Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Change Makers: Lauren and Cameron Hamilton

Episode Date: June 18, 2021

Love Is Blind stars Lauren and Cameron Hamilton join us this week to talk about their unlikely love story, what life was like when the cameras stopped rolling, and how to be successful business partners with your romantic partner.

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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. As you know, every Friday we talk with a public figure making change in every sense of the word.

And along the way has been in or might still be in money rehab. Today I'm talking with Lauren Speed Hamilton and Cameron Hamilton. Lauren and Cameron were the breakout stars of Love is Blind, the show that got many, many people through the first months of quarantine. Lauren and Cameron were one of the couples that got married at the end of the season, and I think it's fair to say they were everyone's favorite. At least that's what I've been told. Please don't kill me. I actually didn't watch the show. But what's been happening since the camera stopped rolling? These people, practically strangers, got engaged at first sight, are married really soon thereafter,

complete with a wedding in front of a casual Netflix crew, and then are left on their own devices to figure out day-to-day stuff and build a life together. And as many of you money rehabbers will know, the day-to-day stuff has a lot to do with money. Do you buy the house of your dreams? What's your budget? Do you have any debt that's going to affect financial health? How many kids can we afford to send to school? What about fur babies? They're expensive too. Plus, as we know from Kendall Long's episode, once you're coupled up on television, your relationship becomes a brand, a business. How does working together affect being together? I'm curious about how any newlyweds have these conversations, but newlyweds that practically just met, I had to know more. So Lauren and Cameron, welcome to Money Rehab. We are going to start out with a quick icebreaker. I'm going to ask you guys a question about your money habits as a couple,

and then you can pick whether you think the answer is you or your partner. So who paid on the first date? Cameron. As he should. Who is more thrifty? Lauren. Who is more likely to splurge? Lauren.

Lauren. Who is in charge of the budget? Yeah, that's pretty 50-50. Are we allowed to say both? Lauren, Cameron. Who has a better credit score? Cameron. Cameron. Whose love language is giving gifts cameron who is into crypto cameron i do have some who has more credit cards open hi who is more likely to say yes to a side hustle lauren i'll give it to you but who is more likely to apply for a cash prize? Oh, Cameron.

Giveaway. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, I'm really excited to get into your money habits more as a couple and your first book. But first, I want to get to know you guys a little bit better. Can you tell me a little bit about your lives before the show?

Like, where were you living? Where were you working? Absolutely. So before the show, Like, where were you living? Where were you working? Absolutely. So before the show, I was living on my own. I actually had a one bedroom apartment, very small, which they showed it on the show. It was pretty teeny tiny. Prior to going on the show, I actually had my own business, which I still have today.

I do a lot of media work, production, videography stuff. So that's where I was. I was a struggling artist. Needless to say, you know, you don't, the money isn't always, you know, constantly flowing in that type of occupation. So I was definitely an artist on a budget prior to going on Love is Blind. For me, I was working for a company developing AI software for the financial industry, actually, for banks. I was detecting money laundering and fraud. So I had a team of 10 data scientists that I was leading building this type of software. And I have to admit, I have not seen the show. Everybody on my team thinks I am a super nerd and have been living under a rock for the last two years. Can y'all help me understand the concept of the show?

Because what I know is crazy. You don't see each other and then y'all get married? Basically, I mean, in a nutshell, that's it. Love is Blind is basically a dating show. 15 guys, 15 girls, and we meet each other through a wall and we date. And if things go well, then we get engaged and possibly married. But you date through a wall? Yeah, through a wall. It's sight unseen. Love is blind. So basically you're making connections with people, you know, that's not based on what they look like in their physical appearance,

but more so through conversation and, you know, the things that you have in common with each other and things like that. It also seems kind of COVID friendly. It is. Right. And this was filmed back in 2018, way before all that stuff. So, yeah, kind of foreshadowed it. Yeah. The timing of it coming out in 2020, you know, spring last year was actually right as COVID was hitting. So a lot of people

could really relate watching Liv because, you know, we were all in quarantine at that time. So have you guys talked much about money while you were dating on the show? Oh, really? Through the wall? Through the wall. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing is I know the premise of it sounds kind of crazy. And frankly, I think we both thought that before going on to it. But I think one of the things that really helped us build that strong connection was we had these sorts of conversations in the pods from a very early point, you know, we're talking about finances, you know, we talked about, for example, how are we going to balance our household expenses when, you know, at the time there was a disparity in income?

And I mean, nowadays it's where it's a different situation. But we talked about that from really like the third date in the pods. Yeah. How to split bills and all that. You know, income coming in, credit card debt, because we're talking about getting married to each other. So we kind of had to tackle all those types of conversations like early on. Oh, you were after my own money. We have heart on this one. Did they cut that out of the show? I would have loved to see them. They did. Fuckers. I know that's like the stuff that people need to see, you know, those types of conversations between, you know, people who are dating or, you know,

looking to get married because those are important conversations that you need to discuss with your partner. Like money is important to talk about. Okay. So tell me what was cut out. Was there full transparency from the third date when it came up? Absolutely. Yeah.

I mean, I think when Lauren and I realized that, you know, this is serious, I mean, of course, at first it feels a little awkward being on this show and this strange dating experiment. But when we connected, I think we both realized that we really needed to get serious with these sorts of conversations. And so, yeah, we, we, we delved into transparency and talking about, you know, having student loans or just where we were in our careers and that sort of thing. And how would we balance bills in the household? And, you know, even things like, you know, if one, how would we maybe compensate with other responsibilities around the house? If we're unable to split the bills 50-50, maybe one picks up more of the things that

are happening in the house, cooking, cleaning, and keeping the house in order, stuff like that. So we definitely had to form a partnership very quickly, especially when it came to issues with money and taking care of the house. I heard one guy on the show found out that their partner's debt was out of control after he proposed. Did you guys have any financial issues that you needed to work through when you met each other? Thankfully not. No, we didn't have any big financial issues. I mean, I had some student loans, but I was paying them back pretty regularly. Thankfully, paid them all off now. And same, same with me. I mean, I had some student loan debt, which is, you know, not a problem. I also had some credit card debt too,

but that's also not a problem. So we were completely honest, you know, going into the marriage and into our relationship about our financial status, because, you know, from that point on, we will be joined, you know, our life was kind of joining together. So it was important for us to be, you know, real and honest about our financial status with each other. I love that so much. I've long said that there should be a filter on dating apps for debt. I mean, the other stuff is way more arbitrary. Like if he's five, nine or five, 10 does not matter as much as if he has a boatload of debt or not. That's not true. Did you guys do this because you were burnt by finances in other relationships or you just had done the work on yourself to know that that was an important compatibility point for me? I think my

past dating, you know, relationships and in relationship to money, I haven't really had any issues when it comes to that. But I did kind of just go through a whole, I guess, evolution as a woman in general, you know, after I hit my 30s, I got more financially responsible, because your priorities definitely change, you know, when you're not out, you know, in college, and whatnot. So I would say I definitely have reached a point in my life by the time that we went on Lib where I was pretty much aware, very aware of my finances and how they were coming and leaving. So definitely. Your boss bitch. Yeah. I mean, I think when you're older, you have to have these grown up

conversations. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It's necessary for the relationship to be healthy and evolve. Yeah. You can't sweep it under the rug and then expect it to not be an issue later on, obviously. Right. Because it'll come up in the worst times, I'm sure. It's the number one cause of divorce. It's the number one cause of fights. it's the number one cause of divorce it's the number one cause of fights i'm so proud of you i just want to give you a big hug that you did this so early on uh i think all couples should do it i don't want to say necessarily you should go on a first date and be like so do you have any credit card debt like yeah like what's your credit score yep yeah that's not the best uh pickup line but i think that there's ways to ask questions around it.

You know, like, hey, so what do you like to do with your free time? Because that will let you know how they like to spend their money, nine times out of ten, and what they like to do with their free time. Yeah, I think there's a little bit of finesse and art to it. You know, I mean, oftentimes it's not exactly what you ask, but how you ask it. So you kind of there's ways that you can kind of ease into that conversation a little bit. But you shouldn't you shouldn't shy away from it. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. I think that framing it around goals and dreams is a really easy way to get into it because goals and dreams have price tags, right? And you don't

have to be exactly the same, but your values should be compatible, especially when you're going to smush your finances together. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money Rehab will be right back. Now for some more Money Rehab. So how did you guys handle finances after marriage? And did you share everything or do you have separate accounts? I mean, we have separate accounts and we also have shared accounts for expenses. And I mean, at the start of our marriage, you know, I took on more of the bills and things like that. Lauren took on more of the household responsibilities, but I mean, her career has really picked up in a huge way and obviously very proud of her for that. And, and so now it's very much split. We have like, for

example, a studio together that we pay for, you know many expenses with hiring videographers and all this sort of thing. Yeah, we run businesses together now. So having a joint account has been really helpful because all of the things that we do together, whether it's business or, like Cam mentioned, paying the household bills, comes out of that joint account. We both contribute to that. I mentioned paying the household bills comes out of that joint account. We both contribute to that. But at the same time, I feel like it's so important to have your own money and your own account, because maybe I want to buy a designer bag. And I don't want to take that from our joint account, because I'll, you know, Cameron may feel some type of way, or maybe he wants to buy something that I will probably be like, I wouldn't spend my money on that. So I think that having those joint accounts, but also kind of having your separate money for yourself and however you want to

purposely spend it is great too. So I agree. I think a yours, mine and ours account is really important. And then oftentimes when couples have a disparity in income, sometimes I suggest to put a weighted amount of money from your salary into the joint account. So it feels the same to both people, because, you know, $100 to somebody making a million dollars is not going to feel like a lot, but $100 to somebody making $25,000 is going to feel like a lot. You mentioned that you're now working together. So I wanted to ask you about that. How is working together and sleeping together? You know, it's, it was challenging. And it's obviously with its challenges, because I think both Lauren and I, we both really like to manage things and, you know, have our say of whatever it is. So when you have two personalities

like that, we can sometimes bump head, whether it's creatively or, or whatever. But I mean, I think I feel, at least I feel that over time we've become a lot better at it. And, uh, it's, I mean, I'm really happy with where we've come with it. Yeah, I think we definitely had to find our rhythm, you know, especially being, you know, a somewhat newly married couple. I mean, we're about to enter into our third year of marriage. So we're still kind of new. We're not newlyweds, but, you know, we're getting into our rhythm now. But I think that we really had to adjust to each other's personalities. really had to adjust to each other's personalities. Like Cam said, how we would like to spend money in the business, because maybe one person feels like it's good to invest more here, and the other person might not agree. And you know, it's like, we're not only husband and wife, we're business

partners. So we also have to kind of have those tough conversations and not keep it separate from home. So if we disagree on something, we're not going home and giving each other the silent treatment, you know, so stuff like that, We have to kind of find the balance between working and home. Which is tough. And that's part of why we have the studio is to try to create a homework separation. And to give you kind of an example, it might be something like, let's say we want to hire a videographer for some piece of content that we want to make versus filming it ourselves, you know. And, of course, it's cost to do that and to hire an editor and all this sort of thing. So, you know, we might have a conversation.

Do we need a videographer for this? Do we not? So, you know, those are the type of conversations that we often have. So, you know, those are the type of conversations that we often have. And, you know, I mean, like we said, I feel like we've come a really long way around that. Definitely. Yeah. It seems like you guys balance each other out in a really nice way. You did a lot of content together.

You had your channel hanging with the Hamiltons. And now you are writing together and launching a book together called Leap of Faith. Tell me about it. So Leap of Faith is really about, you know, the different times and moments in our life where we had to take leaps of faith that really changed our life for the better. And we're just sharing all of the gems that we've learned on our journey and hope to help others and inspire them and motivate them with our story. Yeah, I think that's well said. And I would add to that, that, you know, we wanted it to not just be a book about ourselves and our life and love story, but also kind of like pragmatic tips that we've learned things that really helped us to feel comfortable taking leaps of faith, you know, whether that's

starting your own business or pursuing reality TV or whatever it might be. Taking those leaps of faith when you've done your own sort of calculations, let's say, and you have your own intuition. I think that's often what you do need to do. What advice would you guys give couples who want to work together? It's going to be tough inevitably at some point or another. I think one thing is you have to be kind of persistent in the sense of, you know, if there's resistance between you two, you have to have faith that you can work it out, you know, and not just give up and be like, oh, this is impossible for us to work together. You know, you have to kind of, even if it's incremental, figure out what adjustments you can make to make it a better working relationship. Yeah. And I think that you all just have to be on the same page. That's the

most important thing. I mean, communication is everything in a romantic relationship and especially in a business relationship. You know, as long as you guys go into it with the same goal in mind, you guys know what you want to accomplish. The main thing after that is, you know, plotting out how you plan on getting there. And as long as you guys agree on that, of course, there's going to be some hurdles along the way. But, you know, as long as your goal

is more important than the hurdles, then you'll be all right. And also with regard to communication, I feel like one thing that is problematic is when people are like, you know, you never do this, or you always do that, that thinking in absolute never, they're putting blame on the other person in a business relationship, obviously, that's no good either. So instead of that, I feel like it's helpful to kind of reframe it like hey you know this is what I'm trying to accomplish I'm hoping that for example we can launch a new video

next week like this is my idea of how I think we can get it done what do you think you know so instead of being like you know you're never doing the video, whatever it is, you know? Yeah. So you say things. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of being more methodical with like how you have a conversation. It's important. So, of course, money can put a lot of stress on couples in every stage of a relationship. Of course, as you progress in a relationship, those money talks get harder with wills and advanced directives and all sorts of grown up big girl, big boy stuff. What are some healthy habits that you could tell couples around money and how to talk to each other about money? Yeah, I think that budgeting is a great way to start. I mean, just kind of agreeing on, you know, what you guys have and what's allotted

for this, you know, have a fun fun. You know, if you guys like to go out to dinner, if you like to go to amusement parks or whatever it is, you know, budget that out so that you guys aren't strapped when it's time to do something and you've been overworked and you're like, oh my God, we don't have money to have fun. Like that's the worst thing ever. So I think that budgeting is great. It's a good way to, and I feel like when people hear budget they feel like oh my god I'm restricting like I feel like I I'm choking myself but it really doesn't have to be that way everything is strategy and if you find it out ahead of time then you actually get a sense of freedom from it because you know that you have money saved you have money to spend and it's just just, it's freeing. It really is. Yeah. I mean, that's,

that's really well said. Yeah. Can you work with me, Lauren? You basically have summarized Rich Bitch, my first book, in a few sentences better than I could have. So I'm going to recruit you, please. And thank you. That was awesome. Let's do it. Here's today's tip you can take straight to the bank. If your business partner is also your romantic partner, you're going to need to make sure your communication is crystal clear. Lauren and Cameron say that you shouldn't only communicate with your partner about your goals, but how you're going to get there. You may both agree that you want to write a book together like they did, and that's it. But do you agree on who's writing what?

To go on a book tour? How to make deadlines? It's like going on vacation. You can't just stop the conversation once you've decided to go to Hawaii. Or else you might be on a Maui-bound trip on a plane on Tuesday, and your partner may be Oahu-bound on a cruise ship on Thursday, and you're both wondering where the hell Bay is. So be like Lauren and Cameron and talk through the process of achieving your goals

so you can get there and get there together. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Catherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fisher. Executive producers are Mangesh Hatikader and Will Pearson.

Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lanz, 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.