274. "We have a newborn and 89% of our income is already spent...Now what?"

Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich speaks with Shelby and Calvin, 31 and 43, who have a new baby and feel trapped by their financial situation. Together they earn about $102,000 a year, but they have just $3,500 in savings, more than $20,000 in debt, and $0 currently going toward savings or investments.

Shelby wants more structure and transparency, while Calvin admits that talking about money makes him uncomfortable. Their relationship has also been strained by financial secrecy, including a personal loan Shelby believed had already been paid off.

Once their baby expenses are fully accounted for, their fixed costs rise to 89%. Ramit pushes them to stop relying on vague plans and small cuts and instead make bigger changes to how they manage money together. By the end of the conversation, they have a plan to reduce expenses, aggressively pay down debt, save automatically, and become more active financial partners.

In this episode, we uncover:

Why Calvin kept a personal loan secret

Why Shelby does not fully trust him

How they earn about $102,000 but still struggle

Why their fixed costs reach 89%

Why $0 currently goes toward savings

Why Calvin says he has been in debt his whole life

How he quietly sabotaged their money meetings

How their childhoods shaped opposite money habits