[Amani] That's why I spend the money I spend.
Honey, that's your love language.
I'm going to go if you're going to go back to being an ass!
You know, I mean, we talked about you being with the kids.
That's where we go...
and we don't do it together.
- [Amani] What do you want from me? - [Matthew] I don't want anything from you.
[Amani] Matt?
- [Matthew] Cancel the show. - [Amani] Are you not doing it?
[Matthew] I just said that. Do it on your own.
[Amani] I'm gonna say that you're not committed.
[Matthew] I'm not committed.
[Amani] Why?
[Matthew] 'Cause I don't want to be involved with it.
[Amani] I asked you to be kind and nice, and not to say anything mean about me.
[Matthew] 'Cause I did? Rewind the thing. You called me an asshole.
I didn't... I didn't say anything to you.
[dramatic music playing]
[phone ringing]
- [Ramit] Hey. - [woman] How are you?
Hey. Pretty good. How's it going?
I have Lauren here with me. We have an update for you about Amani and Matt.
- [Ramit] Okay. - [Lauren] Hey, Ramit.
[Ramit] Hey.
[Lauren] Essentially, their initial meeting was a lot for them.
- Okay. - They said it was intense...
and they've asked for some space, so they have some time to process.
What would you normally do?
Would you keep pushing with them?
Or take a step back and give them some space?
[sighs]
[Ramit] If they're feeling like it's too much,
then me knocking on their door and saying, "Hey, let's talk about this,"
I don't think that's gonna go well.
Money is one of those things that most couples don't talk about
unless they're fighting.
And I hate that!
I want people to talk about money proactively,
but because most of us don't understand money,
we just wait until something builds up...
and then it explodes.
I do hope that they are willing to push through this discomfort because there...
I'm almost certain there is something positive on the other end of it.
But if they don't...
I mean... we both saw it.
It's not a good situation that they're currently in.
I hope Matt and Amani come back to the process
because I really do believe I can help them,
but only time will tell.
[gentle music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
Come, Coco. Come, Chanel. Come help me cook.
Sit, sit, sit. Good girls.
[Ramit] Nathalie is totally passionate.
She has super positive energy.
She wants to start a restaurant. Cool. I can help.
Starting a business is risky.
Starting a restaurant is riskier.
Now, just because her past business failed
doesn't mean it has to happen again.
But I do want her to learn from the past
so she can make a better business this time around.
[upbeat music playing]
- Nice to see you. - Nice to see you too.
[Ramit] Oh my gosh.
- Nice to see you. - [Ramit] So nice to see you. What is this?
[Nathalie] This is challah bread.
- [Ramit] Just gonna eat it out of the pan. - [Nathalie] Yeah. And this is schnitzels.
- Did you eat this kind of food every day? - Yeah.
- This reminds me of my childhood. - [Nathalie] She loves eating.
Even when I was breastfeeding her when she was little,
she would eat so much, and then... [vocalizes]
Okay, you're good, Mom. You're good, Mom. That's enough.
[Nathalie] The schnitzels are going in.
[Ramit] So what's the latest on moving?
I started packing. That's why I have nothing in this kitchen.
- Where will you move? - [Nathalie] I don't know yet.
- I go with the flow. I'm not worried. - [Ramit] What are the options?
Worst-case scenario, I put my stuff in storage and I travel.
Selling my house, it was nothing to do with money
because I could still afford it.
It's just I feel like I have to change the energy.
I don't think it's good to just stay in one place forever.
Bigger and better things will come.
[Ramit] Oh wow.
- [Nathalie] There you go. - [Ramit] Thank you.
[Nathalie] Bon appétit.
Ooh, I'm excited to try it.
- Wow. - [Nicole] Mm-hmm.
[Nathalie] This month my alimony was late.
What happened?
The trust company lost the check. I don't know what they did.
- [Ramit] And does that cause problems? - Thank God, no.
- Because I had a little bit of money left. - How much did you have?
[Nathalie] I had, like, 16 left.
When was it, last year?
I think when I had the restaurant or something. Stop.
Sit, Coco.
Sit.
Sit. Okay.
- I had to borrow 1,000 from my friend. - [Ramit] Really?
Yeah. I didn't know that all those bills were coming,
to pay the employees and to pay all of this.
I wasn't gonna take it, honestly. 'Cause I was fine.
That doesn't sound fine to me.
Well, it is what it is. What can you do?
If somebody else were here and they said, "I get $26,000,
but, at one point, I ran out of money."
"What should I do?" What would you tell them?
Spend less?
[Ramit] What else?
Save.
For rainy days.
[Nicole] I've never heard her say that.
- [Ramit] Really? - No, she doesn't believe in it.
- This is progress. - Yes.
[Nathalie] With all the opportunities I had,
all the money that came through my hands,
maybe I could have had 500 million in my bank account, easy.
What if you could learn how to be that smart today?
- I mean, yes, I will do it. Of course. - Do you wanna do it?
So what are you looking for? What is the next step for you?
To find investor in the food industry.
[Ramit] Okay.
- You sold this house. - [Nathalie] Yes.
- How much did you get? - 2.2.
- [Ramit] 2.2 million? - Mm-hmm.
Okay, where's that money gonna go?
My financial advisor.
[Ramit groans]
[Nathalie] What?
- [Ramit] I need to take a deep breath... - [Nicole] You look stressed.
I'm more stressed than you. This is crazy.
Hold on. I have to wipe the sweat off my face.
- [Nathalie] Is it that bad? What happened? - You're gonna see... [chuckles]
I know. You're comforting me now. Hold on, I'm gonna...
We're gonna switch roles in a second.
How much do you think you're paying your financial advisor?
- [Nathalie] I don't know. - [Ramit] Exactly.
[Ramit] Your financial advisor is charging you 1% fees.
This advisor will take your 2.2 million, and they're gonna put it in the market.
Over the course of just 20 years, you pay this person $1.3 million.
That's like college tuition for seven right there. Wow.
[Ramit] One of the most frustrating things I do
is listening to people telling me that they are happily getting ripped off.
And you know what they say to me?
"That's fine. He's a nice guy."
"Chet knew my dad. He and I go to the ballgame once a year."
Chet sucks!
Chet's ripping your ass off.
If you wanna pay someone, pay them 500 an hour.
Do not pay Chet $680,000 to give you subpar results.
You suck, Chet!
[Lauren] Who's Chet?
Chet's just a generic name for someone who sucks.
[all chuckle]
If you take this money and you invest it yourself,
you will have
- about $9 million after 20 years. - Okay.
Do you see why I was getting so stressed out?
Yeah, I feel like you might need a massage now or something.
[Ramit] I need a massage.
You never pay a percentage fee.
But there can be good reasons to use a financial advisor.
If you have a large portfolio, over a million dollars.
If you have a complex situation,
stepchildren, will, inheritance, multiple properties.
You pay 'em an hourly fee.
You pay them a project fee.
But never a percentage.
Because a percentage will end up costing you
way more than you ever thought possible.
- Experienced investors... - [Nathalie] Mm-hmm.
- [Ramit] Here's what they expect from you. - Yeah.
Why you?
What's the pitch? So I want you to prepare a business plan.
I need to find someone to help me prepare. I don't know a business plan.
I've never made one.
You can do it.
- [Nathalie] I can't do the business plan. - I believe in you.
I'd rather pay someone to do it. I don't know how to do it.
You could do it in one night if you tried.
Your daughter has a lot of wisdom.
Yes, she does.
Would you be willing to try sending me what you've got in one day?
- It does not have... - It won't be 24 hours.
- I'll give you 48 hours. - [Nathalie] Okay.
- Two days. - [Nicole] I'll help.
- [Nathalie] Okay. - You got this. We'll shake on it.
- Let's shake on it. - I'll help you a little bit.
A little bit?
I can't do it all.
[Nathalie chuckles]
[upbeat music playing]
[Monique] We're cheers-ing to the rich life.
- Ah. - Boom.
It's a real honor when people invite me to look over their finances.
Hello. How you doing?
[Ramit] Last time I took a look at Monique and Donnell's finances,
I saw that they had created a tangled web
of all kinds of checking accounts and savings accounts and credit cards.
I asked them to simplify their finances,
to close some of the accounts, and organize things
so that we can see what's going on with their money
and then make a plan to pay off their debt.
- Did you go through the homework? - [Donnell] Yes.
It was difficult because you can open up an account very, very easily...
- [Ramit] Yeah. - ...but when you go to close an account,
- that's very elusive. - Did you close one?
- [Donnell] Yes. - You did?
Yes. [chuckles]
My man. That is awesome.
How long is it gonna take you to close all the rest of 'em?
I can probably get it done by tomorrow.
That's what I like to hear. And what about you, Monique?
- How long will it take you to close 'em? - I can get it done tomorrow.
Great. Talk to me about the credit cards.
Whoo!
You want me to start?
Yeah, yeah, you can start with that one.
I have two Capital One cards,
and I'll probably keep the one with the higher limit.
Okay. How many other credit cards?
Like, six.
Six?
But I'm okay with closing them all down.
So when are these gonna be closed?
Maybe two weeks?
[Donnell] I'm about to say it has to be longer.
- No. Shorter. - [Donnell] Really?
How are we gonna close these accounts by the end of the week?
[Monique] With the money I have in my account.
- [Ramit] How much is in there? - Three thousand.
Can you pay off all your credit cards with that $3,000?
Yeah.
- [Ramit] So let's do that. - Okay.
Every day their money sits in their bank account,
it's losing a little bit of value thanks to inflation.
That's why we wanna get this money working for them.
The last thing we want to do is just let this money sit and stagnate.
Now let's talk about your credit cards. How many do you have?
[Ramit and Monique chuckle]
Um, I think seven. It could be six, but I think seven.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ramit] It's true.
If Monique and Donnell closed their credit cards,
their credit will actually go down for a while.
That is okay.
That credit score will slowly rise over time
as they pay their debt off every month on time.
Don't let your credit score determine what you do with your money.
That's the tail wagging the dog, and we don't want that.
Would you both be willing to open up a joint account?
No.
Why?
I kinda have, like, a...
An Amazon problem.
- And I can admit that. - What are we talking about?
- Video games. - You play too much video games?
- I buy too many video games. - [Ramit] How much do you spend on it?
- Monthly, probably between $400 and $600. - [Ramit] Yeah.
What?
- Yeah. But that's not just games. - When you say 400 to 600, you mean 600.
Yes. [chuckles]
What game is that?
It's a pinball game.
I like to play games a lot. That's my thing.
To get past another level, you need 99 cents.
You know, you just gotta pay that.
[whimsical music playing]
And it was just 99 cents at first,
but then, you know, they had the bigger package that was 4.99,
so I had to get the bigger package.
And then... then it was another level.
So one day, she came home, she was like, "So... [pops]
...why is there $300 worth of game credit being spent on the card?" You know?
And she was like, "That wasn't even your $300."
That was a huge blowup in our relationship.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
And there is nothing that could happen where we would have a joint account again.
So what're we gonna do with this $600 a month
on Amazon and video games?
Like, I'll try and stay away.
Trying doesn't work.
[pensive music playing]
Again, I can't make you do it.
You do it. It's you... Or don't do it.
I will use that each month to pay down my credit card debt.
Perfect. Which one do you wanna pay off first?
- I'd start with the lowest... - Lowest balance.
- [Donnell] Lowest balance, yes. - Okay, fine.
- $300... Yeah. - [Ramit] There's a $300 card.
I mean, you could pay that off tomorrow.
In fact, I want you to pay it off tomorrow.
- [Donnell] Okay. - There we go.
Look at this map. It's gonna blow your mind.
Monique and Donnell have $11,700 worth of credit card debt.
If they pay $500 a month towards that debt,
they will pay it off in two years, ten months.
But look at this.
If they pay it off with just $200 a month more,
they will pay it off in one year and ten months.
That is amazing.
In less than two years,
they can be free of their credit card debt.
Now, um, what's "storage"?
- I have a storage unit. - What's in it?
A lot of stuff that can't fit in the house.
[Ramit] How much does the storage unit cost per month?
[Donnell] Three-fifty.
- Could you downsize to a smaller unit? - Yeah.
What could you pay instead?
I think, like, 120.
- Yeah. - Whoa.
That's a lot.
How can you do that this week?
That's... that's pretty impossible.
- [Ramit] Okay, two weeks. - Okay.
So here's your homework for today.
First off, finish closing up all your accounts.
I want you to go through the conscious spending plan.
Unlike a budget which looks backwards, a conscious spending plan looks forward.
I want you to get real numbers.
Don't hide from it.
If you spend way more on eating out than 300 bucks a month, write it down.
You decide with the amount of money you make,
where do you want it to go?
And this is so much more fun
because you can choose.
I wanna save this much, I wanna invest this much,
I even want to spend this money totally guilt free.
That's the beauty of a conscious spending plan.
Today alone has been a huge joy,
just watching the two of you learn this stuff
- and start to apply it yourself. - This... this is exciting. It really is.
[upbeat music playing]
- Can I get a picture? - Sure.
I recognized you.
I love talking about money.
Strangers approach me all the time to tell me their stories about money.
My method is to understand your psychology.
What's holding you back from making the changes you want with your money?
Those who are on the verge of losing everything,
to those who have trouble spending money at all.
So right now I'm a travel nurse, and I make 100 a year,
but I actually started my own company.
I haven't made any salary since I decided to start my own business.
So you went from making 100k to making zero?
- [woman] I did. - Wait a minute.
I just really appreciated your book,
and I now invested in a Vanguard target-date fund and all that stuff.
- There you go, my man. Give it up! - And it really helps.
Should I, uh, declare bankruptcy?
- I don't know. - [man chuckles]
[chuckles] You tell me.
For your business, set a goal where you decide
how long you're gonna give it before you're making 10k a month.
- You have a couple of options. - Yeah.
One, you could talk to a bankruptcy attorney
and see what they say.
The second thing you could do is
you could make a deal with the credit card company.
- Keep me updated, okay? - Okay.
- Thank you. I appreciate it. - Sure.
Everyone, listen to this guy's investment advice.
[Ramit chuckles]
[upbeat music playing]
[man] And marker.
Okay. Next, I am going to look at Sophina's numbers,
a young woman who is struggling with her money.
So let's see what we can figure out about Sophina.
We've got some mortgage statements.
Her balance on her mortgage is about $270,000.
She's got a really low interest rate on her mortgage. 2.99%. That is amazing.
Overall, she's paying about 1,500 bucks a month towards her mortgage.
Let me just point something out.
She paid, last month, $472 towards the principal, towards her house,
and she paid $670 in interest.
Does that surprise anybody?
She's paying more in interest than she is toward the principal.
Loans often are very counter-intuitive to people, especially big loans.
That's something you need to know if you decide to buy a house.
Uh, let's see here.
We've got a late fee for $51. Okay, I hate late fees.
There's no reason to pay late fees.
We can call up our bank or our financial institution,
and we should be able to get those waived.
The first time, people don't believe this works.
They just kind of accept it.
"Oh, I guess I messed up. I guess I have to pay it." No!
That's your money.
You call 'em up, you tell 'em, "Hey, I made a mistake."
"I fixed my accounts. I'd like for you to waive that late fee."
And a lot of times, they will waive that late fee for you.
Let's go to her checking.
She's got an $832 balance,
and she deposits $4,700, probably from her paycheck.
You know, it's interesting also that here she deposits almost $5,000.
So it does look like she has some kind of variable income.
Okay, Google AdSense. $459.
Okay. It looks like Sophina's running some kind of business.
If that's the case, that would explain a little bit about her variable income.
I wanna know more about this Google AdSense thing.
Can she actually make a little bit more from that?
Credit card. Let's take a look.
Ah, here we go.
Okay, the first thing I see in this account is Home Depot,
and she spent $1,760, okay, doing some home repairs.
Okay, that's interesting. She's not paying off her credit card balance every month.
Now, here's what this tells you.
If you pay only the minimum payment,
this will take you 21 years to pay this damn credit card off.
Twenty-one years for what?
Home Depot?
You want those credit cards to be paid off every month.
If you can't pay it off that month, you can't afford it.
That's a red flag right there.
[upbeat music playing]
♪ All right ♪
♪ All right... ♪
When I look at someone's numbers,
it's interesting, but it's one-dimensional.
When I get to meet them in person, they become three-dimensional.
I get a chance to know who they are, why they spend money the way they do,
and maybe a few surprises.
[upbeat music continues]
- ♪ We are living in our own world ♪ - ♪ All right ♪
- [Ramit] Wow. [claps]
Sophina? I'm Ramit.
- Nice to meet... I'm gonna get you chalky. - That's all right. Nice to meet you!
- Nice to meet you too. - Wow.
- This is awesome. - Welcome.
So how long have you been doing this for?
- I have been a gymnast for 15 years. - Okay.
But I'm technically retired.
But I still come in the gym to practice and stuff like that.
I have a commercial shoot coming up,
so I need to get back and get limber and loose.
My name is Sophina.
I am 27, and I live in Encino, California.
[upbeat music playing]
Once a gymnast, always a gymnast.
I was on the national team,
and I went to Japan, and I won gold in Japan on floor.
I went to UCLA, competed there for quite some time.
It was a great experience.
This is my place.
Here's my living room.
With my chandelier and my swinging chair.
I'm the only person that I know my age that owns a condo all on their own.
It's pretty cool. I feel accomplished.
Look at the pool. It's so beautiful.
But when I bought the condo,
I wanted all this stuff,
like a new mattress and a new bed and a new comforter,
and I just, you know, accumulated a lot.
And right now, what is your mindset with money?
[sighs, smacks lips]
Ya know, I need a lot of help in different ways. I mean...
I just bought a condo about, like...
s... eight months ago, roughly,
and I wasn't too aware of the HOA fee not being added until the end.
Like, they're separate fees.
- Right. - And so when I got the place,
I was like, "Oh gosh, I don't know how I'm gonna do this."
So currently, my biggest issue is I don't have hot water.
- I... - Like, right now?
Yeah, I don't have hot water.
Wait, so what do you do for a shower?
I take cold showers or, like, lukewarm showers.
Okay. How long have you had no hot water?
- Since I moved in. [chuckles] - Wait, what?
- Wow. Okay. I see that there's a problem. - Right. Yeah.
We're gonna get to the bottom of this.
I am very proud about being a homeowner at 27,
but I didn't really know what I was getting into.
I need Ramit's help because I think I bit off more than I can chew.
So I'm super excited to just hopefully
get my life back on track when it comes to money.
- [Ramit] Can we take a look at the condo? - Yes! Let's go.
Okay. Let's do it.
[upbeat music playing]
[Sophina] All right.
- I'm excited for you to see it. - [Ramit] Okay.
- So this is my humble abode. - Hey, very nice.
- [Sophina] I've got the living room area. - [Ramit] Beautiful.
- [Sophina] The kitchen. - [Ramit] Uh-huh.
[Sophina] We'll go upstairs.
- And this is my bedroom. - Oh nice.
Very...
I would say it's Sophina-esque, as my friends say.
[Ramit] Beautiful.
All right, and then here is the bathroom, where we have the cold water situation.
And also the pressure is really bad.
[Ramit] Okay, I gotta feel this thing.
[chuckles] What the hell?
There's no way.
There's no way you get in this thing.
No, I... I wait, like, ten minutes.
- Damn. All right. - It's freezing.
- [Ramit chuckles] - Now you felt the water.
- [Ramit] It is very cold. - [Sophina] Yeah.
I don't really tell people that I don't have hot water.
I mean, that seems so silly.
Like, I put all this money into buying a condo.
Everyone came and celebrated,
and then it's like, "Well, guys, I don't have hot water."
But I don't want them to think I got a bad condo and a bad investment.
It's quite embarrassing.
So what's the status of the shower right now?
The plumber that I hired under my insurance,
he said it was gonna be thousands of dollars.
But I'm hoping it's an HOA thing so that they have to fix it.
I called and they said to give them, like, some weeks or so, and...
Weeks? How many weeks?
At least two.
When was this?
- Two. - [both chuckle]
What happens if the HOA doesn't cover the plumbing bills?
For now, I'm just gonna keep doing cold showers.
I don't feel I'm an adult all the time,
until, like, adult things happen, like paying bills.
[upbeat music playing]
I don't know why, as kids we want to grow up so much,
and then when we become adult, we wanna be young again.
Adulting is hard. I feel it. [chuckles]
I also have credit card debt as well. 'Cause I had to get a refrigerator.
That's why it has accumulated to 7,000. That was a big chunk of it.
Whenever I try to pay my credit card debt,
then the interest rate, you know, and so it's, like, just a merry-go-round.
- You have good intentions. - Right.
You wanna pay it off, you wanna save, but how're you supposed to get ahead when,
no matter what you try, something pulls you back?
Exactly.
Have you ever thought about what your rich life is?
I guess my rich life is being...
Not stopping myself from doing things that I would want to do.
Like, if I randomly wanna go somewhere,
- a trip next week... - [Ramit] Mm-hmm.
...I don't wanna have to worry about paying bills and all that kinda stuff.
Just live comfortably.
Anything else?
Stress-free.
Okay.
- [Sophina] Stress causes unhappiness. - Yeah.
- [Sophina] I just wanna be happy. - Okay. So let me give you three options.
Financial fix option one
is do nothing.
Change nothing, just keep doing things the way they are.
- Okay. - Okay?
Financial fix option two, make a few small changes.
Get some modest results.
Financial fix option three,
- make some big changes... - [Sophina exhales]
...with potentially really big results.
Big changes are scary.
[pensive music plays]
Sophina makes $60,000 a year.
She pays $2,200 a month for her condo,
and she's got $7,000 in credit card debt.
She's basically spending every cent she makes.
I'm not gonna tell Sophina what to do with her money.
What I am doing is gently nudging her to start taking control.
Nobody can tell her whether or not this condo is a good idea or a bad idea,
but I'm gonna show her how to calculate it so she can realize it for herself.
Because I'm scared, I would say option two.
- But can I choose between two and three? - No.
No! You can't split the difference. It's one number.
- Two or three. - I don't know what three is!
What would be so big that you'd be uncomfortable doing it?
Moving. [chuckles]
- I do love my place. - Yeah.
Then it would be the chore of having to find someone to sell it
and all that stuff and then moving my stuff out again.
That does sound like hell. I agree.
It does. I did all that to get here.
I'm not gonna BS you. That does sound like a lot of work.
I'm not telling you you have to move out.
It's your rich life. Ultimately, you will decide, not me.
Here's my plan for Sophina.
First, I want her to crunch the numbers
and get really honest about what this condo is costing her.
Next, I want her to find ways to more comfortably afford it.
That might mean earning money on the side.
And finally, I want her to have a plan to pay off that credit card debt.
- [Ramit] Thank you. See you soon. See ya. - [Sophina] Thank you!
[upbeat music playing]
Home ownership is not always the best financial decision.
You've been told that, I know.
I've heard the same messages. I've seen the same billboards.
"Ugh, bosses don't rent."
I could go buy a house today.
But I rent.
Why? Because as part of my rich life, I value flexibility.
I want to be able to get up, travel. It's also predictable.
Your rent is the maximum you will pay.
Your mortgage is the minimum.
Why? Because when you have a mortgage, you also have lots of phantom costs.
Maintenance, taxes, interest. All kinds of things.
But when you rent, one sticker price and that's it.
Never feel bad for renting.
Never feel bad for making an unconventional decision with your money
because it's part of your rich life.
[upbeat music playing]
Ramit, I got a couple updates for you.
These are just some of the cards that I closed.
One of the accounts, as y'all can see, closed out.
We gonna start cutting these up.
Like...
My wallet definitely lost some weight.
Now I don't have dad jeans.
'Cause you know how dad jeans look in a... Anyway.
So it's about getting the money right.
["Riding Through My City" by 4TVmusic playing]
♪ I'm here looking pretty Haters try and get me ♪
[Ramit] I brought Monique to NextFab.
It's a maker's space,
where woodworkers, designers, and artists can use their tools
to grow their own businesses.
I think Monique and her business
could absolutely benefit from a place like this.
Monique has a woodworking business that is blowing up.
Awesome.
And can you tell her where the woodworking business
is currently headquartered?
The front room of my house.
[all chuckle]
[upbeat music playing]
They're micro studio spaces, 8x8 units.
How much is a space like this?
Uh, 400 per month, if you're renting for the year,
Four seventy-five if you're renting month-to-month.
- Oh, you can rent by month? - [employee] Yes.
[upbeat music continues]
- What's going through your head? - [Monique] This is my goal.
- [Ramit] Really? - [Monique] Yeah.
[Ramit] When?
I need to take another leap of faith
and be confident enough in myself and my business.
- What's the last leap you took? - [Monique] Quitting my job.
- Yeah! Okay. - [Monique chuckles]
I mean, if we're gonna be completely honest,
if I'm okay with spending the $1,500 on a purse,
then I shouldn't have so much of a hiccup to invest that money into my business.
So I wanna do this plan right now 'cause I'm just in a big hurry for you.
- Mm-hmm. - The world wants what you are creating.
And you're actually doing them a disservice
- by not going all in. - True.
All right, you wanna sign up?
We should sign up.
Okay. Love it. Where's the money coming from?
Um...
I can return the bag and sign up today.
- [Ramit] You wanna do it? - Yeah.
If Monique is serious about signing up for NextFab,
that tells me she's gonna be serious
about the other steps that we're gonna take together.
[employee] You're all set.
We'll see you tomorrow from 1:00 to 3:00 for Intro to Wood.
- I'll be here. - Tomorrow?
- Tomorrow. You gotta get it started. - [Ramit] Wow. Love it.
[upbeat music playing]
[Nathalie] So today, we need to basically go over the numbers
- for the new Coco Queen. - [Nicole] Perfect.
[Nathalie] I don't understand business plans.
I don't like them.
I just go with my guts.
But I'm willing to try it.
Why don't we start by finding a location?
[Nathalie] Yeah.
Look at this restaurant. Look at this front.
I don't really want a rent of 11,000, like I had last time.
- [Nicole] What's the rent cost gonna be? - [Nathalie] $5,000.
Then, uh, stuff.
Just put 10,000.
Utilities, about 3,000, I would say.
[pensive music playing]
The numbers, they're actually based on my restaurant that I had, Coco Queen,
that we were making profit.
We did very well in the beginning.
But then as soon as COVID came, everything dropped.
How much is the total month's expenses right now?
$26,888.
[Nathalie] Yeah. So that's being modest.
- If we find a rent of $5,000. - Okay.
Oh, I forgot marketing.
Oh, lovely. Another expense.
- We could do some Instagram marketing. - [Nicole] Okay.
Maybe up to 2,000 a month.
- Yeah, the expenses will go up to 29,000. - Yes.
Okay, so we have to find a place,
but do you think besides that, all of this is ready to be sent to him?
Yes.
It seems really way more expensive right now
than when I opened my restaurant a few years ago.
- It'll all be good. - Yes.
Okay. You got this.
- Yay! We did it. - [dog whimpers]
[upbeat music playing]
[Monique] Donnell just pulled up.
- That's right. Do the walk of shame. - What walk of shame?
[Monique] This walk of shame. What is this?
What, this?
- [Monique] Both of 'em. - This...
[Monique] I didn't buy no new sneakers or no new clothes.
Wait. This...
[Monique] You don't need new sneakers or clothes. Don't you wear a uniform?
- [Donnell] huh? - Take them out.
- How much for the sneakers? - They were on sale.
- They were... - How much for the sneakers?
Um...
120.
And how much did you put towards bills this month?
I, um...
[chuckles]
[Monique] Next box.
- [Donnell] I needed jeans. - [Monique] You don't need jeans.
- [Donnell] I do. - [Monique] You don't.
How are we going to move forward talking to you about finances,
if you're still not talking to me?
All right, folks, I'm sorry.
[Monique] Why're you apologizing to the folks?
All right, Monique...
I apologize...
for the sneakers. Definitely.
- [Monique] You should... - I needed the jeans.
- [Monique] You should return the sneakers. - [Donnell] No!
That's $120 that could have been split between your minimum balances.
- But I need sneaks. - [Monique] You don't.
I need Donnell to get serious about his spending
because we're not gonna reach our goals alone.
We need to reach 'em together.
[Monique] Say, "I'm gonna return the sneakers."
I'm going to return the sneakers.
[Monique] Okay. Thank you.
- Whatever. - [Monique] The face of defeat.
[upbeat music playing]
- Hi, Nathalie. It's Ramit. - [Nathalie] Hi. How are you doing?
[Ramit] What's the update on moving into a new place?
I put an offer on a house yesterday.
What? Wait, what house?
It's an hour away from here in San Bernardino.
This house is going to make me a lot of money.
It's a very, very big house, 2.5 acres.
Nathalie told me she wants to downsize her house.
It's too expensive to run.
And yet, she's suddenly talking about buying a huge house
over an hour away.
It just doesn't make any sense.
Have you already put an offer in on the house?
We just put it yesterday.
I'm really excited about the house.
My son loves it.
That's the dining.
That's the kitchen.
This is the living room.
I feel really, really excited. Good energy.
And I can't wait to see what happens next.
[Ramit] How much does this house cost?
I put an offer for $1.1.
Okay. Where's the money coming from?
I'm gonna do half loan, and half a million in cash.
[dramatic music plays]
Where's the cash coming from?
From the sale of this house, the $2.2 million.
[Ramit sighs]
Why did you...
Why buy this house? I thought you were looking around your area.
So I was looking around my area, but what I realized was
me, the kids, and the dogs. I need a minimum of four bedrooms.
So I'm gonna have to pay minimum, minimum $8,000 a month.
Although, my dogs are service dogs, but you know, I have four of them.
It's an issue sometimes.
You're gonna take half a million. You're gonna put it into this house.
- What about the rest of the money? - I need some money for construction.
I need at least $300,000 to make it right.
Okay.
So this 2.2 million, you're gonna spend 800,000 on the house.
What about the rest of the money?
I'm gonna lock it up with my financial advisor,
just for one year,
and get $10,000 a month.
[Ramit] Yeah. Okay.
So send me back the business plan, and we'll go from there.
Okay, thank you.
- All right. Thank you, Nathalie. - [line ends]
I mean, this becomes personal for me. I mean, I've met her.
I talked to her. I met her daughter.
They're really nice. I ate their food.
And, you know, at the beginning, it's just like,
"Oh, this is a funny person and she's great,
and I really liked going on Rodeo with her,"
but this becomes personal.
And for her to take $2.2 million,
which is a lot of money, potentially generational money,
and go and buy a house in a week?
Because she can't find a place for her dogs?
And... and it's way far away?
Those are not the decisions of someone who's calm, cool, and collected.
[upbeat music playing]
The last I heard from Matt and Amani, they requested a break from the show,
but now they're willing to at least meet with me.
I know they have reservations,
but I'm just happy that they've invited me back.
[dramatic music plays]
["For Whatever" by Naomi August playing]
♪ Maybe I'm just too down, down, down ♪
♪ You know I'm down for whatever ♪
♪ Maybe I'm just too down ♪
[song ends]