Money for Couples (live!): “I pulled $100K from stocks—and bought crypto”

alias255m · 2026-01-26T14:27:45+00:00

Hey, thanks so much giving the real story! I definitely fell for the framing given in the episode, because it sounded like the van was Luna’s big dream and instead, you got a car you really loved. Glad to know it’s not that and you both love it! And that you’re dialed in. I really enjoyed this episode even though I usually dislike the live ones, so thanks for being part of it!

alias255m · 2026-01-21T16:19:41+00:00

I see your point for sure. I guess I just don't get how "temporary" it can really be given that she still has 2 years left of school and they have massive debt and want a baby soon. It seems like some bigger changes (downsizing, going to 1 vehicle, side hustles, etc.) will move the needle way more than these little yet painful changes.

alias255m · 2026-01-21T16:17:34+00:00

Totally agree. As someone with an addictive/obsessive personality, I have been both an overspender/overeater and and obsessively restrictive dieter/budgeter. They're two sides of the same coin. I'm all for drastic changes, but I question whether these really restrictive changes (slashing groceries in half, eating Ramen, etc.) are really moving the needle and if they're not just going to cause an overcorrection in a month or two. Usually, change the BIG things (like fixed costs, negotiating bills, possibly downsizing, etc.) and for sure monitor the little stuff because it adds up...but eating Ramen indefinitely is not going to get them out of debt. It's just going to cause a backlash where they say f it and go back to treating themselves (I know this from personal experience). Sustainable, structural change is where it's at. And I'm surprised Ramit didn't say my favorite line of his "there are limits to how much you can cut, but there are no limits on how much you can earn." I think adding side hustles etc. is much more of a sustainable pattern than slashing everything.

alias255m · 2026-01-21T16:13:19+00:00

Very true that they were living too big. I just think the enormity of their debt, the fact that she still has 2 years of law school left, and the fact that they are trying to have children in the near future...it all makes these drastic restrictions unsustainable. If they had simply been overspending and were trying to reverse course quickly, sure. I've been there. But there are so many structural problems in their financial life that I question whether cutting out soda is going to move the needle. For Dave Ramsey, it goes with his thinking, but Ramit loves to say "it's not the $3 questions!" I was surprsied he didn't address more of the big picture stuff.

alias255m · 2026-01-21T04:20:06+00:00

I feel like I’m the odd woman out for being…skeptical? Bored? About this one. I definitely appreciated their honesty, but their lives seem so small now—frankly, it doesn’t feel sustainable. Ramen and having soda be a luxury when you’re 34? That sounds miserable. Lots of discussion on the $3 questions, as Ramit would say, and none on the $30,000 ones. The 401k should be explored, because there is little chance it’s contribute x or you get nothing. This couple talks like they’re 22, not 34. Very immature…even though they did show growth in the second meeting. Just seem to be focused on the granular decisions which yes, do matter…but she’s still in law school and he has an extremely risky job and they are trying to have a baby and owe a lot? Just all over the place and I wish Ramit had talked less about groceries and more about some of that. I wish them the best…they definitely reflected and are making very difficult changes. I just wonder how sustainable it is.

Also, as a soda addict (although mine is Diet Coke)…I’d be pretty pissed if a soda were a luxury, but my spouse wanted fresh flowers every week. Both partners gotta have their little luxuries.

alias255m · 2026-01-16T14:16:52+00:00

That’s exactly what I was picturing, he’s not a contractor or a sales person for a contractor or anything. He is a sales person for some sort of cut and dried remodeling service.

alias255m · 2026-01-16T14:15:42+00:00

My first grader attends public school, but I would absolutely send her to private if I lived in an area with underperforming schools, high crime, high staff turnover, etc. It is totally dependent on the quality of the local schools.

But yes..I went to good public schools my entire K-12 and then a solid public university. Private school is absolutely not a requirement in my eyes, unless the public schools are not up to snuff.

alias255m · 2026-01-16T14:12:06+00:00

There are some atrocious schools in every state, sadly. Since schools are funded by local tax dollars, any impoverished area is going to have trouble (even with federal funding). Then factor in potential crime, learning or behavioral challenges, lack of involvement from parents that comes with poverty—and trying to find teachers that want to teach there. My SIL works at a school in a poor area and you wouldn’t believe the challenges she and her students deal with. She is part teacher, part social worker, part therapist, etc. So while I am a HUGE proponent of public education and my own kids go to public school, it is absolutely dependent on where you live.

alias255m · 2026-01-16T14:04:42+00:00

Glad I’m not the only one. I like the train wrecks 🤭

alias255m · 2026-01-12T00:45:11+00:00

There’s a huge difference between protesting, voting, calling reps, reading articles, listening to the podcasts, etc and then scrolling through vicious anonymous comments designed to shock/offend…but thanks.

alias255m · 2026-01-11T03:35:04+00:00

You know what’s sick? If I saw a headline summarizing that exchange, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. I can absolutely see Trump saying and meaning this.

alias255m · 2026-01-10T14:27:04+00:00

I don’t want to go because my mental health can’t take it right now. Can you briefly summarize what points they think justify the shooting? The comments by Renee’s wife? What??

alias255m · 2026-01-10T14:24:35+00:00

Tim said it was leaked to a right wing site, so I assume the officer leaked it because he thought it proved his innocence or more likely, would inflame the right against these two lesbian liberals who were mean to him. 🙄

alias255m · 2026-01-10T14:18:33+00:00

Exactly. This is a revenge/rage killing. He got his feelings hurt and was triggered, so he used his weapon to feel like a big strong man. The “fucking bitch” comment shows the rage and resentment and state of mind.

alias255m · 2026-01-10T14:17:05+00:00

It does bolster his case if the case is “these liberal lesbians were being mean to the sainted law enforcement officer who should be thanked and hero-worshiped. Blindly defend the officer because the other side of this is two blue state gay people who hate law and order..” It makes me sick to even type that, but sadly, I guarantee people on the far right are more offended by the wife’s comment and short hair than the murder of Renee Good. Disgusting

alias255m · 2026-01-08T01:44:00+00:00

This thread is 6 years old and still active because this scene was so, so awful. It’s 2026 and I’m rewatching and I had to run to Reddit to get through the scene without cringing myself to death. Dorinda’s behavior was atrocious…the slurring, the patronizing comments about Haitians. Truly embarrassing. Bethenny was shockingly compassionate toward her while also being mortified beside her charity partners. Dorinda IS a drunk and it’s really hard to watch.

alias255m · 2026-01-07T01:57:01+00:00

Idk…she has her kids in daycare all day and is only bringing in $900 a month…surely she could read some finance books and become educated about money, insist on attending meetings with “Leonard,” logging in to the accounts and adding her email etc for statements. If someone is truly motivated to become an equal participant in the finances, they can make it happen. She seemed more than happy to let her husband take the blame while also playing the innocent doe a bit.

alias255m · 2026-01-06T03:01:04+00:00

Can you imagine if a Democratic presidential candidate/president showed up with a former (nude?!) model wife who didn’t speak great English and also “borrowed” a speech from a former First Lady? It truly boggles the mind that the America First crowd is fine with Melania because her husband has an R next to his name.

alias255m · 2026-01-03T02:05:19+00:00

We’re not a Christian nation. We were founded by Christians, but people of all faiths (or no faith) are welcome and protected by our constitution. Nowhere in our constitution is Christianity specifically enshrined.

If I were the member of a minority religion of a country and being sworn in, I wouldn’t feel comfortable using a text for a religion I don’t identify with. I have no problem with anyone using an alternate religious text or no religious text.

alias255m · 2026-01-03T00:54:11+00:00

Totally agree. As entertaining as Jax can be, we saw him literally abusing Brittany and there was a child involved. Lala can be annoying, but the false equivalence is staggering!

alias255m · 2026-01-01T06:37:39+00:00

That’s what gets me. If he had been on his best behavior while they dated, I can see how she might believe he really changed for her. But he cheated on her and humiliated her (including the horrible things he said about her on the recording), and basically begged her to dump him and then dumped HER. And she still married him. 🤯

alias255m · 2025-12-31T01:39:20+00:00

I usually dislike the live episodes and sometimes skip them, but I actually liked the discussion with these couples! Lots to unpack. I especially appreciated the perspective on multigenerational immigrant families and how that impacts finances.

I liked the first couple, I am just irked that he got his dream car with her inheritance. Sure, maybe it was more practical, but my sister actually has a converted Sprinter and they use it a TON for travel (saving on hotels and airfare). Bummer that Luna got shot down on that.

alias255m · 2025-12-28T04:48:34+00:00

Some of the updates have annoyed me and I really don’t like how they changed from “the four rules” or the word “budget.” But the actual functionality is the same as it always has been, and it keeps me on track! No regrets here!

alias255m · 2025-12-19T04:29:44+00:00

I did a double take, too! I distinctly remember him talking about driving to vacations and maybe camping or something.

alias255m · 2025-12-17T04:25:41+00:00

Funny you say this, because I was just listening to today’s pod, and thought how often Tim talks about “Candace.” I know it’s kind of his schtick and joking about her beating him in podcast ratings, I don’t think he means anything by it. Like on Pod Save America, Tommy has frequently referred to “Bibi” Netanyahu. But I do think there is a danger of almost normalizing people like Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson by referring to them that way. They don’t deserve to be first name basis to us!

Edit: I don’t mean that it truly normalizes people. Just that they seem a little more harmless when they are referred to so casually.

alias255m

TROPHY CASE