Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - "I Quit Gambling... Now What?" (Listener Intervention)

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

With the rise and legalization of sports betting platforms, gambling has never been easier— and compulsive gambling has never had a lower barrier to entry. Today, Nicole talks to a Money Rehabber who has had many highs and devastating lows over a decades-long career of gambling. Today, he shares how he’s building a healthier relationship with money, and they make a financial plan that helps him pave the way for a better financial future. If you or someone you know is struggling with compulsive gambling, you can call the National Gambling Helpline to be connected with local resources at: 1-800-GAMBLER. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. Brokerage services for alternative assets are offered by Dalmore Group, LLC, member FINRA & SIPC. Brokerage services for treasury accounts offering 6-month T-Bills are offered by Jiko Securities, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Banking services are offered by Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank. Securities investments: Not FDIC Insured; No Bank Guarantee; May Lose Value.  Brokerage services for Regulation A securities are offered through Dalmore Group, LLC, member FINRA & SIPC. Risks at public.com/disclosures/alts-risk-and-conflict-of-interest-disclosure See public.com/#disclosures-main for more information.

One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that

I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime. Feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details.

I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash, but I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your

reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host, so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. Hey, money rehabbers. Before we start this episode, I just wanted to let you know that the episode includes some descriptions of compulsive gambling. If this is a subject that's difficult for you, please take care while listening. If you or someone you know

is struggling with compulsive gambling, you can call the National Gambling Hotline to be connected with local resources at 1-800-GAMBLER. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. In the last quarter of 2023, DraftKings, the sports betting app, reported revenue of $1.2 billion, which is up 44% from Q4 the year prior. And that is just one app. With the rise in legalization of sports betting platforms, gambling has never been easier, and compulsive gambling has never had a lower barrier to entry. Today, I talked to a money rehabber who, as he tells me, does not identify as a gambling addict,

but he has had his fair share of highs and devastating lows over a decades-long career of gambling. Today, he shares how he's building a healthier relationship with money, and we make a plan together that helps him pave the way for a better financial future. Brandon, welcome to Money Rehab. Thank you very much for having me on today. I would love to chat about your money goals, but first, I want to hear about your money story. You've had a complicated, is that fair, relationship, sometimes difficult, it sounds like, with money

sometimes, but have come out on the other side and are now better for it. Can we go back to where your money story begins? Yeah, sure. Absolutely. So it all happened. I've been involved in sports my entire life. Love watching them, love playing them. And it all happened going to New York Mets games and New York Yankee games. And what I mean by that is you would go to the games and they would have a promo offer for a credit card. So I would go there, apply for a credit card, get a limit of $1,500 on two credit cards. And I believe I was 18 at the time because I was going into my freshman year in college. And I believe I was 18 at the time because I was going into my freshman year in college.

And I would just go. I would go to the Chili's, go out with my friends. And it's charge, charge, charge, everything as much as I could after dinner. That's where it all started. I come from a single mom who raised me. And with that said, we had to hustle our lives in terms of making money and saving money. And I should have known better. What I mean by that is there was no safety net. I didn't have anywhere to go. I should have hustled more,

more responsible with my money choices. And again, at 18, you don't know these things. Back then, social media was not there a hundred percent at all. We were still using beepers at the time. Cell phones were just getting out. I remember. I had a blue one with sparkles. Yes, yes, we do. Yeah, so that's how it all started. I've been gambling since I was 15 years old. That's my action. And what do I define that as my action? I drink socially. I don't do any drugs. I don't smoke cigarettes. I never had a cigarette in my life. It just doesn't do it for me. But gambling was the one thing of vice that I just wanted to do. I wanted action all the time. There was nothing more exciting for me to be calling in a bet. Nicole, back in the day,

you would call up a bookie on the phone. Hey, what's your name? Hey, my name is pineapple for 10. I want a thousand dollars on this game. A,000. Nicole, I was 18, 19 years old. What kind of gambling were you doing then? So only sports gambling? Sports gambling. But my favorite thing to do, one of my favorite things to do is gamble at the horse track. My first big win at the horse track was a trifecta. A trifecta is you get three horses, win, place, and show. I hit 5-7-1. Those were the exact numbers. It paid a total of $15.28.

I'll never forget it. And this got me going. And also at the same time... $15.28, like $1,520. That was the total amount paid, $500.28. Yeah, so it's always been sports gambling, not much in the casinos,

only roulette, blackjack, poker. I'll get eaten alive. Cra poker, I'll get eaten alive, craps, I'll get eaten alive, I know I'll lose my money. But for some reason, I think that I could win every sports bet. I don't know why. When I was 18 to my 30s, yes, I did. It was just action for me. I would win at times a lot, I would win. I would go on hot streaks, I would win 15, 20, 30 in a row. I would lose a lot of money as well. I got into trouble where I owed $3,000. I couldn't pay it. It's not an easy lifestyle, especially if you're dating someone. What are you doing? You're committed to that person. Yes, you're 22, but you're still in a relationship.

You still made that choice to date that person. And what am I doing? I'm on my phone checking scores left and right. It's uncomfortable. Yeah. Listen, I have I've dated people who are very, very into gambling and it definitely can take over. It never really clicked with me like I never really got it. It was not my vice or my action, as you call it, maybe because I came from like a scarcity mindset around money growing up. So it's really surprising to me that you say you had a similar upbringing with a scarcity mindset, never had enough money, single mom. Then what was the drop for gambling? Why did you feel like you needed to gamble when you were 15? And then how did that evolve when you got older? Because there's never enough money at the house. I always wanted to make more money.

So I had stuff. I wanted to buy stuff. I wanted to have nice clothes for some reason. For some reason that mattered to me and it should have mattered. And again, you're 15, 16, you're in high school, you're watching so many people. And I've had good friends my whole life. I don't have any sisters and brothers, but I've had good friends, the same friends I've had since I was six years old in kindergarten. And they're still my friends today. Some of them are better off at times. Their parents were more successful. My mom was very sick in her life. She couldn't do things that my other friends' parents could do. And I said to myself, I have to make more money. I don't want to be poor. I want to succeed. I always had that drive to work harder than anybody else. My mentality is Kobe Bryant. My mentality is Tom Brady, my two favorite athletes. I gave it

all. I didn't have the mentality at all times like I should have had. I was careless, irresponsible. At the time, I didn't own up to it, but I knew it was going on. I just wanted to keep doing it because it was the fun in my life. That was my action in my life. Nothing fulfilled me more than doing that. With that said, what happened was as I got older, I made more money, really good money at times. However, there was a time where- But you were making that money through gambling. No, for my work, my career. So I would never use my rent money towards it ever. That was the rule. My rent comes first, gambling second. I have to be fair to the person I'm renting from and it's just doing the right thing for somebody. I still had a good mindset. I never changed the person that I was. I had a

good background. I was always grounded with my mom. My friends, again, always there for me at all times, but they couldn't see it. They know I have to gamble, but I was the only gambler of my friends that used to bet a lot of money. I'm not talking about small pins, like a hundred dollar bets. What's the biggest bet you've ever placed three thousand two hundred and eighty seven dollars why i know that number is that very specific and the reason why is that's how much money i had in my account and i put that much money on a tennis bet because i knew it was going to win. And it won. And it was a guarantee.

I knew it was going to win 100%. So I won that money. I think it was six grand. I think it was. And the guy goes to me. He's like, what are you doing? How are you winning all this money? Are you cheating? I go, no, I'm not cheating.

I'm like, are you kidding me? As quick as I can win is how much I'm going to lose. So what happened? It's kind of hard to count cards in a sports game like how are you cheating unless you're like tanya harding get or something god forbid but how did you end up funding all this gambling was it through your main hustle your regular job like rent was first but then was everything else toward gambling? You had a great relationship, it sounds like, with your family and friends. Did you ever ask them for money? Did you take out more credit cards? Did you take out loans? How did you fuel this addiction?

Okay, great questions. Never borrowed money from my friends for gambling, ever. What I did, though, was credit cards, personal loans, personal loans, personal loans, times seven, I think it was total, or maybe eight. First one, I was at the bank I did business with, so I knew I was going to get approved. Because why? My direct deposit is coming out of that account, so I knew I was going to be able to pay it back. That was, I think the first one I got was for $3,000.

I think I was 24 at the time because it wasn't easy. I had to prove my income. So I had to show my W-2, my pay stubs. So I got that. Then it just kept rolling, 3,000, 5,000. But then once I understood the system and how it worked and how the underrated is the one that makes the final decision, how I could challenge the underrated, I'm like, let's go.

Game on. I'll do this. Trust me. Now I know the facts. I did my research. Now I have Game on. I'll do this. Trust me. Now I know all the facts. I did my research. Now I know what to do. And you're saying, what do you mean by that? I would ask for $10,000 purposely, like a sales call.

I'm going to go ask for more money and then let them talk me down. And that's what happened. The 10,000. Hey, you know what's on the New York, Brandon? We can't improve the 10,000. We're going to give you 7,500. Sure. How quick can I sign that paper?

As quick as I sign that paper is when I sign on to a company and I sign my direct deposit form. And that's how it was for my loan. Let me sign that, get it in my account right away. So let's just say example, $5,000, boom, that 5,000, 2,000 on that, I'll go home and bet right away. It was so sick at times. I would bet, I would bet I'm a color car was coming up next.

If I wanted to, I would bet on anything. It did not matter. I just wanted action for some reason. And again, I guess you can say maybe it's out of boredom, but I have a good life. I have good friends. I have good family. I just wanted to be actually at all times. It was so much fun for me to come home. And when I mean my back, give an example. Let's just say you're having a losing day on a Saturday. It's a big college football day. You would wait until Pacific time to the pack 12 games. Oh, I remember this. I dated somebody that was into this type of stuff. It wasn't only the West coast. It was like Hawaii after that. Yes, yes.

Because all you're doing and the worst thing you do in sports gambling is chase your bets. I use the word addiction, Brandon, but I guess I should ask you. Would you say that you were addicted to gambling? I, you know, to this day, I'm still going to say no.

And everyone else that you probably, if you talk to my friends, they probably say, yes, you definitely was. To me, it was. It was my action. It was was an entertainment in my life there are things that my friends do that's entertaining to them to me this is what i want to do with my life i wanted to be a professional sports gambler my whole life that's that's what my career what i wanted to do and honestly of all the vices i shouldn't have done this i should have had better outlets. I should have worked three jobs. It sounds like you got in some financial trouble here. I mean, between all these credit cards and loans, were you getting into debt? And then what was going

on with your credit score? So the highest I had was I think a 717 or 715, one of those. And again, I had to take out more loans. I couldn't pay them sometimes because I would have three loans, seven credit cards, I think, at one time. And I'm talking about good credit cards. And that was not even the pay for gambling. That was the pay for other things like my everyday expenses. They're saying, well, you have a $20,000 limit. Yeah, what are you doing with your money?

I had no idea. I was careless. I don't even know what I was buying. I know I was buying a lot of clothes. I was buying a lot of DVDs back in the day. It was just out of control, my spending. But the worst thing was when your relationships are just casually dating,

your partner knows what's going on at a point. But to be honest, my friends never knew i'm not an actor but for this i was the best actor for the last 25 years of my life to be honest with you did you ever go through a breakup because of gambling no nobody ever dumped you because of it no i ended the relationship because my opinion the relationship ran its course i couldn't give the other person exactly what they wanted it was unfair to to them. I cut it off, good or bad. I had to do it. I had to make that decision. It wasn't right. There were some good people in my life, but it's not fair to them. They should have someone that will be there for them 100% of the time and give it all. And I cannot do that. That's not fair to

them. So again, there are a lot of lonely nights too. Because you had a whole other relationship, it sounds like, with gambling. Do you know how much money, all in all, you lost? Not an exact number. Probably between $15,000 to $17,000. And again, going back to the credit scores, my credit kept diminishing. It went from a $717,000 or $715,000 to as low as a $460,000. Now, I don't have my own house. I never wanted a house.

I don't want it. I always like renting. When you have bad credit, good luck getting approved for an application. Good luck getting electricity at your house, gas company. Good luck. It's not easy. So again, my cell phone service, I've had the same one since college. If I change it, they're going to run a credit report. Insurance sometimes, it goes up because of my credit. It is not good at all. It is not healthy. But at the same time, no one is going to... And I had a friend who helped me do this, do this, to be honest with you, in 2020. I had a friend that we negotiated stuff with the credit card companies in 2020. We had a good

payment plan. I negotiated with Capital One, Chase, Discover Personal Loans. And I was doing well in the beginning, but it was 2020, 2021. I started a new career and the career is very challenging because I had a staff locations that I couldn't do. And my phone was nonstop. And I, it was just too much happening at once between like my, the stress with my credit score, gambling becoming too mainstream now. It's legalized in more states now. It was just too much for me to process.

And you add COVID on top of it, it was just a lot for me to intake at once. And I could have went to my friends, but I didn't because a lot of my friends have families. I didn't want to interrupt them because their one friend is gambling. But at the time, that's what I thought. They would have been there for me. I just had too much going on mentally in my head where I just couldn't do it. I stopped paying them.

I stopped paying them. I started getting certified mail. Certified mail. It was crazy. They were going to go to court with me and take me to court. I did not care. It would come in.

As soon as I saw it, boom, rip it off. Garbage. See you later. I'm not going to think about it. And I soon as I saw it, boom, rip it off. Garbage. See you later. I'm not going to think about it. And I can't do that because what are they going to do, Nicole? Start garnishing my wages. So what did I do? Nope.

I quit the job. I'm not going to let them do it. I quit that job. And it was a bad decision on my end. A really bad decision. I lied to my friends. I said, hey, due to staffing concerns, due to COVID, I used COVID this year, so they had to let go of people. I had a great boss who let

me do my thing with my job, my career, and I just let him down. I quit. I'll never forget writing that email, typing it up. It's all because of the debt struggles, paying stuff, COVID, stress, Struggles, paying stuff, COVID, stress, not having an outlet source. Oh, I made my dad, I made my dad, Nicole, my mom passed away in 2012. So all the, ah, thank you very much. So I really haven't been the same mentally at all at the same time. But I wouldn't say that was my addiction. I'm not calling it an addiction.

I wouldn't say that's what made me gamble. I just, an addiction. I wouldn't say that's what made me gamble. I just, you know, I just missed her because she always told me that I'm going to miss her a lot when she's gone. And that's the truth. I did. I do. But here we are now. Okay. I figured it all out.

I have. I said, I have to change my ways in my life. I have to figure this out. No one's going to do it for me. No one's going to, all people, no one wants excuses. So it sounds like that was like a turning point moment for you. Did you feel like after your mom passed and you left your job and it was COVID, was that rock bottom? Yes.

Hold onto your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a time checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I

got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits.

Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash, but I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you.

Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high-quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it.

But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. And now for some more money rehab. After your mom passed and you left your job and it was COVID, was that rock bottom? Yes. Yes. Because I couldn't get a job right away. And I had to work labor jobs and work my butt off. I was doing it overnights. It's not easy. But you know what? After everything, I needed that. I needed that motivation. And I've changed.

And this change has happened within the last 12 weeks. I am different. Oh, this is recent. Yes, Nicole. Definitely recent. I am back at a high level the way I used to be. It took me 12 years to get to my point that I am today. It feels good.

And you cut gambling, pulled turkey? Not a hundred percent. For now, yes, I still want it, but I don't need it in my life anymore. And the reason why I'm saying that is, it's become too mainstream where all the states legalize and friends that I would never thought we gambled, gambled. They try to give me advice. I'm like, I don't want to hear it. You don't know what you're talking about. You really don't. It's just not me anymore. That chapter in my life is over.

I work hard for my money. I'm saving it. I'm doing things with it. I'm enjoying my life. I like going out, having fun. Again, when you are gambling and losing, you don't want to be around anybody. You have to be introverted.

I am an extroverted person. So it sounds like you haven't gambled for three months. Is that right? No, no. I haven't gambled in three years. Oh, okay. So this three month thing is a new mindset or what's the last 12 weeks? The last 12 weeks is getting back to how I used to be, getting back on track in my life, going through my credit report, calling Experian, TransUnion, Equifax. Yeah. First of all, thank you so much for being so open and honest about your story, Brandon. It's really refreshing to hear how you have no filter around what happened. And I think that's really helpful to a lot of people who might be struggling or know about somebody who's struggling.

So we really appreciate that. And I would love to talk more about this next part of your journey. And I'd love to help you with it. I'd love to be part of it. I know you wanted to talk about setting up a plan for your money goals. I'd love to know what your money goals are

before we can come up with a plan. Look, I can't tell you what they are. Only you can tell hopefully me what they are, but at least tell yourself. Do you know what your money goals are and how you are thinking about those right now? Well, one thing about you, and I was so thankful that you got back to me from one of your reels that you posted on Instagram is you're very good in your sector. You're on point. And in terms of money goals, I guess what I would say to you is obviously there's no gambling anymore. So that money is not getting allocated for that. What I wanted to ask you is what would you say are the correct steps of saving money? Were you paying bills at the same time? How would you calculate that? And what kind of formula would you

use? Not you personally, what would you use for someone like myself and everyone else listening? Yeah. So it's a great question. Do you know what you would be saving for? Like, is it a house? Is it a vacation? Is it retirement? Retirement, vacation, those two things specifically. And what's your source of income right now? Working several jobs right now. One of them, I've learned a transportation business, something I did not know before. I'm a CFO of that company. It's a new company. So I look at the books. I reconcile them every Monday. I've been doing this for over two years now. I'm also doing other jobs as well, just to make money. That's all I'm about is how do I make the

most money possible? How do I save? Because a lot of my life is gone and was gone because of all the money I had to pay in debt and everything. Let's bring it back to what? Back to basics. Let's come up with a plan. And that's why I'm here with you today, because I know you, you know, you can give us advice on how to do it. Let's make a plan. plan. And that's why I'm here with you today, because I know you, you know, you can give us advice about it. Let's make a plan. OK, so how much are you making now between the three jobs? I would say total about thirty three hundred dollars a month.

OK, and how much debt do you still have? You said you paid down half, which is awesome. So I only have one credit card company coming after me. I have 10 of them. Only one of them. One. And that's only I pay $200 a month. And that's a total of $3,200 that I still owe. And that's it. Do you know what the interest rate on the debt is?

There's no interest on it. The money that I owe, there's zero interest on this. Zero. Oh, so this is like you owe somebody money, not like a credit card. Yes. So what happens is it was charged off. Capital One used another company to outsource it. So it's the lawyers that are paying.

They're the ones coming after me. They said, if you don't pay this, we're going to garnish your wages. And all I had to do, Nicole, was just be honest, be vulnerable. That's all I said. This is what's going on in my life. This is what happened. If you just tell people the truth, if it's just realistic and you break it down and say, this is what's going on in my life. This is what happened. If you just tell people the truth, if it's just realistic and you break it down and say, this is what I can do.

And you own your own life. Because one thing I've learned, life is one thing is not a dress rehearsal. You're going to do it over again. And that's so much fun that you said that by the interest, like, wait, no, there is no interest on it. That's so interesting. And I'm so glad that you said that because I do know, and I do talk about the idea that it is important to actually speak with creditors and not just ignore them. Like they're so scary. It's so scary when they're calling you and hounding you and all that stuff. But yes, absolutely. Tell them your story, talk with them, negotiate with them. All right. So you have three grand, a little bit more than three grand in debt.

All right. I also have rent and I also have a car that I had to buy. And can you please, you're good at this. I think you're going to get the number. What do you think my interest rate? Now, again, it's not a new car. What's your credit score now? So if you look at credit karma, it's four eighties. But if you look at experience self, where it breaks you down every single thing, it's in the fives throughout the three so i go back to this 28 damn i was gonna say 20 which is high damn 28 insurance 150 a month when i was four years ago my insurance was 96 a month or 90 a month that's only because i live in New Jersey where the insurance is out of control. All right, hold on. Okay. So we take in 3,300 a month. My suggestion is to take 70% of that toward essentials. So that's 2310. How much is your rent?

1150. And how much is your car payment? So after getting it reduced down to the original car payment is 607 a month okay and how much you have 200 a month for the lawyer debt thing yes uh yes so all right so we're up to like 2k with all of this stuff did you know that uh i think you know it by now i do know that you know me by now yes okay and so my suggestion You know me by now. Yes. Okay. And so my suggestion is like, how much are you spending on food? In my budget right now, you have about 300 ish bucks. I don't go out to eat. So I cook. Yeah. I mean, whatever I, I don't throw food out. So if I go to a store and buy stuff, the food's getting eaten. There's no need to go out to eat.

I have all this food in the house. There's no need to. So you think $300-ish a month for food works? I'm not talking like going out and going to the bar because that's in a different category. But like what it costs to live. Just where we're at right now. That's how much it'll cost me to live. At bare minimum. Yeah. list at their minimum yeah so so rent car like transportation you know utilities basic food health like you have ideally around 23 ish a month for all of that and then my suggestion

you have a thousand left i would say half of that, 500 bucks, at least to your savings. And Nicole, this is only because I have this going on right now. I literally have my resume. I had someone redo it for me real quick because I don't want to reformat. And I honestly, because I do the bio underneath it, but I just didn't want to reformat it. That's all done now. So I'm applying for high-level jobs now again. This is only holding me over. Okay, Tom.

Okay, Kobe, let's go. That's fine. And this is totally fine. And what the great thing about financial plans and goals are is that they change. They will change. They're not set in stone. Life and shit happens. So we're

going to change them again. But for right now, ideally, it's like 70% to the essentials, 15% to the end game, which is what you just told me you want to start saving for retirement and a vacation. I would say the other 15% is for extras. I might think about the vacation being in the extras category, but that for you is 500 bucks. Correct. Can we start to try and save 500 bucks a month? I have no choice. Yes, absolutely.

You're right. 100%. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it, the 70%. I agree with you. Absolutely. And again, like I just told you before, just to hold me over for now. So because your question is like, how do I save and pay bills, right? And that's an important

question. And so I think having this parameter, having these guidelines, like, okay, I have 2310 to pay rent, to do everything I need to do. I have 500 bucks that I'm going to save. And we can talk about what to do with that 500 bucks and like how to maximize that and start making it grow. Right. Because you work really hard for that money. I think it should return the favor. And then the other 500 bucks, which it sounds like right now you're not really into going out and doing fun stuff. Like you want to use that toward a vacation. So you can put that at another interest. What's cool about interest is that you know how it works against you, but it can also work in your favor, which is great. It can make your money work for you. So that other 500 bucks or ideally you could put a little bit more into savings and play with those numbers. But that's

a general guideline that I would suggest for you. And then put those into something that will start earning you interest. Right. No, and thank you for the advice. I will say, I did just come back from vacation. I haven't taken a vacation in four years. And one of my favorite places where I want to go is Las Vegas. Oh, God. I don't know if that's a good one for you.

Let me tell you why. Please let me get into that. Trust me. It's not what you're thinking. Let me tell you why. Please let me get into that. Trust me. It's not what you're thinking. Trust me. I was there on business. They have a pool out there. They have a survivor football pool contest.

Are you familiar with that? No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me about it. I'm scared. I still am not convinced, but continue. They have a survivor pool. Gambling. So me and two of my friends, we entered a contest out there because the grand prize is $10 million. It's the biggest football pool there is around. But yeah, that was my vacation. It was a business trip. And you're saying, what do you mean my

business? I went there for a purpose and a reason. I always wanted to work at a sports book my whole life. I wanted to be involved. I wanted to be on the air. They have this network called V-CIN, Vegas Sports Information Network. I listen to them every morning. My favorite show is Follow the Money. It's 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. Pacific time. So I went there to meet the guys in person. At 4 a.m. I was at the casino, not betting, sitting down at the sports book, relaxing 4 a.m I was at the casino not betting sitting down at the sports book relaxing that's all I was doing met them however I wanted to meet the top guy

there not the owner his right-hand person who's the VP of three of his casinos six o'clock Thursday morning hey Mike nice to meet you I want to respect all your time I know you're going on the air do two segments can you just carve out 10 minutes for me? I mean, a couple minutes? Absolutely. Finish this as segments. He gave me 10 minutes of his own time. Had a great conversation. He was going to give me somebody else's email, but instead what'd he do? Email me. Brandon emailed me right here at this email address. So I did that when I flew home on Friday. That's why the resume service that I use had it all done for me. Boom, sent the email to him.

That's what I want to do. I also met the owner out there who gave me his business card. He gave me two minutes of his time. The thing is, like anything else, you have to do your research. You have to know what they like, the ins and outs. Because in life, what I've learned is if you're good, people will create positions for you no matter what, because I've done it myself. Okay.

So just to be clear, this is not you going there to gamble. This is you getting involved in the business. Both. I don't endorse the gambling part, but I endorse actually looking at this and what you've gone through as a potential business opportunity more from a management side. Exactly. It's your life, Brendan.

Only you have to wake up in it. So here's what I'd say. If you can take 500 bucks a month and start investing, do you have a brokerage account? I never even won. Okay. But now you do. I'm listening.

Okay. I'm listening. Okay. Do you know what a brokerage account is never needed one okay but now you do i wasn't okay i wasn't okay do you know what a brokerage account is like kidding us yes i'm familiar with it correct so banks and brokerages are different like brokerages would be the fidelities and the schwabs and the vanguards and the e-trades of the world right banks like bank of america Cool. So if you start investing, like over time, the stock market as a whole, not individual stocks, but as a whole, will get you 8% over time. So we're going to want to take that 500 bucks and make it work for us. And honestly, when you get in your investing groove, I think you're really going to like it because I know this is a hot take, but investing and gambling do have a lot

of crossover. I'm going to give you two quotes. First, risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. And then the second is hunches cost you more than it will gain. Do you know who said those things? No, but I'm very aware of being risk averse. No, I don't know who said that. those things? No, but I'm very aware of being risk averse. No, I don't know who said that. The first one, risk comes from not knowing what you're doing, is Warren Buffett. Do you know that is? Greatest investor of our time. The second one came from Stanford Wong, who's an expert on blackjack. So they're both basically saying the same thing, right? You should make rational decisions that are backed by real information when it comes to your money. So you'll see with investing, just like gambling, there are winners and there are losers.

And sometimes the difference between the two is honestly pure dumb luck. But getting savvy on investing strategies is like counting cards. I know that wasn't your thing, but legally, the purpose of counting cards is to increase your likelihood of winning. Right. Getting educated on investing does the same thing. Right. You're correct. Absolutely. So what if you take that 500 bucks and open a brokerage account and put that into what Warren Buffett suggests are low cost S&P 500 index funds? What do you think? Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for the recommendation. I honestly never even thought about that,

having a brokerage account, to be honest with you. But if I'm going to trust anybody, again, someone's a financial guru and has made a career out of this. So absolutely, I recommend it. Why would I say no? It doesn't make sense. Thanks, Brandon.

I wish all the guys said that. It's the truth. How do you feel now? No, it feels good. And again, thank you so much for the recommendation. I think it is. I never even thought about that, to be honest with you, until you mentioned it. I am familiar with brokerage accounts.

I just never thought about doing one. This wasn't me all these years. But maybe that does make sense. Maybe that's an option I do turn to. But the person you are now, right, is not the person you used to be. So the person you used to be, brokerages and investing and traditional savings and non-gambling endeavors weren't for you. And that's okay. But maybe today they are. And that's also okay. In fact, it's more than okay.

Yeah. Thank you for that, Nicole. Seriously, thank you. That means a lot. Yeah, of course. And I think there's going to be a lot of crossover. I think you can channel a lot of that gambling energy and the desire for winning and getting information because I know that with sports gambling, there's a lot of research that goes into it, right? You're not just like willy nilly putting money on some game and not knowing what's going on. If you take that same zest and channel it toward, you know, maybe some more like above board things to do with your money. I'm just, you know, as we're moving into this new chapter, it's so exciting. I think you could get really into it. I think you could get really into stocks and funds like index funds or ETFs, which are exchange traded funds, which

give you like a whole basket of different stocks in there in the same way that you got really into the research for gambling. Cause you can also win, but just in a different way. Right. And you're right. And a sustainable way, I should say. Right. No, you're right. I agree. I can't disagree with you. I'm a hundred percent on board with you. I remember that you were board with you. I don't think you're saying I agree with you. Okay. I'm not talking past the close. We're good. Thanks for coming on. Yes, we're good. We're good. Never talk past the close, right?

Yep. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Levoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at 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 moneynewsnetwork 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.