280. "We have $11M in assets. Why are we still living month to month?"

Ramit unpacks what happens when a couple earns more than $1 million a year but still feels like they’re living month to month, and how a lifestyle built around family, community, and tradition can become almost impossible to afford. Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You to Be Rich talks with Margo and Kevin, 42 and 52, who live in Brooklyn with their five children. They take home around $600,000 a year and have approximately $11 million in assets, yet only around $50,000 in savings. Once Ramit uncovers expenses missing from their original plan, including private school tuition and summer camps, their fixed costs climb above 100% of their take-home pay, revealing that they’re spending more than they make every month. Their biggest challenge isn’t simply earning more money. Kevin has taken on most of the finances while Margo has had limited visibility into their overall financial picture, and neither of them has a clear picture of where their money is actually going. Ramit helps them confront how community norms and family traditions shape what they see as non-negotiable, and the difficult choices they may need to make around private school, their homes, their children, and the lifestyle they’ve built. In this episode, we uncover: How a couple earning over $1 million a year can still live month to month Why they describe themselves as “rich poor people” How missing expenses push their fixed costs above 100% of their take-home pay Why $160K in tuition and camps completely changes their financial picture How a $400K–$500K mold crisis wiped out much of their financial cushion Why they have $11 million in assets but only around $50K in savings Why Kevin manages most of the money while Margo has limited visibility into their finances How childhood money lessons shaped their “earn more, spend more” cycle How community and tradition shape their spending Why they may need to make major changes to their homes, education costs, and spending to finally start saving and investing Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction (00:02:00) Why they call themselves “rich poor people” (00:25:00) Ramit opens up their numbers (00:43:00) The hidden expenses pushing them over 100% (01:06:00) How their childhoods shaped their money habits (01:11:00) How community and tradition shape their spending (01:15:00) They finally confront what has to change (01:33:00) Why $11M in assets still leaves them cash poor (01:36:00) Private school, their homes, and the difficult decisions ahead (01:58:00) Follow-ups 💡 RAMIT’S PODCAST NEWSLETTER • I share new ways to think about money every Saturday. Get the emails here: https://iwt.com/podcastnewsletter 🙌 GET HELP FROM RAMIT SETHI • Order my new book: Money for Couples: https://iwt.com/moneyforcouples • Take control of your money with the Conscious Spending Plan: https://iwt.com/csp • Optimize your credit cards with the 1st chapter of my book: https://iwt.com/chapter1-pod • Join my Rich Life: Road to $100K program: https://iwt.com/100k • Listen to my book — now on Audible: https://amzn.to/48zko28 🤳 CONNECT WITH RAMIT SETHI • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramit/ • X: https://twitter.com/ramit ✅ SUBSCRIBE SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY EPISODES https://youtube.com/user/ramitsethi/featured/ This episode brought to you by: Ladder | Get a free 7-day trial and $10 off your first month at ⁠https://ladder.fit/RAMIT⁠ NordVPN | Get an exclusive NordVPN deal + 4 months extra at https://nordvpn.com/RAMIT Skylight | Get $30 off a 15-inch Calendar at ⁠https://myskylight.com/ramit Notion | Learn more about how Notion can support your business at https://notion.com/ramit Wildgrain | Get $30 off the first box — PLUS free Croissants for life — at https://wildgrain.com/ramit Want to know exactly when you’ll hit your first $100K? Rich Life: Road to $100K gives you a step-by-step system to automate your money, accelerate your timeline, and build your Rich Life along the way. Join today: iwt.com/100K 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 Apply to be coached for free on this podcast at https://iwt.com/apply