Hey, guys. Are you ready for some money rehab?

Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, Gamestop.

And should I have a 401k? Because then I- You don't do it? No, I never- Girl. You think the whole world revolves around you and your money?

Well, it doesn't.

Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old-school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand, Nicole Lappin. One of my absolute favorite parts of Money Rehab is having listeners come on the show for interventions. As we all know, the first step to any recovery is admitting you have a problem. And that is definitely true of the road to financial recovery. But don't get me wrong, I am fully aware that this shit is hard. So I do want to take a moment to give shoutouts to the wonderful money rehabbers who have been brave enough to come on the show, take the first step on their road to recovery, and talk through their financial challenges. To these people, I am so super duper proud of you, and I am honored to be on this journey with you. And speaking of people I'm proud of, today I'm talking to a listener who sent me an email with the subject line, Wana be a Rich Bitch. So I was a big fan of hers from the jump She's been struggling with the Holy Trinity of debt, credit cards, student loans, and car payments, and wants to get into better financial shape while also planning a wedding, buying a house, and trying to get pregnant.

But I'll let her catch you up on the rest. Morgan, welcome to Money Rehab. Hi.

How are you?

I hear you want to be a rich bitch.

I do. I wouldn't mind.

Tell me what's been going on.

Basically, the gist of it is I feel like I have a lot of debt, just credit card debt, debt from school. And then my husband and I are already married, legally. But we didn't do a whole wedding, ceremony and everything. So we were planning to do that this past October of 2020 and ended up pushing it back to this year because of COVID. So now Now we have that added into the mix as far as paying things. I didn't work for almost all of 2020. Part of it was because of COVID, and part of it was because we moved just as COVID started. There was just a lot going on.

You have how much in credit card debt and how much in student loans?

So in credit card debt, I think it's around 20,000. So I have... The bulk of it is on one credit card, and it's a pretty high interest rate or APR. So I tried to do a balance transfer to a different credit card with a different bank. And I think that that was beneficial for me. It at least got a couple of thousand off of that credit card. And it's actually zero % APR for, I think, 18 months. So I have that off of it. And then I have a third credit card, which was originally our wedding credit card. And now, because it is still a lower APR than the other one that I have, the main one, I've started to turn that into my main one. So that's where that's at. And then eventually, my husband and I would also like to buy a home. So I have that going on in the back of my mind. We have a a little bit of a savings, but I'm trying to use that for our wedding.

Wait, you have savings? Yes. And you have credit card debt?

Yeah. So it's in case I don't have cash-cash, I can get into my savings. Or for our wedding payments, we have a few bigger wedding payments that are coming up. And especially since it's getting so close to the wedding, everything is going to be due at once. So I have money in my savings for that as my backup.

Okay, so let me get this straight. So you have $16,000 in credit card debt. You have $17,000 in student loans. You have a $20,000 wedding coming up?

Yes.

You have how much in savings?

I I think it's about 3,000.

And how much do you owe on the wedding?

I believe 12 more thousand.

And where is that coming from?

So Some of it is from the savings. Some of it I was going to put on another credit card. Well, like one of the credit cards that I have, I'm not going to open another credit card. And then my parents are hoping to pay for some of it as well.

Okay. And you have a $400 car payment. You're not making any money. Your husband is in the army stationed in North Carolina from California, and you guys move every couple of years?

So this is his first… I guess it's his second year in the army. But since we've been married, we haven't moved before. This was our first move. And so I didn't work most of 2020. And then I did get a job recently at the beginning of 2021, but it's just a part-time. It's part-time to full-time.

Because some employers feel like you're going to be moving around a lot so they don't want to make the investment in you?

That's the feeling that I get because I feel like the interviews go really well.

And you live in military housing now?

Yes.

So you don't pay for housing?

Correct, which is really helpful. We don't pay for housing or utilities.

So what is your biggest question? Because I have many thoughts.

I think what is the best way to prioritize paying off your debt while saving, while trying to pay for a wedding? A mismash of all of that.

So how do I fix your financial life, essentially?

Basically, yeah.

Got you. Are you down for some tough love? Yes. Is your heart set on having this wedding?

I mean, at this point, yes, because I've already invested a lot into it, time-wise and financially.

Is your heart set on having this wedding right now?

So we also want to start having kids soon. And the goal was supposed to be last year right after the wedding. And now we had to push it back another year. So I guess I don't want to push it back again. I feel like that's the main reason is because I would like to start having kids.

Do you need a wedding before you have kids? No.

But I just feel like it would be more stressful with a baby or if you're pregnant. I don't want to do it while I'm pregnant, basically. But with a baby, I don't know, maybe it would be more difficult.

How do you feel about scaling back this wedding? The reason I ask is because you're spending a lot of money on this wedding, and I see this a lot with young couples just going crazy on the party. And I get it, we've been cooped up. You guys have already been technically married, but you want to celebrate, and it's a beautiful time in your life. I totally am not the fun police or the wedding police by any stretch of the imagination, but I also want you to reach your financial goals. And so I think it's really important to think hard about what you want more, and you're not going to be able to have all of the things.

When you say it that way, as a party, it sounds not as important. So no, I guess it's not not as high of a priority, but it's just been on my mind constantly for the last two years because we had started planning it before because we were going to have it last year. And so I was basically halfway through all of that planning process, and then everything stopped. And so now it started picking back up again. And so now I feel like I'm almost at the tail end of it.

Have you committed to all these vendors? Yes. Do you have contracts? Yes. Do you have some time to negotiate out of contracts? Do you want me to be on the phone with you to negotiate out of contracts?

Potentially, because the thought of it being a contract in my mind was just like, I'm stuck. And it's a contract like it is what it is. And so negotiating out of it isn't really something I thought that I would have the option to do.

I've never been in the position where I'm actually telling a person to cancel a wedding, but I'm telling you to cancel your wedding. I hate that those words have come out of my mouth, but I think given your financial picture and your goals, I think that your future self is going to thank your 27-year-old self now for saving that $20,000 on a party and flowers and food for people who love you already, and you guys are already married. And using that money to pay down a bunch of credit card debt you have, not getting into more credit card debt, and having some peace of mind for a baby and their future and how much everything baby-related costs and not being stressed with that. I don't know what's more stressful. I've not been in this position, but I would venture to guess that not being able to pay a baby is probably more stressful than planning a wedding and having a baby. My suggestion to you, if I were you, and I know what I know now, because when I was 27, I didn't know what I know now, so don't beat yourself up for it.

And thank you for asking for help. And that is fucking awesome because it's really, really hard to ask for help, and you're doing the right thing. My suggestion is to really think hard about this wedding. I think it's a much better investment in your marriage and your future family to use that money toward other things. I think you need to table the thought and discussion about buying a house right now. Your husband's in the military. As far as you guys know, he could be moving around every few years. That's why you've had trouble finding a job in that area because of that possibility. If you guys are going to be moving and you have free housing, there is no reason to be thinking about buying a house right now. So I would just take that off the table right now. I would just take that out of your mind. I think that there are a lot of places that will hire you as a military spouse. In addition to Squaredaway, there are sites like Fiverr, there are sites like Upwork, other freelancing sites. Maybe you can do remote landscape design for people. Everything has gone remote anyway.

If I were you, I would focus my energy and getting a great virtual gig right now that gives you some job security, gives you more money than what you're making part-time at the Sporting Goods store. I would table the wedding discussion right now, and I know that's not your favorite thing to hear. It's not my favorite thing to say. I am happy to. I, as my wedding present to you, will be on the phone. We can record them. And if we get permission, we can even use them on the show. But if not, just so I know you're being helped and you have more peace of mind around this really big decision, I would suggest moving it, not doing it right now, using the money that you make with a better online job and with the savings you have to pay off the highest interest rate credit card you have right now. If you do a balanced transfer, you have to pay that off really quick or otherwise the interest rate is going to spike. So I don't know what exact balance transfer you've been looking at. I'd love to take a closer look at that.

But the highest interest rate credit card is what you need to tackle first. And then from there, do you know all of the interest rates on your credit cards? You said there are three of them.

Yeah. So one of them is 23 %, which I know is pretty high. And then the second one is 18 % And then the third one I don't use. It just only has the balance transfer on it. So for right now, for the first 18 months, it's zero %.

Okay, so I would start with the 23 %. I would potentially pause on your student loans. I'm assuming that's way lower. Yes. Credit card debt is the nastiest debt. It grows out of control. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money Rehab will be right back Did you know that even if you have a 401(k) for retirement, you could still have an IRA? Robinhood has the only IRA that gives you a three % boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. But get this, now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. That's right, no cap on the 3% match. Robinhood Gold gets you the most for your retirement thanks to their IRA with a a 3% match. The offer is good through April 30th. Get started at Robinhood. Com/boost. Subscription fees apply. Now for some legal info, claim as of Q1 2024, validated by Radius Global Market Research. Investing involves risk, including loss. Limitations apply to IRAs and 401(k). 3% match requires Robin hood Gold for one year. From the date of the first 3% match, must keep Robin hood IRA for five years.

The 3% matching on transfers is subject to specific terms and conditions. Robin hood IRA available to US customers in good standing. Robin hood Financial LLC member, Sippik, a registered broker dealer. Now for some more money rehab. I will pause and check in. How do you feel?

So as far as tabling the wedding, what if I just made it a lot smaller? Okay. Like, how small? Maybe. So right now we have 70. We're expecting I'm talking about 70 people. So if I maybe narrowed it down to half of that.

I hear your counter point, and I would say that I will give you my blessing to do a small wedding that does not deplete all of your savings. Okay. So I would... If you want to do $1,500 and whatever your parents are giving you, I fully endorse it. In fact, I will come out to North Carolina if you want, and I will be the officiant.

I'm doing it in California, actually. Oh, you are? Yeah. Okay.

Then I'm inviting myself over.

Okay, perfect.

So if you can keep it... I want you to still have some savings in the bank. I think it's not ideal to have credit card debt with savings in the bank, but during COVID and having a little bit of an emergency fund, I think, is really important. So can we Can you scale it back to something very, very DIY? Yeah.

Having just something because I already have my dress. So having something- Are you going to sell your dress later? I hadn't thought about it, but I could.

Are you going to wear it again? No, probably not. How do you feel about finding a better online job?

I would really like that just because of the convenience of it. And I'm a homebody anyway, so it's perfect for me. And I'm pretty self-sufficient, so I feel like that would be a good option for me. Okay.

So we have a deal that the wedding is going to be super, super, super your shoestring budget. You're going to be stunning and running around the backyard or whatever in your beautiful dress, but all the other things are going to be bare bones. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. You can't silo your expenses. The financial you that is getting married is not different from the financial you that is paying off student loans. The pieces of your financial puzzle make up one picture, so you need to make sure that you're looking at your whole financial picture, even when you're only planning one piece of it. You need to make sure that piece fits and makes a beautiful financial picture overall. So before you commit to putting money down on a dream, evaluate how that fits in with other financial commitments that you have in your life. Don't say never, but you might need to say later to actually live that dream. And that's okay. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoy and Katherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fischer.

Executive of producers are Mangesh Hateekader and Will Pearson. Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lans, for her pre-production and development work. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all. You spend my money, money, money. You spend my money, money, spend my money, money, money.

You spend my money, money. Money, money. You spend my money, money, money.