275. "We escaped debt so why are we still spending like this?"

About this episode

Ramit unpacks how to stop overspending, stay out of debt, and start building wealth as this couple confronts the spending habits they thought they had already fixed. Three years ago, Mason and Becca finally confronted a financial reality they had been avoiding. Despite good careers and the appearance of success, they had accumulated nearly $50,000 in credit card debt. They cut back hard, aggressively paid it down, sold their house, and moved to Florida. Now they have around $100,000 from the home sale sitting in savings, but they’re worried the same habits that got them into debt are starting to creep back in. They still don’t properly track their spending. Shopping, expensive date nights and a large “miscellaneous” category make it difficult to see where their money is actually going, while Mason experiments with day trading and considers ideas for generating passive income. On paper, they’re doing far better than they realize: they have around $204,000 invested, $124,000 in savings, and a net worth of roughly $326,000. But without changing how they spend and manage their money, Ramit sees a real risk of them falling back into debt. Ramit helps them figure out what comes after