Hey, Mr. Wonderful here, a.k.a.
Kevin O'Leary. I am about to watch a video and critique a couple living in Chicago on $178,000 a
year. That's a fair amount of change.
And just before we get started, don't forget to destroy the like button because you're going to like it.
Here we go. The arts and ballet specifically sort of have a stigma of not being a lucrative profession.
And that for me is a shame, because if you're a ballet dancer, you're not doing it for the money.
You're doing it because you love it and it's something you're passionate about.
But it is a profession that a lot of people make a very, very good living in.
Just one minute there.
Dance is a really tough profession.
First of all, you've got to get in.
Every guy and his dog wants to be a professional dancer.
There's only so many troops around the world that will employ you.
And if you're just in the court of ballet, that's the beginning entry level.
You make basically nothing.
But you've got to get into sort of being a principal dancer to start making $178,000 or at least sharing that salary.
So these guys are in the .00001% of the population making a living on dance.
I'm not saying dance isn't a great profession, but it's really hard to make a living in it.
And it's for the young.
Last year I took home about $77,000 from the Joffrey Ballet.
And I made $66,000 from the Joffrey Ballet.
What's interesting about this is my wife's on the board of a ballet company, so I've had a chance to go watch these
rehearsals. They are grueling.
I mean, it's brutal. Grown men weep at these things.
It's not easy at all. So I have a lot of compassion for this.
Unbelievable. But now we know and of course, they're romantically involved.
Hey, what else are you going to do? You're dancing with them all day long.
Of course, you're going to meet somebody in the ballet.
Here they go. Last
year, I made $15,000 in additional income.
And I made $20,000 in additional income.
Ok, now we're getting the truth here.
Side hustles.
One makes $15,000. The other makes $20,000.
That's pretty good, right?
We bought this apartment 3 years ago?
In 2017 of May.
And it was originally listed at $349,000.
Actually we managed to get it for $338,000.
So they bought a condo together.
You know what I don't like about the story right now?
I didn't hear they got married.
I heard they were dating and yet they bought this mega asset, undoubtedly have debt together and there's no legal union.
You know what I mean? I mean, I love romance.
I'm a romantic. I love dance.
Dance and romance or even, you know, it's a fairy tale.
But what happens if this relationship doesn't work out?
What happens if one wants to stay and the other doesn't?
I smell trouble a head, kiddies.
We put down $15,000.
We were kind of upset that it didn't come with a parking spot.
But in the long run, we're so thankful because we don't have a car and I don't think we'd ever have a car here in
Chicago. Ok, that's smart.
You don't need a car when you live in downtown Chicago.
You can get around on public transportation or shared rides, no question about it.
Even though the pandemic has slowed that down a little bit.
When it's over, we'll go back to that normalcy.
Cars are a huge burden.
Insurance, maintenance, all that stuff.
And they depreciate over time, the majority of them.
And you have to pay for the parking spot.
In this case, they didn't do it.
So I guess they're saving about $20,000 right there.
That's good. Our big name renovations were the kitchen and then the two bathrooms.
Smart. Those are the two most important things to reinvest in when you buy a home or condominium.
Everybody wants the latest kitchen.
Everybody likes nice bathrooms.
Everything else, not such a great investment.
That was smart. Good to hear that.
So they sound, it's starting to sound like they know what they're doing, although they're not married.
Could cause problems a s I said earlier.
I don't really budget per say, but when I do spend my money, I make sure that
it is someone essential.
I don't go to the nail salon.
I just cut my nails myself.
She said, "I don't budget."
That's a mistake. You have to know what your income is and how much you're spending.
So they're making about $7,000 a month.
OK? So you got to think about, you really don't want more than a third of that towards paying for
your mortgage. And they're paying $1,958 on their mortgage.
So they're within that rule.
That's pretty good. Food is costing them $2,800.
You know, if you're a dancer you have to eat well, you've got to watch your diet.
You have to know what your proteins and carbs are.
Sounds like food is even more expensive than their mortgage.
They're very serious about it.
$1,000 a month for the pet.
That's a lot, I'd lose the dog.
Maybe a cat's cheaper.
Oh, now we have some facts.
But they don't have a joint bank account yet and they shouldn't until they tie the knot.
And even after that, they should still have their own bank accounts.
Why? So they can have their own credit ratings.
They should have their own credit card in their own name and they can have a joint credit card for those expenses that they assume
they deserve to spend together on.
It's good to hear that they're planning to tie the knot.
We love to go out to dinner.
We love to go with friends.
And also, it's been really helpful in relationship building for us around Chicago.
We've made some really good friends with owners.
Oh, whoa, whoa, kiddies.
Listen to this.
$520 on groceries.
Got it. $600 at restaurants.
$1,762 out of $7,000 on takeouts.
What? That's crazy.
Now I'm starting to understand what the problem is here.
That's way too much i f you're only making $7,000 a month, that's crazy.
That's more than your mortgage.
You gotta stop doing that.
You have to start thinking a little better.
$2,885 on food is too much and takeout is not the healthiest food.
My number one rule with my checking account, my spending money, is that I always have a cushion
of $1,000 in there no matter what.
Savings account, not good enough.
Investment account is what we need here because this is making nothing after inflation.
So we've got to get them both into a plan where they start to put that into the stock market.
And many people don't know how to buy stocks.
But thank goodness all these apps are out there that help you do it and you can get a large, diversified portfolio that way.
And so I think immediately they should put half of this to work in the market and then each week a little bit more because the
market goes up and down and you want to catch an average buy in price.
But over time, it's a good thing to start thinking about.
But I love the fact they're thinking about the future.
We don't have a 401(k).
I don't like the idea of waiting to see that money when you're 65, especially since our retirement
age is 35, 40. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
The reason you want the 401(k) is to take advantage of the tax code.
This lets you have gains tax free.
You do want that.
You want every gift the government gives you when you're investing for your retirement.
They will have other careers after they're 35.
Maybe they make it to 37, maybe even to 40 years old.
But the point is, after that they will find something else many dancers do.
They stay involved in the arts, they find jobs, whatever it is.
But you've got to build that tax-free base for after you're 65.
So mistake there. That's not good financial planning.
My last very big splurge was an engagement ring for Jeraldine.
I proposed to her almost a year ago on September 26th.
I did spend a lot of my money on her ring.
I wanted her to have something really beautiful.
I hate the rings. It's such a waste of dough.
I mean, you know, it's...
I get the emotional thing and you know how wonderful it is to give the ring.
And a lot of women want the ring.
A lot of guys want to give the ring.
It is such a waste of dough and it's so much better if you can just not do that and actually take the same money
and invest it for yourself in the future.
And later in life when you can afford, you know, a friendship ring or whatever you want to call it, then do it.
But right now, at the beginning of their career, when they're trying to pay off a mortgage and they're trying to save as much
as they can. What do you need a ring for?
I mean, come on. Or even get a fake ring and just understand what you've done, you know, spend $300 on it.
But to get a real diamond ring.
Kumbaya.
Come on. That's pure marketing.
I mean, you know, pure marketing.
I feel bad for him. He got sucked into buying that ring.
She looks happy. So, you know.
Still, I just hate it.
Our dog Kahlua is a little old lady.
She was diagnosed with lymphoma.
I think we spent almost like $8,000 to $9,000 on her chemo treatments.
Oh. Oh.
Look, it's tough to say this, but how much is a new dog?
A lot less than $9,000. I get the emotional connection, but your dog has cancer.
It's going to die. You want to treat it the right way.
You want to make it as painless as possible.
I don't know if the dog is suffering, but $9,000 on chemo treatments and cancer treatments and support for a dog.
Look, it's a tough thing to say, but that's why you're coming to me.
Time for a new dog. One of my goals is to start a production company eventually.
So I would really like to create a lot more content around the arts that doesn't just relate to other artists and dancers.
I want it to relate to people as a whole.
And I would love to pursue a career in interior design after I'm done dancing.
Love it. They're planning for the future.
Very, very smart.
You know, Dylan, he can produce.
That would be fantastic. There's always demand for more content.
Even dance is getting more digital.
These virtual performances as troops try and keep their customers engaged and make money any way they can.
And frankly, interior design, if you have the eye, is always going to be around forever.
People are always trying to upgrade where they live.
Even more so that they're conscious aware of pandemics now.
Now, how would I rate this couple from 0 to 10?
10 being the best. In the beginning, when I was listening to their story, I was thinking around 4 to 5.
But the more I heard about how they're planning their lives, the better I felt.
So I'm going to give them a 7.5.
I'd like to see them get to a 9.
They're going to have to do what I said, take some of those savings and invest them and set up a 401(k).
And make sure they get their own financial identities with credit cards.
All that stuff can be done quite easily and they can get their rating up from 7.5 to, let's say, 9.5, which would be fantastic.
I'm very optimistic about these two, remembering how short their career is.
Thanks for watching Make It and don't forget to subscribe.
This is valuable information.
And when it comes to actually investing instead of savings, try Beanstox.
It's an app I developed to help a couple just like this.
Put $100 a week aside and put it into the market.
That's the long term strategy.
Take care, my friends and tune in soon.