Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich speaks with Sana and Arhem, both 27 and newly married. One month before their wedding, Arhem revealed that he had hidden $30,000 of credit card debt. After they both lost their jobs, Sana discovered that he had fallen even further into debt without telling her. Today, they earn $188,000 a year and have created an aggressive plan to tackle their $165,000 of total debt. But while their numbers are improving, the betrayal has fundamentally changed their relationship. Sana has become the financial orchestrator, while Arhem feels like a student trying to prove that he can be trusted again. In this episode, we uncover: • Why Arhem hid $30,000 of credit card debt before their wedding • How Sana discovered that the debt had grown again • Why the financial betrayal nearly ended their relationship • How they are rebuilding trust after years of secrecy • Their professor-and-student dynamic with money • Why Sana feels responsible for supporting her entire family • How cultural expectations shape her financial decisions • Their $188,000 income and $165,000 of total debt • Why their highly organized financial system still feels joyless • How Arhem accumulated his credit card debt • Why earning more money will not stop Sana from worrying • The danger of postponing happiness until they are debt-free • Why their debt payoff plan may be too aggressive • The connection between joint finances and rebuilding trust • Why Ramit recommends couples therapy • How they can start prioritizing their marriage • The changes Sana and Arhem made after the conversation ⏩ CHAPTERS (00:00:00) Introduction (00:03:09) Arhem hid $30,000 of debt before their wedding (00:08:06) “If things don’t change, the relationship is done” (00:12:40) Can Sana ever completely trust Arhem again? (00:15:26) Their professor-and-student money dynamic (00:17:35) Why Sana feels responsible for supporting her family (00:28:18) Their $165,000 debt and negative net worth (00:30:27) They earn $188,000—but live like they’re struggling (00:35:12) “When do I actually get to enjoy my life?” (00:46:26) Sana’s childhood money rules (00:56:26) How Arhem accumulated his credit card debt (01:04:02) What does their Rich Life actually look like? (01:09:14) Why their relationship keeps coming second (01:17:53) Ramit reviews their aggressive debt payoff plan (01:21:46) Why they need to start spending on joy now (01:29:47) Joint finances, trust, and couples therapy (01:36:35) Putting their marriage ahead of everyone else (01:47:33) Sana and Arhem’s biggest realizations (01:55:02) Six weeks later: what changed? 💡 RAMIT’S PODCAST NEWSLETTER • I share new ways to think about money every Saturday. Get the emails here: https://iwt.com/podcastnewsletter 🙌 GET HELP FROM RAMIT SETHI • Order my new book: Money for Couples: https://iwt.com/moneyforcouples • Take control of your money with the Conscious Spending Plan: https://iwt.com/csp • Optimize your credit cards with the 1st chapter of my book: https://iwt.com/chapter1-pod • Join my Rich Life: Road to $100K program: https://iwt.com/100k • Listen to my book — now on Audible: https://amzn.to/48zko28 🤳 CONNECT WITH RAMIT SETHI • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramit/ • X: https://twitter.com/ramit ✅ SUBSCRIBE SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY EPISODES https://youtube.com/user/ramitsethi/featured/ THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Fabric by Gerber Life | Go to meetfabric.com/RAMIT and apply today, risk-free Wispr Flow | Try Wispr Flow for free at wisprflow.ai/ramit DeleteMe | Get 20% off all consumer plans when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/ramit and use promo code RAMIT at checkout Shopify | Start your free trial at https://shopify.com/ramit If you’re part of a small group listening to this podcast that is willing to take action, I built Road to $100K for you - a step-by-step program on how to reach $100K. Join Rich Life: Road to $100K at iwt.com/100K.