no. So it we're basically. transferring the debt from the bank to. me to help me out in the long run. At a higher interest rate. At a lower interest rate. So I offer. You said it was at a low interest rate. No. When it was and then after. it's variable. Yeah. It's very Well, it's on a it's on. an established line of credit. So it was. around about eight to eight and a half. percent I think a few years ago and then.

after. low okay [laughter]. and then after the Fed started raising. interest rates it's gone up to I think. probably around like between uh 11. almost 12% now certainly. a risk in terms of the vast majority of. your portfolio being that. but it is a business that's been around. for the last decade plus. So, and a lot. of businesses have been around the last. decade plus that go under it anytime. Not saying that as a like, but like. there is an extra level of risk of this.

money versus like a general stock market. portfolio. And I've done my homework on that and. I'm confident where I stand right now at. least with you. But I do 90% of your portfolio into part. of that is I'm previously I'd never. really understood interest rates that. much and working out percentages. I. mean, I used to be a mathlete so I. couldn't really understand why I never. got into it. But I wish I had had. someone that would teach me how to. invest either in the stock market or in. your IRA or in yourself. And I've just. been learning at an excessive rate for. the last couple years. So I've gotten to.

a point where now I just want to play. catchup. But you only have like 5,000 in the. general stock market. Like it was like. right something around five. It's around it's just under 3,000 right. now and where the market's going right. now. I'm working with my financial. advisor and I'm going to determine when. I'm going to start throwing lump sums. into my IRA. now. Mhm. is the answer. [snorts]. Yeah. Yeah. Um, now is always the answer. Well, that's why I have an appointment. scheduled with him next week. That's good. And I'm sure he will say.

the same unless he's trying to sell you. on a specific program that he makes. money with. No, he's good. Okay. I hope so. And I assume you are. pensioned up. Yeah. My my uh paycheck mostly goes. towards uh either student loans or the. rent. So, but for your retirement, I assume you're. I have some with the school, it's. starting there. Other than that, there's. not much. Yeah. So, I gotta keep working there for quite. a bit. Oh, we'll get there. We'll get there. So, with rent, have we fully combined.

the household into a singular pile of. money? Yep. Lovely. What comes in? You mentioned. those extra jobs stuff. What comes in. cash flow monthly basis on average? What. hits us post taxes? I'm going to pull that up right now. Yeah. Yeah. So, her paycheck comes in every 2 weeks. at 122872, but that might go up next month. Ooh, yes. Right. So, I don't. So, I'm going to guess it's like. probably going to like what 1350. something like that. Yeah.

Okay. Then you looking for mine cuz I. get a couple. Congrats on the raise by the way. Thank you. Exciting. I'm excited by it. So then outside of the normal working. hours that I do with the business that I. get paid for, it's about 300. Why outside? What do you make total. monthly basis? What hits on average? That's what I'm trying to look for right. now. While you're looking, how have the. finances affected the overall. relationship here? It's been strained for sure. Yeah, it has. It is the biggest cause of divorce in.

the country. statistically. you [snorts] know, we're. going to do everything in our path in. our power to make sure that is not the. financial path we head down. Um I have I. assume we've made comm uh concessions on. both sides. financially. [clears throat]. How have those conversations gone? Have. we entered into like solid agreements. and everything? [snorts]. Yeah, cuz um one of my biggest uh my. biggest spending category is my hobby. So, the car that we mentioned. previously, I purchased that as an.

investment in myself to do more of these. track days that I'm into, and it's a. high performance driving learning. experience for me. And I eventually, no, I'm not cutting it, but I'm. volunteering for it more. So, instead of. having to pay for a track days, I can. actually go there, volunteer, help out. with their community, and get some free. track time while building my skill set. in myself so I can become an instructor. with them. And you? I What do you mean by like cut back? Like, I don't I don't spend money unless. he approves it. So, let's see. Okay. Is this healthy? Is.

this Do you like this? No, I don't. Okay. I don't either. We need to get to like I'm totally okay. if like the agreement that a couple is. in in a healthy way is okay, you manage. the finances, I don't want about it. That's totally chill. But you just said. you don't like it. And you also just. said you don't like it. So, so that's. part of the reason why we're here is. because I want to try and figure out. like an actual good healthy budget cuz. that's that's where I struggle the most. is if I don't see the budget in front of. me, then I'm just cheap. Don't spend. trying to cut back.

Sit down together end or beginning of a. month and try to build. Mhm. How have those conversations gone? Not very far. She doesn't talk about it. much. I get emotional. It gets stressful. Yeah. Well, then yeah. So on average every two. weeks. That's also the wedding was a big. stressor too. That was the big stressor cuz I was like. I need to pay for this, I need to pay. for that. And that was originally supposed to be. at the end of March and it ended up. being again 3 weeks ago. and it just ends up being a big thing in. general. The wedding is a big thing.

It was a massive success though. Everyone was happy. The food was great. and no one had any complaints. [snorts]. That's good. Yeah. So again, like that was the my. stressor was the pain for the wedding. essentially cuz I'm like I want to be. able to pay and go out and go to like. Michaels and get something that I need. cuz I I I will craft if I need to. and you know that. So that's done now. So now we can have. those hopefully those conversations a. little better with the budget. But go on. What What do you bring? So it's just under $2,000 every two.

weeks. But so I I calculate. I calculate at 1,900. We're working with. 65,000. Are you W2? Well, how are taxes. taken out? Good. Good. Good. Except for when the business pays me and. then my state tax. How often is that? And that's included. in this. Mhm. That is included in this. Yeah. How much? It's a little over 1,500 and then just. under 400. Yeah. The business pays me about 1,500. And I actually found out that um when I.

got a raise through the state program, it may not have taken effect correctly. from April. So there might actually be a. lot of back pay coming. from the business. From dad's business, you get paid 1,500. through the program. Yeah. Oh, through the program. Aren't our. taxes taken out for that? Federal or state or not? It it's weird. It's weird. Some like weird technicality. through payroll or something. How's uh what's the state income tax up. there? I don't know personally. I think it's around for our bracket, it's around [snorts] 4.25.

or 4.5. We just set that aside on a. monthly basis. of the 1500. Mhm. Okay. We'll call Make sure you're doing. that. We'll call 633 63 6,300. We'll. just say that's your budget. And if it's. a little more than that, great. But. we'll just say that to be a little more. conservative right now. We do also have what is the household on. top of that? Mhm. Okay. What's What's the total household. income that comes in on a monthly basis? So, for her part-time job, it translates.

out to roughly $400 every two weeks. Okay. And then you. And mine's about $350 every two weeks. Taxes are taken out before for both of. these. Yes. Okie dokie. Good. I'm glad you guys are doing that. cuz we're going to need to do it. Now, for mine though, you're going to. want to divide that by two because it's. a seasonal job for baseball. So, it's. only about 6 months out of the year. plus tips. So, you're going to set half. of it aside then every single month into. a savings account. Mhm. For [clears throat] the other six months. and then withdraw.

Yep. that amount. Well, hopefully not. Well, no, no, no. So, one thing we can. do to uh have the income essentially be. like a yearly income is that if it's. actually 6 months, set half of it aside. as it comes in and then as the other six. months you're not working come in, bring. out that other half that you put aside. every single month. So, that's that's. fine. So what was the divided by 2,500? No, the 350 every two weeks. So 700. So. it' be 350 then for the month if you're.

calculating it from that part-time job. Okay. So set half aside. $7,450. That's what we're going with. That's. what's happening. That's the number. What's your rent? Rent is $10.95. Not bad. Jeez. What is this? It is a tiny little first floor of a. stone building in Oldtown. It was turned into one. It's a studio, but it's a it was a full house, but it. was converted into a duplex, so we have. an upstairs neighbor. Oh, okay. So, it's just a tiny little. Say that is some cheap rent, especially. considering. that was my first That was my first.

inclination. Well, it's technically also in Baltimore. County. Mhm. And Elicate Cities and Howard, so it's. just over the river. Oh, gotcha. So, that there's a cheaper tax [snorts]. in Baltimore County than Howard. Car insurancees. Car insurance. So, I'm going to have to. look that up here cuz I know. cuz I know on the BMW that averages out. to about 1,000 cuz there's three cars. actually. No, about $80 a month. It's. super cheap on that car cuz I have that. through uh I have that through a. collectible vehicle status. Um.

I know what yours just came down to. You. got that down to. 198 I think. And we need to get that cheaper. And. then mine's 163. 198 163 plus what's the plus 80. Okay. Then I'm going to assume an. additional 30 for renters's insurance. Okay. 471. a month in car insuranceances. Gas. How much are we spending on average. across the household a month? I have to drive quite a bit for my job. So I'm the one consuming the most gas.

Right. So I'm trying to go over to one. of her transactions for a full fillup so. I can get an idea cuz she that's about. once a week. Yeah. So I'd say for you it's about $200. a month. For me, it's probably closer to. at most 100 if I'm not doing track days. 300. Okay. So, how often are track days? Track days. Um, I would calculate that at about once. every two months on average. utilities including, but then you would like go to the gas. station and get like who knows how like, right, but that's different. I don't. consider that fuel expenditures. That's.

part of like like fun like fun. entertainment. Well, so he would like. fill like those canisters of gas and. just like fill like four or five of. them. Well, if gas is cheap. Yeah. No, no, specifically of 93 octane. because I need that to run on track. Utilities including internet. Oh, there. is no internet. Yeah, it's a phone bill. So, the utilities um. this lunatic lunatic [laughter]. this we talked about this off camera. They don't have internet in 2023. They. run everything off a hot spot. That. hotspot ran 3 megabits down here. But.

that was here. You said it's better. there, but even just seeing that, I'm. guessing, well, it operates it operates my phone, her phone, her computer, and a smart TV. Only when you're there. What if she wants to be on the internet? Well, she's out working a lot most of. the time. So, yeah, you're at work and I'm at the high. point. Then she just comes over to where my. work is cuz that's my parents. [clears throat] house and that has. Wi-Fi. [laughter]. Okay, so. Okay, so utilities. Um, so the phone. plan is $70 a month for both of us. including data plus the hotspot. Okay.

70 for phone. What's utilities, though? Utilities, uh, that averages out to, I. think, $90 a month. It's a very cheap. space to operate. Giving you a food budget of 500. Oh, that's a lot. If you can cut it, you can, but that's. what I'm giving it. And then toilet. paper, which is makeup, which is toilet. paper, which is shampoo, shaving, blah. blah blah blah blah. 150. Okay.

I've. literally been using the same shampoo. and conditioner for the last seven. months. You do therapy once a week? Um, once a month. Only once a month? Yeah, it's so cheap. I know. But if that's what works for you, I. mean, that's perfect. That's like I get sidetracked. And at this point, we have gyms. No. Nope. Okay. All other subscriptions are. canceled. Are there any subscriptions we. need that I'm not thinking of? Pandora. That's the only That's the only. one I have cuz I drive so much. Uh-uh. Nope. You can listen to an ad. every once in a while on Spotify. I will.

My friend's trying to get me on Spotify. I'm like I'm like I don't care. It's. just music. Or listen on YouTube. I anywhere. I. don't care. Just there there's going to. be ads now. Um other than my birth control that's. like 3 months $15 every 3 months. Every 3 months. Okay. Mhm. I don't even think that's worth putting. in the budget. I'm just saying. No, no, that's perfect. though. It's good to know. Is there. anything else like that? Um not that I'm aware of. No. Oh, so. part of the budget um is uh. we'll put it on 15 divided by three. So part of the budget is our dog Finley. Oh yeah, dog.

Yeah, we're going to need that. What about it? Well, you made a mistake by saying your. food budget was a lot of money. So his. food is included in that now. That's okay. Uh but is there something else? Is there. ongoing medical? No, he's a healthy three-year-old. Does he have pup insurance? No, he doesn't. I recommend it. But I really do. But one of my other best friends that I. do track days with is the local. veterinarian that he goes to see. Oh, you get good discounts. It's not so much discounts, but I get a. lot of uh I don't want to say free care, but he's able to help, you know, like. give me a lot of good recommendation.

But what if something bad happens? Like what if he runs off and hits by a. car because he's a runner? Eat something. Just eat something weird. in the yard. Well, he's a border collie, so he better. not be dumb enough to do that. Well, you never know, dude. They just. find something that's slightly. interesting, then all of a sudden. they're like pooping liquid for multiple. days, and you're like, I'm going to ask I'm going to ask my. friend about that. Pet insurance is very good. I've saved. thousands of dollars on pet insurance. I. recommend it. I'm going to put $30 in. the budget for that. Thank you. Anything else that is recurring on a. monthly basis that you guys must take.

care of. Okay. So, we got besides the debt. We're. I need to put that in. Rent, utilities, phone, fuel. I feel like there's something we're. missing. I don't know. What's the. minimum monthly payment for your credit. card as of now? Minimum monthly payment. on that? I don't know. I never pay that. There are things that are financed right. on payment plans. Yep. But there is not a minimum monthly. payment for those. No, because it's so you can just have. them forever and just pay when you want.

No, it just automatically calculates the. fee each month and then it goes into the. interest savings balance. Okay. Interest savings balance. Yeah. So the interest savings balance is. the accumulation of those payment plans. that I have to pay off minus the. statements that are currently created. each month. Each month. Okay. Yeah. So, what just on average, how much do. you have to pay towards that each month? I don't know cuz I just pay it off every. month. But right now, I'd say it's. probably.

Let me go to the payment plan. We can. add up how much they are. There's one, two, there's two with two payments. remaining, one with one I'm sorry, two. with one payment remaining, and then two. with four payments remaining. But I'm. probably just going to pay those all off. in this next cycle. So [snorts] everything will just be. done. Yeah. And you'll have nothing. basically. Yeah. Nothing owed ever. Yep. And we're not going to put it in the. budget. That was the question. Okay. No, I No. It's always my inclination to. try. How much paid off do you have to pay to.

pay that whole thing off? $3,000. Okay. Anything else that is recurring on a. monthly basis that you must take care. of? Speak now or die. I don't think so. I think that's everything, right? No, that should be everything. Okay. $3,335. on a monthly basis is what you need in. order to survive. How much is in a. savings account anywhere? I did not see. a savings account. Do we have a savings. account? I do have a savings account. How much is in it? I got to lock back in real quick between.

that. So, actually another thing I. started doing is. How much is in your savings account? Total is about 2,000. Okay. So, first month we take from the. $7,450 that comes in a thou about 2,000. So, uh, $1,335. into a high yield savings account. Again, I use SoFi personally, uh, 4.5%, but it's up to you. And that will get. you to a onemon emergency fund. We have. that one month of emergency fund going. forward. Then the rest of the money.

that's in there, yeah, you wipe out that. Chase thing that you talked about, that. extra money that's left over. Okay, lovely. Now, a big conversation needs to. happen of what goes on from month number. two forward. student loans. What is our. con the what is our mind on this right. now? Do we want to just. what's our plan? What was our idea? So. my idea for the whole thing was you know. again you know really started curtailing. you know our spending activities over.

the last couple months. I especially cuz. she's been much better. What's the plan? So try and invest like crazy. So that's your plan for the student. loans is invest like crazy. Well, because right now trying to pay. off the the high uh the high percentage. loans that are on variable interest. rates is not doable for us right now. Disagree. Go ahead. Yeah. And mathematically speaking, you're correct. What other speaking is there? Well, they're helping pay for it. That's. why. Okay. Do we want them to be? This is.

what I'm trying to ask. I rather not. don't want them to. Do you want them to? You do not want. them to either. No, but I also want to. get to a financial place where we can. pay for those and not have to worry. about overdoing our budget. That's what. my. What's overdoing your budget? Well, the 50 3020 rule. Oh, okay. Well, right now, I mean, this. is our budget until we get out of debt. Well, this is what I'm asking. I'm just. trying to figure out. Okay. Trace Chase. Trace credit cards gone first month. We. have a onemon emergency fund. Are. [snorts] we willing do we want to pay. off the highinterest student loans or. are we just letting parents do that.

until they're gone? What is it? Well, we're not going to let them do it until. they're gone. But that has. Are we going to attack it or not? Yes, we're going to attack it. Okay, then. Of the 7,450. minus the $3,335. that is gone on a monthly basis. You. have $4,100. $4,115. Very strong. And we're working a lot to. do it. So, mad respect there. You guys. are kicked when it comes to that. So, really good job. Yes, we want to play. catch-up with the retirement, but okay,

in worst case scenario, I hope uh your. parents live a very long happy life. Let's say in a terrible way, something. bad happens, lightning strikes, right? Okay, then all of a sudden, you are 100%. forced to be paying on something that's. 14.625% interest. And no matter what, the stock market on average has never. beaten that across well on average cuz. it's, you know, 8%. So there are even. S&P 500 with dividends reinvested on.

average up years down years all combined. in history 10 something%. So we want to pay that off. This is what. I would do. The $15,000. to $15,247. I'd pay that off in 4 months, which. sounds crazy. Oh my goodness. We're. paying off one of the scary spooky loans. that we thought we could never touch. We're just paying it off. Yes, allow. them to do the minimum monthly payments. on the two high interest ones, but you. just pay it off in 4 months and it's. done. You're making the minimum monthly.

payments on the 4% still, but again, that's included in the budget that we. already subtracted from your income. So. 4,15. should be 3 and 1/2 months and it's. gone. We're calling it 4 months. So 5. months total is where we're at at this. point. Then of the 56,900, we'll call it 900 at that point cuz the. interest rate is absolutely insane. Divide that by 4,115. It's going to take a year and two. months. And that one's paid off. Year. and two months sounds like a long time,

but you guys still have decades and. decades and decades and decades left. And trust me, with the income you have, we're going to get you to a point where. you're multimillionaires by retirement. So this is okay to do for a year and. three months. So at this time, so you're calculating those high. interest payments that we would be able. to get those done in a year and 3. months. It's not even the high interest. payments. They're making the minimum. monthly payments, but you're just paying. extra every single scent. $4,115. cuz we're not having any fund money.

Parents can take you guys out to eat. That's great. Do that. Other than that, no fun money is being spent. Go have. free fun. Uh should just be working. every single second. And that's very. difficult. So much easier said than. done, but just bringing in as much money. as we can gets this process over with. quicker. At this point, we're 19 months. in. 19 months in and the two high. interest Sally May loans are gone. 19. months in. Yes. [laughter]. Your student loans are locked the 9,565. or whatever that is.

95,000. Yeah. 95,000. Yeah. Remember, it's a higher It's a. higher balance. I'm on the wrong place. It's a higher balance, but it's on lower. interest rates. You ask what high yield savings account. I use, and that is SoFi's high yield. savings account. The rate recently went. up to 4.5%. And I'm taking advantage of. that high rate all day. And with bonuses. all the way up to $250 when signing up. and getting direct deposit, I mean, I. had to take advantage of that and so can. you. So check out my affiliate link in. the description below. It's the one I. use and you can use it as well. The. balance level itself is just what's the.

payment plan on this like a 20 30 year? I think we calculated at 20 based on my. calculations. So emotionally, it's going to hold a. weight over you. Yes, you can attack it. Mathematically, it makes more sense to. invest instead of pay this off early. But then there's the third level of this. balance is just way too big for the. household income. So there's an extra. level of risk when it comes to that. So. it's more rare than I do with this. interest rate. Maybe we're just we're.

doubling the minimum month payment. So. that's paid off in like 10 years. So. maybe we're just 1,200 in at that point. And then so 12 so an extra 600 is. minused from the $4,115. at this point in what was it like 18. months or whatever. I think that's what you said. Yeah. So $3,515. is left on a monthly basis now cuz. they're just making double towards that. Well, you said a year and three months. that would be 15 months. Well, a year and three months was paying.

a year and two months was paying off the. second high interest ali. still the 5. months before that of paying off. the other the smaller high interest one. and 1 month emergency fund. Now for an. additional 5 months we are saving up to. have a 6-month fully funded household. emergency fund. And how much was the household emergency. fund again? Uh 3,335. actually it's a little less now because. well no it's never mind because 600. minimum monthly payments. And I'd. probably I'd probably raise it up a. little bit too. Probably like 4,000 cuz. at some point we're going to have to get. into a slightly higher rent situation so.

we can actually. Okay. We're not doing that until we have. a fully funed emergency fund. Once you. do, go ahead and do that. Okay. Uh that's like two and a half years. though. Yeah. So two and a half years though and we. knocked out. the crazy student loans. And the fact is. when we see these student loan balances, $70,000 high interest, $95,000 and the. lower interest, that looks like a number. to most people that will never be able. to be tackled. The fact that we've. gotten to the number of 2 and 1/2 years. is actually incredible. That's like.

almost magic. That is beyond obtainable. And you have so much time left. It's. going to lead to stress. I recommend. putting in the budget, maybe some. marriage counseling. It's gonna it's. there's not going to be a lot of fun. spending. And there's not going to be, you know, there's sacrifices that are. being taken. We're working our off. We're getting raises along the way. Hopefully, we can take more. distributions from the business as well. and we can pay this off early. Maybe it. goes from two and a half years to two. years. So, there's things we can do. But e even. if it's 2 and 1/2 years of pure.

sacrifice with that number, that's a. good thing. That should be celebrated. I. think for most people, they look at that. and that screams like a 30-year thing. Yeah. That's just the framework of my brain. engineering and math. I love it. So, that's really good. Now, again, we're making double the minimum monthly. payment at that point uh towards. the uh lower interest one. And so, now. we have $3,500 left on a monthly basis. Let's call it $3,000 left cuz we.

increase our rent by $500 in an extreme. scenario. So, $3,000 left, two and a. half years on a monthly basis. What I'm. doing [snorts] at that point is give. yourself a fun budget. It's going to be. a little more minimal for a bit. We need. to be investing, investing, investing, playing some catch-up. We're going to. be, you know, for one of you 32, one of. you 33, depending where we are in this. situation. 31, 32, you know, whatever. So, you can 50 30 20 this thing at that. point,

but we're still making double the. minimum monthly payment towards that. just very high balance, low interest. rate student loans. But we're probably. gonna want to do minimum 25% of the. household income towards investing. minimum. Maybe get that up to 30. Then. you can still have 20% on fund, which is. awesome. Which is awesome. But at that. point in two and a half years or well, no, it's another 6 months to have a. fully funed emergency fund, right? So three years. Three years total, which. is still awesome. But three years total,

we're like base level. And now is the. wealth building phase. And with what you. all make, with what you'll make, and if. this business is successful, which I. hope it is, um, I see you guys being. like $3 million by retirement, which is awesome. That would be [snorts] nice. That's just required. Well, temporary sacrifice. I think that's where a lot of the. emotion lies in the distress is just. simply the fear of the unknown, not. knowing like what's on the horizon. You know what helps that? Cuz that is a.

big fear. not having high interest debt. [clears throat] looming over and have a. fully funded emergency fund. You have. that then the unknowns become less scary. and the risks that are ahead become less. risky. So you have those and like you truly. find just a world of peace and that's. awesome. So this is what I would. recommend. This is what I would do. because I had this is with Sally May, right? Mhm. I had high interest Sally May debt as. well. Not this much, but I had high. interest ali debt, but I also had car.

debt and I had family debt and I had. debt debt debt debt debt and just credit. card debts. I had worse credit much. worse credit card debt than this. I paid. it all off. I sacrificed putting the. vast majority of my income towards it. Um, and I see what it's like. [clears throat] on the other side and. it's totally worth it. We're going to. get you guys into a house at some point, like a actual home that you are owning. and building equity in. That's going to. be awesome. We're going to be maxing out. our retirement portfolios. We're. retiring within our 60s. We're not. having to work in our 70s and 80s like. many Americans just to survive. You guys.

have a bright future if you're willing. to do the three years of sacrifice that. I've laid out here. What do we think. about this as a couple? Where's our. Where's your We'll start with you. Where's your head at when it comes to. this? It's just. I'm sorry. Um, no. It I mean you you lay. it out and it seems so simple and I'm. just trying to figure out if we will. actually like follow it or. Oh, I'll follow it. Well, but it doesn't work like that. though. That that that's not a healthy marriage.

That's a marriage that ends not being a. marriage. So, go ahead. No, it's just it just you lay it out and. it seems so simple, but I'm like it's. not that simple. It's always easier said than done. Y. this is what this requires on a monthly. basis. Things are going to eb and flow. Sometimes your income will be higher and. sometimes a little lower. Maybe expenses. will pop up here and there. Yeah. So, we sit down on a monthly basis and. emotions might be charged during the. budget conversations. That's okay. That's why I recommend maybe a marriage. counselor once a month as we go through. this very difficult process. Um,

we're sitting down. We're working as a. group, as a team with a objective that. we're both agreeing on, a goal that. we're both agreeing on and knowing the. steps to get there. And we're meeting. together once a month and having a. budget session for an hour or two. and. we're like, "Okay, this is where we were. last month. This is where we adjust and. this is where we go down this path.". Perfect scenario. Yes, three years, but. maybe it's a four years, four years. situation. Again, yeah, with these numbers, four years to me is. still an absolute dream. But then mid-30s and like we're set from.

there. And that's a pretty incredible thing. That's an incredible thing. There's a massive percentage of. Americans hold their student loan debts. into their 50s. So like. that's not you. No. Where's your head at this? Because. you're very like uh fire under going. full steam ahead. Get it? And I mean the biggest place for. me is just working on you know having. more effective communication with you.

know with her so that way we can really. be on the same page and not just a page. that hey this is what we're going to do. It's us communicating and talking with. each other so we can come up with the. plan that works for both of us. And one. thing I refuse for you to feel, I will. not accept it. Don't bring guilt into. this. You have the number that is coming. into the relationship, but it's done. It. happened. Would you do it again? Maybe. not. Don't feel guilt. Don't bring the. guilt into this conversation. It's not a.

your fault type situation. Now, we're. working together as a team to make sure. the marriage and our future is in an. amazing place eventually. So, this isn't. a what happened in the past type. situation. What who brought what into. the marriage. This is a we're awesome. and we're going to kill it now. Okay. So, it's about going forward. I will not accept any guilt. No guilt. All right. He said it. You got to follow. that now. [laughter]. I mean, I'm kidding. There there are. natural rea there are natural emotions.

and those are fully acceptable and. totally okay. But that's, you know, you. go to therapy and we have the the uh I. really do recommend putting in the. budget. saw like at least like a monthly. session or something like that with the. marriage counselor. So I really think. you guys got this if you follow this if. you follow this. Now comes communication. comes bringing together coming together. as a team. Three weeks into this. marriage officially 3 weeks. Let's. extend it three, four, five decades. Yeah, absolutely. I'm going for six.

Sure. We're living into our hundreds. Do. it. [laughter]. [gasps]. Any final thoughts? Learn math and percentages. It's very. important. And figure out how to use a. credit card. It's extremely important. You have any final thoughts? Know what you're getting into before you. go to college. All right. For Brandon and Lucy, it's. just going to take a lot of. communication, a lot of time, a lot of. work. It's going to be a struggle 3. years, but it is so worth it if they do. it. I promise it is so worth it. I just. hope they communicate and get through.

the situation together cuz they'll have. a great future together. for the. household hammer financial score for. Brandon and Lucy. Budgeting, spending. within the budget, you know, it wasn't. that crazy. They're certainly over on. some categories and everything, but this. one better than usual. Five out of 10. Pretty [music] average. Debt, definitely. not good. Nothing in collections, nothing in IRS debt, so it's going to be. a 1 out of 10. Emergency fund, not much, but at least there's something there. 2. out of 10. Investing, we're just getting. started, and it's a little weird with. that business loan, whatever. But a 2. out of 10. Just getting started. Real.

estate eventually, not now. 0 out of 10. They thought their score would be a four. out of 10. Uh-uh. But it's going to be a. two out of 10 for their hammer financial. score. And don't forget to check out the. resources linked in the description. below. They are what I use or would use. in specific situations. Also, whoever. has the most viewed Tik Tok or YouTube. short using a clip from this video, I'll. send you $100. Post however many times. you want, but you must tag my. YouTube/Tiktock at and put YouTube Caleb. Hammer in the title/ description.