We're $350,000 In Debt And Have No Savings At 50 – This Couple Making $258,000 A Year, Asks Ramit Sethi 'Will I Have To Work Until We Die?'

Don and Tana lived paycheck to paycheck for years, barely keeping their heads above water. At 50 and 48, they resigned themselves to a future of endless work and no retirement. "We just assumed we'd work until we were dead," Tana admitted.

But then everything changed: their income skyrocketed from under $70,000 to $258,000 a year. That's when they turned to Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich and host of the podcast episode titled "We're $350K in Debt & Have No Savings. Will I Have to Work Until We Die?"

Despite their newfound income, the couple's financial reality was still grim. They were drowning in $387,000 of debt and had no retirement savings. Earning more in a month than they used to make in a year hadn't solved the years of scarcity that left them stuck in survival mode. "We're not used to this. This isn't our world. We don't know what to do," Tana confessed on the podcast.

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On the show, Sethi broke down their situation and offered advice: get honest about the numbers, prioritize debt repayment and shift their mindset from scarcity to growth. His guidance wasn't just about fixing their finances but helping Don and Tana imagine a life beyond constant hustle.

The Debt and the Plan

Ramit broke down their situation: They had $387,000 in debt, including $51,000 in credit cards, $168,000 in student loans and a $12,000 car lease. They also had $200,000 in assets (mostly tied to their home) but only $11,000 in investments – far from what they'd need to secure their retirement.

"The part that is problematic is how little they have for investments and how much debt they have," Ramit noted. But their new monthly income of $21,500 gave them a rare opportunity to turn things around. "If they can keep their expenses low, they can certainly shovel money toward that debt."

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Shifting a Scarcity Mindset

Still, the numbers were only part of the problem. Years of financial struggle left Don and Tana with a mindset that Ramit described as common and deeply ingrained. "It's not really a joke," he said about the couple's tendency to laugh off the idea of ever retiring. 

"They do it with a bit of a laugh, but also they believe it and they say it enough times and it starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Don recognized how his past shaped his perspective. "It was really hard for me to accept being paid what I'm worth," he admitted, describing the psychological hurdles of suddenly earning significantly more.

For Tana, the new stress came from the fear of mismanaging their finances. "The stress now is more so about not screwing it up," she said. "We've had a lot of stuff happen to us throughout the years and so we're always waiting for the other shoe to drop."

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Guilt-Free Spending

One of Ramit's strategies included carving out room for guilt-free spending, even as they tackled their debt. "One of the first things we bought was we replaced our measuring cups," Tana shared. Something as simple as replacing an old whisk now felt like a luxury.

The Path Forward

Don and Tana's journey proves that earning more doesn't automatically erase financial stress. It takes a strategic plan and the courage to confront long-held beliefs about money.

If you're dealing with a similar situation, whether it's debt, a new income or the struggle to shift your mindset, consulting with a financial advisor can help. They'll work with you to create a plan tailored to your circumstances – so you can move from simply surviving to thriving.

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