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 3% 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. Robin hood Gold gets you the most for your retirement thanks to their IRA with a 3% match. The offer is good through April 30th. Get started at Robinhood. Com/boost. Subscription fees apply. And 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 Robinhood Gold for one year from the date of the first 3% match. Must keep Robinhood IRA for five years. The 3% matching on transfers is subject to specific terms and conditions. Robinhood IRA available to US customers in good standing. Robin hood Financial, LLC. Members, Sippik, a registered broker dealer. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand.

It's time for some money rehab. Roughly 57 % of Gen Xers want to be influencers. Now, should their parents let them? Today, I'm going to ask the the perfect people about this: Heidi and Mark D'Amelio, parents of the most famous sisters on TikTok, Dixie and Charlie D'Amelio. Together, they've been dubbed TikTok's First Family, and their meteoric rise on social media has translated into huge partnerships, big brands, and a TV show. Today, I talk to them about what advice they'd give parents of kids who want to be influencers, how in their family business, they protect both the family and the business, and how the changing money dynamics in their household have affected their marriage and so much more. Here's Heidi and Mark.

Heidi and Mark D'Amelio, welcome to Money Rehab.

Thanks for having us.

Thank you.

Where did you guys meet?

Well, I had been modeling. I'm from Louisiana, and I was modeling there, New Orleans, all of that. And I wanted to see if I could do it in New York City. So my friends and I moved, and I knew I had to have a job to actually pay the bills. So I was a personal trainer at a gym. And the guy that ran my gym when he was in college was Mark's college roommate. So when he moved into the city, he was like, Hey, give me a gym membership to his buddy. And that's where we met.

And was it love at first sight?

For me, it was definitely. She was from the south. She's from Louisiana. I was born in New York City. Lived in Connecticut, very northeast upbringing. And that whole thing of opposites attract, I think, was exactly what happened.

And then TikTok happened. Or musically. And then everything changed. When was that first viral moment where you thought, Oh, this is different?

It all started to happen the summer into fall of 2019. And I started asking friends that had more knowledge than I did to find out if this is a business or if this is just a trend that we should ride and have some fun with it. But the first time, I think, when we're like, Wow, this is odd, is when we were outside of our town 30 miles away in New Haven, Connecticut, We were at a pizza place, and a kid walked by Charlie and was like, Do you know that person? And she's like, No. And apparently, that kid had text Charlie on TikTok, and she's like, I was so embarrassed to come see you. And so that was, wow, people really know who you are now. Charlie and I came out to LA to do some interviews, and she wanted to meet some people. We came out in October of 2019, and she had about 500,000 followers on TikTok. And when we got back home, she She had seven, and within a couple of days, she had a million. And then our daughter Dixie joined.

By December, they were both gaining a million followers a day. It was insanity. And we were all over the globe. Charlie and I went to Prada, so We did that and Super Bowl and NBA All-Star. We were everywhere.

All we were doing was really just trying to find what's best for Charlie and get her management and get her set up with an agent. And then next Dixie started to become popular on social media, and we started meeting with different agencies. We met with WME, and then someone's like, UTA wants to meet with you guys. They came to us with this whole plan that said, Hey, we think this could be a family thing. We've never led this like, Okay, how do we get famous as a family? I mean, it's fun and it's fine, but if it went away tomorrow, I'd be like, Okay, that was cool.

Why do you think there is that perception?

I could see how it could happen. You know that there are people that have come here with their kids and try to make it about them, and we don't. It has advantages, and there's a lot of positives, and we love it. But I love it because it's good for our daughters.

You don't feel like you're pushing them as stage parents?

We push them to the extent as I would push a incredible pitcher who can throw a fastball at 90 miles an hour, who is like, I don't really feel like doing it. I'm like, Well, you have this opportunity. You're talented, and you got this opportunity. So I push as a parent, but I would push them if they were in college and they're like, I don't feel like taking the test tomorrow. I'd be like, Well, you got to take the test. So it's got that thing. I think we push strictly from a parents' perspective, from what's best for them.

Normally, you teach your kids the value of a dollar if they have a baby sitting gig or a lemonade stance. Or how do you teach your girls the value of money or what that means when so much of it is coming in.

I am bad at that. I believe that money is made to be spent, and I believe that you wait for a rainy day, and that rainy day might never come because you might be dead. I grew up in a single household, and my mom didn't have money, and I thought, if I'm going to work my ass off, that I want to give my kids what they want. And I think in some weird way, that's been a negative because I I think when you get things, you lose appreciation for them. But I think Heidi has done a really great job making sure they know where I'm just like, there is no way we're driving by a Toys R Us without me pulling in.

And they knew that.

But before TikTok?

Yes. When they were kids.

So it never changed. You were just like, money is made to be spent. Because I think there's two schools of thought. I'm going to live forever and I'm going to die tomorrow. And probably the sweet spot for money is somewhere in between. But it sounds like you're on one side of the spectrum and you're on the other.

I mean, look, since my career started going, we've never been in a situation where we've spent more than we had coming in. But people who just pile up cash for some rainy day, I just never... I want to live. I want to enjoy myself. But for me, I don't think I'm ever going to stop working. I'm just not wired that way. I wouldn't know what to do if I retired tomorrow. I'd go crazy.

We didn't grow up with a lot of money, and it was very much... I have three older sisters, and my mom and dad were very much, Okay, if you want this, then you have to earn the money. I remember I saved up probably two years for a go-cart, and I was still probably $25 short, and my dad like, Don't tell your mom. I remember it like it was yesterday. That meant so much. I did that with the girls. The girls had age-appropriate little charts, and there were chores that were non-negotiables. Then the things you could earn money for that was extra and super helpful around the house and towards the family. So it started out with just photos of whatever the chore was, and then it got more elaborate over the years, and they got it that they had to earn.

But just to back up, when we started this, first person we hired was a business manager. We hired an attorney. We have a really solid team, and I didn't want to be responsible for the kids' success or failures as it relates to their finances, but they do not spend a dime. I also think the fact that they got things that they wanted doesn't make them... There's some weird way they don't yearn for material things, probably because... Yeah, it's exactly... Yeah, I would say that's... Even yesterday, we were looking for a house for Charlie, and it wasn't what she wanted. She and Dixie live together now, and it wasn't exactly what she wanted. I'm like, You could spend a little more. She was like, Can I? And I was like, Yeah, just call Ron, who's our business manager, and tell him, or I'll call him and say, Look, you know what? They don't spend money on cars. They don't spend money on... We usually go on vacation twice a year, and we- And you pay for it. Still do that. So I'm like, your house is your most important thing that you spend 99 %, 95 % of your time there, so make it nice.

And so it's different, I guess, when you're buying the Toys R Us stuff and then when they're buying it. So how do you think about teaching them about saving or spending? Did all the money, when they were starting to make money, just go to them, or did it get divvied out from you guys?

No, it goes to the business manager, and then there's... I mean, everybody knows this. There's lawyers gets a %, agent gets a %, manager gets a %, business manager gets a %, and then they manage the money. Charlotte called me and go, Dad? It was a little different. When she started, she was 15, then 16, then 17, and now 18, legally, she can do whatever she wants. And still, she, Is this okay? I'm thinking about getting this.

They're in Milan for the Prada show, and she was in the Prada store, and she FaceTime me. She was like, I'm so scared, but I had to talk to you about this. I'm like, Oh, my God, what happened? And she was like, Well, this is pretty green Prada bag. What do you think? Should I get it? I was like, I mean, you're there with Prada. You should get it. And she was like, Well, I was thinking, if I get it, then me and you and Dixie could all use it, and then it would be like it's less because we're going to all share. I was like, Charlie, enjoy yourself. You can afford the purse. Take it.

Does it so make you proud?

It makes me very happy that she thinks to call us. They both do that. Dixie called about her best friend is graduating college, and she was like, How much should I spend on her graduation gift? I'm just not sure. I want to make sure she knows. I'm so proud of her. It was this whole conversation.

That's really sweet. But she calls us for things that because if she called her business manager, he wouldn't know how important this person is to her. He would probably say a number. I think she probably knew we'd say something a little more than Ron would say.

He's very conservative.

But we would be more involved if they were spending recklessly. They're not. So we're just like, All right, they're good. I know that this has a potential not only not to last forever, but not to last for... It could dry up next year. And this revenue that If they have, it has to last for them. But they're good.

Do they get an allowance?

Most of their stuff goes on credit cards.

And they're trying to earn credit. So that's their big thing because Ron explained the whole thing to them. And they were like, I'm going to put this on my credit card because I'm building credit, mom. Yeah. I'm so proud of you. You know that at your age. I'm so proud.

Everything that they buy is on a credit card. And then we get a full credit card statement, and then everybody's responsible for going through. And I ask them all the time, How are they doing spending-wise? Uber Eats, that's probably- That and Amazon is probably the most charges that they have.

Hold on to your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. Did you know that even if you have a 401k for retirement, you could still have an IRA? Robinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. But get this, now through 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 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 Robinhood Gold for one year. From the date of the first 3% match. Must keep Robinhood IRA for five years. The 3% matching on transfers is subject to specific terms and conditions. Robinhood IRA available to US customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC member, Sippik, a registered broker dealer. As a small business owner myself, or as I like to call it, a pre-big business owner, I know how critical hiring is to the success of a company.

And when you have a pre-big business, hiring isn't just adding a new employee, it's adding a new family member. The problem I run into is that I don't have the time or the resources to give hiring the TLC it deserves. That's why I love LinkedIn jobs. Linkedin isn't just another jobs board. Linkedin is a vast network of more than a billion professionals, which makes it the best place to hire. It gives you access to professionals that you can't find anywhere else. Linkedin does all of that while making the process easy and intuitive. Hiring is easy when you have that many quality candidates. So easy, in fact, that 86 % of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. And it really works. 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring. You can post your job for free at linkedin. Com/mnen. That's linkedin. Com/mnen, as in Money News Network to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. And now for some more Money Rehab.

Some of my entrepreneurial friends have their kids negotiate for their allowances, too, to teach them the power of negotiation. Did you ever think of that?

Charlie is the best negotiator in the world.

And the two of them together moving to LA, Dixie found the house, and she went on this whole thing about why this house would work for us, and we have four dogs, and all this stuff. And the two of them together, and they feed off of each other, and Dixie's like, Charlie, cue the tears. Let's go. And it was like a whole thing.

I'm sure you negotiate with the best of them, but then you have girls. Are you sucker?

Yes, definitely. If they ever came in and said, I really want this, they would get it. But look, we're not digging ditches. We're not doing manual labor, but they do work. People think that they wake up and they do a TikTok and they get paid. They're on set for sometimes 10 hours, and they're flying all around, and there's very busy schedules. I want them to celebrate and be able to buy something for their work.

It's a balance, but it's also a testament to you guys for parenting. I mean, there's so many young kids that want to be influencers. What would you say to their parents as they're starting to think through if they're bringing in money, how to handle it?

I think a parent's natural reaction is to protect them and make it a negative thing. And I feel like if you could be in it with them, they need help. And so I'd rather be the one they're coming to to help guide than going, who who knows where and getting random information. So I think if you could be in it with them as much as possible without being overbearing. You have to let them do their thing. And I think we did a good job of that. I mean, there's Each generation just gets it. And so we never got in the way of that, the creative process, whatever. When it comes to early on, we didn't know the difference between an agent and a manager. And so we tried to educate ourselves.

But my advice to parents would be, let kids do it, because if they're not going to be a traditional influencer, like most people think, like a Dixie or a Charlie or one of the many, they can influence in their sport. It's the currency of today. I mean, I say it all the time. It used to be if you talk with someone and say, Oh, I went to Harvard or Yale, you'd be like, Wow, impressive. And you say, That person's got a million followers and they're verified on all social media platforms. You're like, Wow, how did they do? It's something that I think, coupled with all the traditional things, education and what you do for a job, I don't think it can hurt. I mean, I guess it can, but that's where the parents come involved. I think it can be really good for them.

Yeah, there's a huge power and a huge currency. When Kim Kardashian was hosting SNL and she was like, I'm an influencer, it was like, Yeah, there's so much value to that. I guess it's like drinking with kids, too. They're going to do it anyway. You might as well teach them about it.

Yeah.

And give them your wisdom, which it sounds like you guys became smarter about and helped guide them.

I think, too, they've always been able to have the floor and talk to us. I don't think when all of this happened, it was weird for them to be coming to us like, What is happening?

It was comfortable. It was never in my way or the highway house. It was never... Everybody had a voice, and that's why I think that's where Charlie really got good at negotiating appreciating things.

It did take her a little, both of them, a little bit of time. I mean, all they knew their lives was the four of us. That was solid. And then now you have people, lawyer, business manager, agent, manager, all these people. So for a long time, they would still come to us with things, and then we'd have to go to the team. But I feel like they've gotten so good at talking for themselves. And I'm just so proud of them because, I mean, they're They were very young and everything happened fast. So they're doing so good, and that makes me super proud.

Well, there are a lot of child stars that say, Oh, I wish I had a normal childhood. But I guess you don't really talk to the parents. That's why I'm excited to talk with you guys. Do you miss having this normal parenthood, or has this just been the ride of a lifetime?

What's cool is we experienced this. Charlie was 15 and Dixie was 18. So they did have a normal childhood for the most part. If this would have happened, Charlie was a child actor at seven or eight. That's a different ball game. Charlie ended up going back home. Dixie went to her graduation, even though it was during COVID, high school graduation, prom. Charlie went to her prom. So they did- Her class. Yeah. And then the things that they didn't experience is going for a lot of kids, going into college and moving into a dorm and us dropping them off. But Dixie has been to her friends that her friend's colleges and has all the great experience of that without having to take a class. And they could always go back if they want to. They have that ability. So they didn't really miss out. I think we'll see how it goes with Charlie because she definitely now is... She could either stay stuck in this childhood type thing, and she does a lot of tendencies to younger... What would you say? What are some examples of some of the things she likes that?

Because she and Dixie live together, so Dixie's like, This girl buys toys all the time. She's like, She's a child. She's constantly buying... You go to her house, there's just toys, random, whether it's stuffed animals or little, those mini... She likes miniature everything. So the mini toys and things like that. But we did everything.

We did parent-teacher conferences. Heidi got involved in the schools. We didn't miss out on that. We actually had the benefit of both worlds. We got to experience a robust childhood and all that comes with that in the suburbs of Connecticut. And then we got to come to Hollywood and do all that.

Charlie has stayed connected with a little group of her high school friends. She brings them out here all the time, and it feels very high school as much as it can in LA. Then when we go back, we don't see her. She's at her friend's house, sleepovers, pool, hanging with their family. She have that feeling of, even though they go back to college and she comes here, that when they're together or they're home for the summer, they get to just be teens.

I guess the teens, though, have a greater scrutiny on physical appearances and the mental health toll of it as an adolescent girl. It's just more scrutiny, more comments. I mean, you went through modeling. How have you talked with the girls about that, or what would you say to parents?

They were dealing with that before social media. I think there's no easy answer for that. Just be there to listen. I think I tried to fix too many times. You just want them to feel better. Dixie, actually, when she was a little bit older, she was like, I just need you to listen to me cry and be sad, and I'm going to be fine.

I would argue that, yes, is it tough for Dixie and Charlie to see a negative comment get 100,000 likes likes. That's pretty massive. But they're smart enough to break it down and go, Who is this person? You have no idea who they are. They might be having a bad day. Don't worry about it. What I think is harder is when you know the person who your parents her friends, and it's Sally across the street being ruthless towards someone. You have to see that person every day. That, to me, is even worse than what we deal with. I click on the profile, private or, Really? And then I go on to the next thing. Her boss.

It took them a long time, all of us, all of us, to get to that point where we're like, Oh, my gosh, this is so stupid. But early on, it was, if anybody's seen our show, Season 1, it was debilitating to the girls with these comments and everything. Our agent told us early on, it takes probably about five years to where you just don't even care. And I think we've all done really good because it hasn't been five years, and we're like, whatever.

Hold on to your Well, it's Money Rehab. We'll be right back. And now for some more Money Rehab.

On one of the episodes of the show, Charlie was talking about wanting to be more involved in business decisions. Has that been a way that she's regained some of her power? Or how has that worked?

She could be as involved as she wants to be. I think some of the things that she wants to do, we went through this thing where I want her to do her own thing. I want both girls to do their own thing. I just want as a parent, I just want to make sure that, A, they're ready, and B, that we don't have a bunch of people around them guiding them in a direction that isn't in their best interest.

And how do you guys work together?

I'm definitely still in the learning phase of business. But for so long, he's taken that role of business and earning money in the family. And we're empty nesters, obviously, and we're doing thing, and I'm doing my thing social media-wise and that. But I'm in all the meetings, and I'm just soaking it all in because I know to be sitting next to him, I'm going to learn the most amount. I want to be a contributing part of this. I think in the conversations, I come from a different perspective, which I think adds value that he might not be thinking of on the business side. So my favorite thing is I'll bring up a point. He was like, That was really good. And I'm like, Wait, that means so much. I get nervous and excited because that means so much coming from him because he's done a really good job of earning money for our family all these years. Anything I can do to help, I want to, but I do know my limitations, and I'm still learning.

But it's been great. When I was running my showroom and sales agency in New York City, she wasn't involved at all, really. And now she definitely does contribute And I need someone. This isn't just business. This is business in Hollywood, and everybody is trying to get a piece of something. Either it's the girls or everybody has an ulterior motive. And it's great to have family around you. And I think she sells herself short on her ability to help and contribute. And it's been awesome. She's by far the biggest supporter of our footwear brand, from a modeling side, from the spokesperson side, from thinking outside, from getting involved in the styling? Why are we doing this? It's just been the development, every part of it. And I couldn't be happier about. It's really easy. I think the only issue we have is taking the business home with us sometimes.

We started doing that with the girls earlier on. We were all on our phones talking about like, Oh, did you see this video? And it always ends up going to business. Even the girls were vocal about it like, I don't want to do this. This is family time. No business talk. And so when it starts, we're like, Oh, wait, I can't believe I'm doing that. And we'll shut it down. But then he and I would still do it. And so now we're getting really good at it. That happened yesterday. You're like, Oh, I'm not doing this. I'm not going on this road. We're not talking about business.

It sounds like it's been a journey. It's no surprise you guys had some marital problemos during the dancing with the stars time. And did I get it right that it's from a work-life dynamic that started something issues?

I mean, it came across as marital problems. I think one of the things that people don't really believe is that we have an incredible marriage, and we actually love each other and like to be around each other, which I think is rare for couples. For me, all of a sudden, it wasn't about her dancing or being on dancing with the stars. It was just her not being there. I was more in the mode of like, I was thinking we were going to be settling down and taking a step back. And now I'm like, it was more about just a perfect negative situation for me. I moved to LA. I'm an East Coast guy. All my friends and family are in the East Coast. Heidi was doing dancing with the stars and Charlie, too. So I didn't really have access to Charlie or Heidi. You're lonely. Dixie and I were together. But look, the show wanted to position it in a way and make it seem, not even make it seem. We definitely did have issues, but it was She was based off of my love for my wife and love for what we had, and me not really ever dealing with that.

And I will admit that I was really immature, and it made a lot of... Heidi is super-focused. So Heidi gets involved in something, and she can't be like, Okay, I'm going to make sure that this is going well over here and make sure... And I was probably just being a dumb guy and feeling a little bit vulnerable, and it was It was a perfect storm. We moved here. My daughter just moved out of the house. My wife wasn't there. I started a business. I'm building an office in West Hollywood by myself, putting guests together. I'm like, Dude, where's my life going right now? I probably didn't handle I look the best that I could.

What do you wish you did different?

The problem with dancing with the stars is it never ends. Well, if you're good, it ends in 10 weeks. If you're lucky- If she were to run a marathon, I would be like, All right, New York Marathon. She's going to be running for six weeks, and on this day, it's over. You never knew when the thing was over, and I'm like, All right, well, I'm going to get my wife back this week. And she's amazing. She's amazing. So that's the hardest part, right? So you have to support, and you want to support. Then also there's this thing where you're just feeling... And look, I just think it was a rough patch in my life, and I didn't know. I probably should have called someone and been like, Hey, what should I expect during this thing? We knew that it was going to be a lot of work work for her. But afterwards, we met other people that were like, Yeah, dude, I lost my wife for 10 weeks. It was terrible. And even a woman was like, Yeah, my husband was totally not into it. And it wasn't about... Arden was incredible. I'm good friends with all the guys in the cast.

He's also really hot. Yeah, he is. So did that bother you? No, I'm pretty good look at myself. It was never about that. It was just more about her not being around and me not being mature enough to say... I think if she had a career, and she would have been out of the house early on, but- That was always there. Always having her around and not having... What is it? Absence makes a heart grow fonder? I found that out definitely.

It's just like your emotional support human. Yeah. Were you having a midlife crisis?

No, I don't think so. I don't have hobbies, really. People golf. I don't golf, so I didn't really have much to do.

And how have you thought of this pose dancing with the Stars? It's like having your own name, having your career.

Well, dancing with the stars is insane and so hard. But for me, personally, the journey of being the stay-at-home mom, supporting role. And then when you're doing Dance with the stars, not only are you on the dance floor and you can't hide behind your family, then you have to get the judges that are coming at you. Then you go upstairs, Alfonso's firing off questions, live TV, all this, and there's nowhere to hide. I think for me, as hard as physically, Dance With The Stars, that was the hardest part. And I think, fast forward, where I ended up, Dance with the Stars, Our Marriage, My Progress as a Human, I I think eventually I would have gotten there, but it was condensed in eight weeks. And so I'm so happy with how I've grown. I'm so happy how we've grown and where we are now. I don't know if we would have gotten here had we not gone through that. I'm so thankful for it in a weird way. It sucked, and I'd never want to go through that again. But it just brought us to a new place. And so I just feel so much more confident, not just in things maybe I've done before, but just all the new things coming at us and business where I've always been like, I don't know.

Well, I can learn, and I'm going to learn. And so I'm right here, and I'm with you. So I'm really happy with where I am now, personally, and where we are.

I didn't understand that part of it. And I think that's the big thing. It had nothing to do with dancing with the stars. It could have been anything. It was just like, Wait, why are you doing this? We have this great thing going on. I'm not enough. But I've done so many things. I had a career. I've done these things, not necessarily taking the back seat, but watch me do this. And then I really had to put myself in her shoes and say, Imagine if I was the stay-at-home parent And I put... Remember, she started off with all these goals and aspirations and dreams, ultimately wanted to be a wife and a mom, but put those things on hold in New York City more quickly. And then once I started looking at it from that perspective, I don't ever regret because like Heidi said, I think the fact that we went through this, we found this appreciation we knew we had, but it really bubbled to the surface and we really got to go, Oh, shoot. After 23 years, I'm still really in love with this woman. But that was not like, Why are you doing dancing with a Star?

It's like, Well, what are you searching for? I had probably more things that made me content than she did. And now I'm looking at it and it was a learning experience. But I think it was at 24 years of marriage to have that and come out of the other side feeling stronger. I think it was great.

And now, do you find it sexy or attractive that she's coming into her power on her own in business and in her own brand?

Absolutely. I don't want to say traditionally, traditional women's jobs, men's jobs, whatever. But Heidi was a stay-at-home mom. That job is incredibly difficult. I would not trade that for the world. And she did an incredible job. She was the Michael Jordan of moms, bringing out two strong, really cool, incredibly beautiful, talented women. But for me, I always wanted to help. It's not easy to have a lot of the burden of the family on shoulders. And now it's I feel like she always had the ability to do it. I don't think she had the confidence to do something. And I would bring her something and say, Hey, we're making this decision. What do you think? And now it's like, Hey, we're making this decision. What do you think? And I love every aspect of it. I loved how she was able to speak in front of the camera. That's a hard thing to do, to learn all those dances, practice it, execute it, then have the cameras on you, lights on you, talk about it, and then afterwards, towards this press. And she did that for 10 weeks straight. It was amazing. And it's definitely translated to our home now and how we do things.

It sounds like you've reframed it. You're a little lonely for a second, and then you're like, I had three bosses around me. Yeah.

I really did.

That's a moment that should be a pride.

Yeah. And I think there was an aspect of sometimes when Heidi would do something, Charlie and I would be like this, and we would go to rides together. So I basically lost, out of the four of us, the three most important people. Dixie and I were together a lot, but I lost two out of the three for 10 weeks. And look, I'm sure people listening to this be like, Dude, you're being over dramatic right now. Right now, I agree. But when you're going through it, there's no end in sight. And you're like, what the hell?

Where were the dogs?

They were there. They don't talk. They were? They're just like, Dude, what's wrong with you?

And then we had all of them.

And then they get sad, too. They're like, Hey, where's that lady that usually hangs out and feeds I'm like, Heidi? They're like, Yeah. She's dancing with the stars with Charlie. So everyone around me was depressed.

Have you found that now being such strong business partners on the other side of it has made you stronger romantic partners, too?

I think so. Yeah. I think if I could go back, I wouldn't change anything. But we very much had our rules. And I think combining and sharing the home responsibilities and sharing the income responsibilities is important to balance the relationship. I feel like my things were super important, his things were super important. We just didn't share in those feelings of that. We got there.

You got to work on it. You have to set boundaries, and we're not perfect at it. Definitely, it's hard to sit there and deal with some issue in an office and then go home and, Hey, let's light the candles and have a romantic dinner. But you have to learn to turn the page, and then you have to do things that... Not necessarily people are always like, Do you have date night? But we definitely have to plan things and do, like we said, just like, Hey, we're not going to talk about work. It's not easy.

Do you have date night? Well, we have a date day on Saturday. It's all timing, okay? For all you married people. Monday was not a good day to bring up that Saturday. We have a full day date, and it's a surprise. I can't tell him what it is, and he was already stressing about it. I could tell. I don't even have to look at him. So I put it out because I was trying to make plans, and then he was like, Well, okay. Is it all day? And I'm like, Trust me, we're going to have a good day and you're going to enjoy it. So I know when that day comes, we're going to have a great day, but he's going to probably be stressing about a little bit and then appreciate that we took bed day to do that.

Yeah, we just got back. Heidi got me for my birthday. We did a weekend at a car auction because I watch these car auctions on YouTube, and that was cool.

Every time we do something new together, it's fun. It's like, We've never this. I think that keeps it fresh and new and fun and exciting in our marriage.

Where do you see your family in 10 years?

Well, I brought up grandkids the other day, and both of my kids were like, What are you talking about? I was like, Okay, sorry. I wasn't talking about anytime soon. I don't know. Do you think we're still at least living here?

I would love to have a situation, not necessarily, could be in LA, but more of a rural, not a farm, but just a place where we have more space and more land and people could come in and maybe a little bit more seasons.

I miss my garden.

I'm interested to see what the girls do. I'm interested to see if Dixie will move back to... She keeps talking about New York. I can't really get a gage on whether Charlie likes LA long term, whether we both all go back to East Coast.

I can't imagine a world of us not living near each other.

Yeah.

We'll end the episode by asking for a tip that listeners can take straight to the bank. I'd love to ask both of you just for a final tip on what you would say to parents about teaching their kids about business and money.

To teach them and teach it in an age-appropriate way. My kids knew how to clip coupons and do all that at a very young age. This was something that we did is we gave them a debit card, and they got that much money on it, whatever it was. And they were pretty young. If they went to birthday parties or wanted any toys, go to the movies or whatever, they had to pay for it themselves. They had to learn how to make it last. The first week, they spent it all in two days, and then they're like, wait a minute, I'm going to a birthday party, and now I can't buy anything. So I think that was super important. And they got the app on their phone, and it was Bank of America. They didn't know that. They called it the Bofa. And They still have those accounts.

They've asked me to transfer money to those accounts recently. To Bofa and the Bofa. They still have those debit cards, and they've been like, Yeah.

That was something... But we did age-appropriate things all along the way. And then when we were like, Let's do this. I thought that was a big learning lesson.

I would say, don't underestimate the fact that your kids are listening. I've witnessed this in how they treat people in restaurants restaurants, and they've seen how Heidi and I handle ourselves. And from a business side, because I worked at home and I was involved in sales, I do think when I was joking around about Charlie having these negotiating skills, I do think they picked them up from being around me. So I think when you sit down and you say, This is what you should be doing, and this is why you should be doing it, I think if you lead by example, that will rub off on them, and that's definitely worked.

I think it was easier because you were at home. Not everybody works from home, so they don't see those skills. And when you're home, you're just parent. But they were very lucky to have you there.

Yeah, they see it through osmosis. When people ask me, How do I teach my kids to be financially literate? I'm like, Are you?

Yeah.

Because they're watching. They're watching how you spend, save, tip.

And your relationship with it. Are you scared? Are you scared? You're not going to have enough. It's good to be thoughtful and save, but not scared. I have people in my life that are scared. Not Mark, though.

You know what? I do think I want to change my answer from the first part. I think the fact that I'm in sales always gives me the ability to make money. And the fact that any time I I were worried about money, I've always just been able to go out and make what I needed.

I often say you can always get more money. There's always more money to be had. You can't get more time.

Yes. That's right.

Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Lavoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your moneyquestions, moneyrehab@moneynewsnetwork. Com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Moneynews and TikTok at Moneynews Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.