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[MUSIC PLAYING] Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. Our question of the day today comes from Travis in New Mexico. We are a family of six. My wife and I are both turning 45 this year income-wise. We make about $400,000 a year before taxes. Wow. 5% to 15% bonuses before tax. We're living paycheck to paycheck and cannot seem to get out of this. We're about $1.1 million in debt, including our mortgage. We spend more than $20,000 every month on expenses leaving close to nothing to put towards extra debt payments, other than vacations costing $15,000 to $20,000 a year. It is almost impossible to cut into other budget items we need help on a game plan. Yeah, you need a game plan, but the statement, it's almost impossible to cut into-- Live on $400,000 a year in New Mexico. Yeah, it sounds like we've got some emotional issues with the poor decisions we've made, because if you're living paycheck to paycheck on that, spend every month. You're just out of control. Yeah, there's something really. I mean, everybody out there that's making $100,000 a year and saving money is laughing at you right now. That's just ridiculous, OK? So yes, the vacations need to go away. And yes, you probably have some stupid cars you can't afford. And you may even bought a house you can't afford. I don't know. But I don't know what decisions you've made that eats up $400,000 a year, and you don't seem to think you have any room in that budget. And don't tell me, it's because we have a family of six, and bull crap. Lots of families of six live on 50 and 60,000 all over America. So sorry. I don't have enough information here to give an intelligent answer. That's right. But I don't-- we spend more than 20-- I don't even spend just leaving close to nothing. I think it's almost impossible to cut into other budget items. So my only guess here from 30 years of doing what I do is that one of you, either you, Travis, or your wife, is an absolute child. One of you is a princess. One of you gets everything they want, and the other one is afraid of them, afraid to tell them, you're freak, you're out of control, we're stopping this, you're a nut. We're not doing this anymore. And you're afraid of them to say that. So I don't know which one of you it is. I kind of think it's you, Travis, the way this is worded. But you could just be scared of your princess wife. I don't know. But somebody here has put the emotional barrier up that this is reasonable. And no one in America listening to this right now thinks this is reasonable. Even people in Washington, DC who can't balance a budget if they had to look at you making 400,000 a year and say there's nowhere to cut and don't think that's reasonable. Even a congressman would look at your budget and say that's not a reasonable statement. That's a bold statement. - Wow, I don't know if it's true and you're always right. (laughing) I mean, it sounds like a congressional budget where essentially, you know what I'm seeing here? And all joking aside, I think you actually put your finger right on the nerve of this deal. Just because you say we want the Country Club membership and we put it in the budget, doesn't mean it should be in the budget. - It doesn't mean you need to be in the Country Club. - That's right. When you've got this kind of deal. - But it's where our fam, oh, shut up. (laughing) We ain't there every Sunday at your church, yeah. You're broke and you make 400 K shut up. - Yeah. - Yeah, I don't know what it is. - We have some access in the budget. - Our children are all, have you seen the thing? I saw it the other day. It's the funniest thing on travel baseball. - Oh, I think I know what you're talking about. I guess it was a real, somebody sent it to me. Like, congratulations, your son just made the travel baseball team. That means that you will have no weekends for the rest of your life. It will cost you $26,000 up front and an additional $124,000 a year in travel and expenses. And when he graduates, he will never play ball again. - Yeah. (laughs) - So true. - Congratulations, you've made travel baseball. We can't cut that out though. Yeah, I mean, it's like, yeah, wait. - That's right. - So yeah, this is, it kind of falls in that, like this, there's an emotional barrier to cutting it, not a reality barrier. That's what I'm smelling. - Absolutely. - Because it's nothing else. There's no other explanation for this ridiculous statement. So, Travis is stupid, man. You're gonna have to do something different. You keep doing what you've been doing. You're gonna keep getting what you've been getting. That's the definition of insanity. Continue to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. You have to change and change is hard, but it's not as hard as being broke and making 400K. I hope I'm shaming you into doing this. It's kind of a spiritual gift of mine. Create your free every dollar budget today, the simplest way to budget for your life.
