How To Get Rich - General Discussion

[zenithwit]

Quote

Money holds power over us — but it doesn't have to. Finance expert Ramit Sethi works with people across the US to help them achieve their richest lives.

Streaming on Netflix.  Trailer here:

 

[zenithwit]

I'm two episodes into this show and so far, I think it's a pretty interesting show. 

I like how they are having very frank talks about personal finances with clear and exact figures.  Also, I like how the host isn't too judgemental on what people choose to spend their money on.  He seems genuinely interested in helping them manage their money in a way that makes sense for them.

Though I'm not sure I'm on board for some of the advice he's given so far.  For example: the whole renting vs buying argument.  While there are absolutely legitimate reasons to rent (especially if you live in a high cost and/or high density area), his argument that rent is the max you pay didn't make sense to me.  Sure, there are unforseen costs with home ownership but owning a house is an investment in itself that helps build intergenerational wealth.  Maybe renting has a more consistent month to month payment but there could be significant hikes in your rent year to year.  Plus you are somewhat at the mercy of your landlord.  

[Kjharrison]

$25,000 a month in child support?  And the daughter said that mom had trouble paying her tuition. 🤦‍♂️ wow. Yes, I’m judging.

[buttersister]

Glad Natalie hit the brakes on her bad ideas, but whoa. No clue about anything (but her "vision"), not paying her daughter's tuition (isn't that what the child support money included? Waiting for the father to request it back when he sees this), and must have really wanted to be on TV to expose her bad judgement all over the place.

[cmfran]

Natalie comes off like a Real Housewives reject that just wants to be on TV. I doubt she'll actually use anything she learned from Ramit.

I'm only 4 eps in, but I'm not optimistic about any of these people (or their marriages) so far. 

[Rae Spellman]

Sophina spent 45% of her income on her condo/housing. She was at the mercy of her HOA and didn't have hot water for months. Maybe buying a home someday will be good for her while purchasing the condo that she purchased at the time that she purchased it was a terrible idea.

There's an update on Amani and Matt on Ramit's YouTube Channel.

[cmfran]

On 4/29/2023 at 12:07 AM, Rae Spellman said:

Sophina spent 45% of her income on her condo/housing. She was at the mercy of her HOA and didn't have hot water for months. Maybe buying a home someday will be good for her while purchasing the condo that she purchased at the time that she purchased it was a terrible idea.

There's an update on Amani and Matt on Ramit's YouTube Channel.

I watched the update today. Amani has no desire to let Matt be a part of the finances. My advice to him would be to walk and get a lawyer. She'd have to pay him alimony and child support out of "her" money whether she likes it or not.

[patty1h]

I have watched several of Ramit's Youtube episodes, the newer ones with couples, not the older ones he's done solo.  I like his mix of financial advice and therapy, plus I find him easy on the eyes. 

There's another Youtuber doing these types of videos, advising people on their spending and debt.  Caleb Hammer has a series called Financial Audit, where he has the person send him all of their paperwork:  credit card/bank statements, etc.  Then he sits with them and he examines what they're doing with their money and then gives (unofficial) advice on how to turn things around.  It is eye opening to see how many young Americans have no concept on how to budget, save, how much they freely spend on Starbucks, McDonalds, fast food when they have thousands in credit card debt, have no emergency fund, that have staggering debt with no concept on how to stop the cycle.  Caleb is like your dad - his voice gets high and he rolls his eyes when he sees blatant waste spending and people making poor choices.  But he's a loving dad... he only wants the best for the brave people who come to him and bare their wallets for the world.   Here is a recent interview that got hundreds of thousands of views:  

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by patty1h

[cmfran]

On 5/1/2023 at 9:22 PM, patty1h said:

I have watched several of Ramit's Youtube episodes, the newer ones with couples, not the older ones he's done solo.  I like his mix of financial advice and therapy, plus I find him easy on the eyes. 

There's another Youtuber doing these types of videos, advising people on their spending and debt.  Caleb Hammer has a series called Financial Audit, where he has the person send him all of their paperwork:  credit card/bank statements, etc.  Then he sits with them and he examines what they're doing with their money and then gives (unofficial) advice on how to turn things around.  It is eye opening to see how many young Americans have no concept on how to budget, save, how much they freely spend on Starbucks, McDonalds, fast food when they have thousands in credit card debt, have no emergency fund, that have staggering debt with no concept on how to stop the cycle.  Caleb is like your dad - his voice gets high and he rolls his eyes when he sees blatant waste spending and people making poor choices.  But he's a loving dad... he only wants the best for the brave people who come to him and bare their wallets for the world.   Here is a recent interview that got hundreds of thousands of views:  

 

Aside from young people, it's amazing how many full grown adults in their 40s/50s and up have no concept of good financial habits. My sis is 45 and still lives on credit like a college student. She goes on trips, to concerts, dinners, etc. and puts all of it on credit cards, then makes the minimum payments. She's flying to Vegas in October to see U2, and the concert ticket alone was $550. She can't actually afford any of it on her salary, but doesn't seem to care. And I won't even get into her six-figure student loan debt. 

There seem to be a ton of people that choose to pretend their debt doesn't exist. I wish I could get my sis on Ramit's show, but I doubt it would do much good.

[Rae Spellman]

Nathalie's financial habits seem about as questionable after the show as they were on the show. 

[cmfran]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:42 PM, Rae Spellman said:

Nathalie's financial habits seem about as questionable after the show as they were on the show. 

I watched about 10 minutes of this then had to stop. She clearly doesn't give one shit about anything Ramit advised her to do, and I'm still not even sure why she was on the show to begin with.

I wish Ramit would be more critical of some of the candidates. I like him, but he's too nice to some of these people. They need someone who is willing to offer some tough love. 

[Empress1]

On 4/23/2023 at 2:53 PM, Kjharrison said:

$25,000 a month in child support?  And the daughter said that mom had trouble paying her tuition. 🤦‍♂️ wow. Yes, I’m judging.

And does she have a plan for when it runs out? I don’t know how many kids she has but the one on the show is in college. If that’s her only kid, the child support window is rapidly closing. I would also guess that if she has more than one kid, her support amount would drop as the kids age out.

On 4/23/2023 at 5:17 PM, buttersister said:

not paying her daughter's tuition (isn't that what the child support money included? Waiting for the father to request it back when he sees this)

He should, or request that he be allowed to pay the tuition directly and reduce his support by that amount.

Nathalie was also transferring hundreds of thousands in lump sums over sometimes, but she said her only income was the child support. I was confused.

On 4/29/2023 at 12:07 AM, Rae Spellman said:

Sophina spent 45% of her income on her condo/housing. She was at the mercy of her HOA and didn't have hot water for months. Maybe buying a home someday will be good for her while purchasing the condo that she purchased at the time she purchased it was a terrible idea.

I felt bad for her when she realized how in over her head she was. She’s only had it 8 months so there’s no equity. Her mortgage rate is great but she still can’t afford it. $515 for an HOA is high and I wondered what it covered. I’d have been in a lawyer’s office long before month 8 of no hot water. 

I could tell immediately looking at Amani and Matt that Matt was miserable and when he started talking about how he felt undervalued, I thought “there it is.” And he’s not wrong.

On 4/30/2023 at 6:50 PM, cmfran said:

I watched the update today. Amani has no desire to let Matt be a part of the finances. My advice to him would be to walk and get a lawyer. She'd have to pay him alimony and child support out of "her" money whether she likes it or not.

Honestly? Her not giving him access to their money is financially abusive. If the roles were reversed, people would be hollering that he was abusing her. I liked when she was like “people do this all the time!” and he said “and they get divorced.” There is no WAY I would tolerate this, and he shouldn’t either. It sounded like she was on some “his money is mine but my money is mine” shit when he was working.

I’m four episodes in and am definitely going to finish. I like personal finance stuff.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Empress1

[Rae Spellman]

Frank's Where Are They Now? is online. 

[LinkAiris]

On 5/2/2023 at 4:22 AM, patty1h said:

I have watched several of Ramit's Youtube episodes, the newer ones with couples, not the older ones he's done solo.  I like his mix of financial advice and therapy, plus I find him easy on the eyes. 

There's another Youtuber doing these types of videos, advising people on their spending and debt.  Caleb Hammer has a series called Financial Audit, where he has the person send him all of their paperwork:  credit card/fast advance loans app etc.  Then he sits with them and he examines what they're doing with their money and then gives (unofficial) advice on how to turn things around.  It is eye opening to see how many young Americans have no concept on how to budget, save, how much they freely spend on Starbucks, McDonalds, fast food when they have thousands in credit card debt, have no emergency fund, that have staggering debt with no concept on how to stop the cycle.  Caleb is like your dad - his voice gets high and he rolls his eyes when he sees blatant waste spending and people making poor choices.  But he's a loving dad... he only wants the best for the brave people who come to him and bare their wallets for the world.   Here is a recent interview that got hundreds of thousands of views:  

 

I totally agree with you!

Edited March 19 by LinkAiris