All language subtitles for Going From Broke s01e07 Art Before Rent.eng

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hi.

I'm Steven Sievert.

I'm 27 years young, and I'm
from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Two years ago I left Wisconsin,
packed up my '97 Corolla

with 256,000 miles, and headed
for Los Angeles, California

to follow my dreams.

I got 2,500 miles
to go, and I've

got about $1,500 and change.

I went to school not
knowing what I wanted to do.

I fell in love with the
process of documenting my life.

I started it as a journey.

Instead of writing in a diary
and a journal, I'd film it

and I'd throw it
up on the internet.

MAN: [INAUDIBLE]

I was thinking
about cutting my hair.

A lot of people
love 9:00 to 5:00s.

But for me right now, I'm
all about trying things.

One time I moved to
Mexico for a month.

Then I would edit videos.

And then I fell in love acting.

It's been a little bit since
I've had a traditional job.

I do whatever I can to all my
dreams of becoming an actor.

But unfortunately, I'm broke.

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
Here are the facts.

The numbers are massive.

44 million people have
borrowed over $1.5 trillion

in student loan debt.

And it doesn't end there.

My name is Dan
Rosensweig, and I'm

the CEO of the multi-billion
dollar company, Chegg.

This is my mission.

With the help of my financial
expert, Danetha Doe,

we're going to
help young people.

The walls are closing in?

Yeah.

DAN ROSENSWEIG
(VOICEOVER): --who

are drowning in extreme debt.

Ugh.

How many credit cards?

10, 11, 12.

12.

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
--to build a life

of financial independence.

I just when get out of debt.

And I want your help.

When the world is pushing
down on you, it's very hard.

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
This is an economic crisis

of epic proportions.

I don't use that much.

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
And we have to fix it.

No, come on.

Ah!

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
They're going to hate it.

But when we're done, they're
going to be on the road

to financial freedom.

Do you feel good about
what we've done so far?

I do.

Thank you.

DAN ROSENSWEIG (VOICEOVER):
This is Going From Broke.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Another day, another
dollar somebody owes.

Yes, they do.

So who owes money today?

We are off to see
Steven, who moved out here

to Los Angeles from Wisconsin.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: Great.

DANETHA DOE: He went to a
great school, University

of Wisconsin, Madison,
got a great degree,

came out here to LA
and decided that he

just doesn't want to work.

[LAUGHS]

DANETHA DOE: He's pursuing
a career as a videographer,

and making $1,000
per month in income.

OK.

So he's-- he's bringing
in $12,000 a year.

What's his rent?

Funny that you ask.

He is a living out of his car,
so his rent is zero dollars.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: I get that
being a starving artist is real.

But it feels like this guy
is choosing to do that as

opposed to needing to do that.

Hopefully, we can get
him onto the right path.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hey, how's it going?

- Hi.
- Steven.

Hi, Steven.

Danetha.

Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.
- Steven.

Steven?
Dan.

How are you?
- Amazing.

Nice to meet you.

Amazing?

Yeah.

That would not have
been my first thought.

STEVEN SIEVERT:
[LAUGHS] I guess not.

You guys want a tour?

DAN ROSENSWEIG: I think
we can see what we need

to see from here, but sure.

Welcome.

All right.

Right here, this is
kind of my seating

area with my camera equipment.

Here's where I sleep at night.

I still currently
live in my car.

I sleep on the street, I guess.

I used to sleep in the trunk.

I used to have my feet out.

The seats would come down in the
back and I could stretch out.

I'm six foot, so it
actually wasn't bad.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: The fact
that somebody would choose

to live in their
car rather than go

get a job seems
surprising, at least,

and shocking at best,
and unnecessary.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: A
little vision board.

Oh, OK.

STEVEN SIEVERT: This is just
some dreams and aspirations,

I guess.

You know, I was moving
out to LA, so we

got one of my dream cameras.

James Dean, that's my idol.

So this past year
I've really been

working on becoming an actor.

That's my new goal.

I mean, I see these actors
on set, and I'm like,

you know what?

I can do that.

That's your vision board.

There's no vision that
says pay back the loan,

create revenue in my life.

These things don't
happen unless you

put in the time and the energy.

I mean, I'd love to learn
how to budget my money better.

- How about make money?
- Yeah.

For sure.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: It's easier
to budget if you have it.

I mean, normally we have
binders full of stuff.

DANETHA DOE: Right.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Mm-hmm.

We got a page.

You came with one page.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Financially,
I'm broke in the sense

that other people
think I'm broke.

I've got tons of debt.

And I know it's a
big problem, but I

try not to let it get me down.

I don't spend a lot of money.

I spend my money on bills,
gas, you know, food,

just the bare necessities.

But I also don't make a
ton of money right now.

DANETHA DOE (VOICEOVER):
Digging into Steven's finances,

he's spending over $800 a month.

He brings in around
$1,000 a month.

Even though that would
put him in the green,

he couldn't afford to rent an
apartment even if he wanted to.

And he's not accounting
for miscellaneous expenses.

You can't pay rent right now.

You want to pursue a dream,
but you're not getting gigs

to be able to support yourself.

Do you understand the gravity
of the situation you're in?

STEVEN SIEVERT: So I'm
in $80,000 worth of debt.

I have $50,000 in a large
private school loan.

I went to school
not even knowing

if I wanted to go to school.

I just was told it was
a smart thing to do.

I didn't know how
college paid for itself.

I couldn't even tell you
where my diploma is today.

My dad is a cosigner
on the $50,000 loan.

It's a constant battle
between me and my dad.

I don't think
anyone really likes

to talk about their
finances, and especially when

it's, you know, him
constantly nagging me

sometimes about,
hey, are you going

to pay your loan this month.

Your relationship
with dad right now--

I mean, as I understand it,
he's under great stress.

And you seem fine with that.

No.

I mean, it hurts me and it's
hurt-- it's had a strain

on our relationship, for sure.

But this is the only
time I have in my life

where I don't have a family.

I can be this selfish.

Well, let's talk about that.

OK.

It's not your loan,
it's your father's loan.

He cannot pay it back.

No.

So you do have a family.

Yeah.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: You do
have responsibilities.

Yeah, absolutely.

You can't afford
to be reckless

unless you're
prepared to say, Dad,

you know where you're living?

Because I'm following my
dream, you have to move out.

Yeah, it's bad.

I mean, I could change
the situation, yes.

But, I mean, selfishly I don't
think I'm going to right now.

I just want to be
doing this right now.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: Do you want
to be living in your car?

No.

I don't want to be
living in my car.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: OK.

Do you want your father
to lose his home?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN ROSENSWEIG: Do you want
to be living in your car?

No.

I don't want to be
living in my car.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: OK.

Do you want your father
to lose his home?

No.

I don't want him to.

Do you want no relationship
with your father?

I want a relationship
with my father.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: OK.

So what does it feel like
to own it $80,000 in debt

that your father
could lose his home.

Yeah, it's garbage.

Truth, that I wish I
didn't go to college.

I went to college because that's
what society told me to do.

I was ignorant.

I was an 18-year-old
and I was able to take

out $80,000 in loans.

No 18-year-old should
be able to do that.

I'm angry.

And now here I am.

I'm faced with this
responsibility.

But you don't
want to take it yet.

I have to drive.

I'm disciplined.

But--
- I don't see drive.

Sure.

And I don't see discipline.

- OK, sure.
- OK.

Well, you're going to do work.

We're going to give
you a homework.

OK.

First, get a job.

Pay your bills.

And then work all the
other time on your craft.

You're not the first
person in this town

to have to balance those two.

Yeah.

I know.

You're living it
as if it's an or.

And I'm just not understanding
why isn't it and.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Dan was
calling me the or person.

It's either follow my
dreams or be responsible.

Part of me is struggling
with, you know,

I don't think I'll be able
to do both at the same time.

If I find a happy medium, that
would be the ultimate goal.

Young people are
burdened with so much debt.

They feel their futures
have been mortgaged

before they even started it.

Recognize that it doesn't
have to be a death sentence.

Yeah.

It's part of your life,
but you can handle it.

Steven needs to get his
act together and realize

this is about hard work, focus,
commitment, dedication, doing

the difficult things,
and prove to himself

that he's going to do the work.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Well, Steven wants
to be a vlogger,

he wants to be an actor,
he wants to create films.

And so we know somebody
incredibly special

that has traveled the path with
being broke when he started,

and is now one of the most
successful people in acting,

in creating, and in business.

It's a little bit
nicer car than yours.

I hope it's OK.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Dan told
me he had a surprise.

I had no idea what
he had up his sleeve.

- Ready to go on in?
- Absolutely.

All right.

Let's go do this.

So Steven, I just want to
introduce you to my good friend

Ashton Kutcher.

[LAUGHS] Oh, my god.

I was so, so
incredibly surprised.

ASHTON KUTCHER: What's shaking?

Whoa.

Not much, man.

Nice to see you.

So Dan tells me that
your ultimate goal

is to get into the
entertainment business.

Yes.

From what I've
been told, like,

you want to do,
like, videography

or you want to do acting?

So since I came out
here, I've been documenting

my life with vlogging.

I fell in love with it.

I absolutely love making YouTube
videos and posting them online.

But I found out that my true
passion really lies in acting.

So I'd love to hear your
story, and some advice

you would give me.

There's an
assumption that, like,

the entertainment
business, it just-- one

night it happens for people.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Mm-hmm.

ASHTON KUTCHER: It's a
step-by-step process that

doesn't allow anyone
the ability to go,

well, this is what I'm doing.

I'm not doing anything else.

Yeah.

When I got to New
York, I had $100,

and I lived on, like, a
pack of ramen noodles a day,

in a two bedroom apartment
with five other guys.

Sure.

Yeah.

And instead of waiting
for my agent to call,

I spent my days
pursuing backup jobs.

Every person I know that's
pursued and been successful

has had, you know,
side hustle and side

hustle and side hustle--

Sure.

--and side hustle
to get them there.

The advice he gave, that
I didn't have to put my eggs

in one basket and I could
actually work at the same

time-- it's reassuring if I
manage my time a little better,

that things will work out.

I mean, living in
your car on the street

to pursue your dream--

well, if you're dead it's really
hard to pursue your dreams.

Right?

You never want to be like,
one mistake away from out

of the game.

Right?

There are times where you got
to kind of hang it out there.

I always maintained a
cushion so that I could

then afford to take risks.

Sure.

And then the more you
sort of build along the way

that cushion and that ability
and the sort of fortitude

of what you're
capable of, you can

then take even bigger risks.

Right?

Mm-hmm.

So I saw your vision board.

Yeah.

And I saw that
you had, like, James

Dean on your vision board.

Right?

Yeah, yeah.

Being James Dean
is not a great goal.

Sure.

Now I'll tell you why being
James Dean is not a great goal.

Sure.

Not for anything that
James Dean did or didn't do--

but you'll always only ever
be the second best James Dean.

Yeah.

That's good.

Yeah.

Why not just have
your goal to be Steven?

Yeah.

What's-- what does--
what does the future Steven

look like on that vision board?

And how do you pursue
that individual?

The more crystallized the
vision of that future you is,

the more clear the steps
to become that will become.

Wow.

Yeah, that is amazing advice.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's extremely inspiring.

Not only is he an
incredible actor,

but he's been through so much.

So great to meet you.
- It's a pleasure.

Yeah.
- Thank you so much.

- Dan.
- Thanks, buddy.

- Love you, buddy.
- I love you, too.

This was amazing.

Appreciate your time.

Thanks for giving
me a holler, man.

STEVEN SIEVERT: It's always
great to hear how someone has

gotten to where they've gotten.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Here I am out here
in LA, so I'm trying

to do some background acting.

Just got done.

It was super fun.

My journey as an actor or an
auditioner, as I like to say.

Great day.

Amazing day.

I just got a call.

Tomorrow I am working all day.

It's an early call
time, so I got to be

on set pretty freaking early.

I'm a little disappointed.

Only one hour of
overtime, so I'm

going to try to work
on some other things

and see if I can
book some more work.

Man, I'm tired.

13 hours-- that's some
good overtime pay.

Money, money, money!

Oh, man.

If I ever wanted to
hit the snooze button,

now would be that time.

4:00 AM, woo!

Let's do it, baby.

Oh, my god.

[LAUGHS]

Nice!

Look at all these
freaking checks, baby.

I got like, four or
five checks here.

That's good.

It's nice to have a
steady influx of cash.

I took the day off day.

Not because I
don't want to work,

but because I'm
apartment hunting.

This is going to be
my second or third

apartment I'm looking at now
in the nice area of Mar Vista.

Living and expenses
out here in LA

are a little more
than most places,

especially back in Wisconsin.

They're like, close
to three times

an apartment was back there.

Come in.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Oh, OK.

It's nice.

WOMAN: So, no kitchen.

Yeah, no kitchen.

WOMAN: Yeah.

STEVEN SIEVERT:
I saw that, yeah.

WOMAN: OK, cool.

STEVEN SIEVERT: It's a
nice bathroom, though.

WOMAN: Yeah.

OK so that apartment--

I think I've got a
good chance of actually

possibly getting it.

I just got two
applications from the lady.

And she was super
nice, super kind.

And it seems like the approval
process isn't terrible.

Got some bad news today.

So the apartment
hasn't gone through.

They want, like, two more months
of, like, proof of income.

Ah, I'm sad, man.

I'm sad.

It's defeating just
getting denied,

and denied, and denied, and
denied, and denied again.

I've got bad credit.

It sucks, man.

It's hard.

It's hard to get an apartment.

Denied every time, just
because of our credit.

But, you know, we're
not going to stop.

We're going to be diligent.

We're going to keep
trying and trying.

And we are going to
end up in an apartment.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DANETHA DOE: We
don't want to save

and to keep living in his car.

But his bad credit will
make it really hard for him

to be able to get an apartment.

He, like a lot of young
people, has to start

building better credit.

The first step is to
stop missing payments

and to stop adding to your debt.

Use a debit card
like Acorns Spend

instead of your credit card.

Acorns Spend has no late
fees, no overdraft fees,

and it saves and invests
automatically on your behalf.

STEVEN SIEVERT: So
right now I'm currently

looking for some
kind of job that

would pertain to my skill set.

So whether it be something
in social media, something

in marketing,
advertising, something

along the lines of that.

Today I finally got a call.

So I'm interviewing
to be a social media

manager and videographer
at a real estate firm.

DANETHA DOE: A real
estate videographer job

is a great option for Steven.

He has a passion
for videography,

so this is a great
opportunity for him

to continue to hone those
skills while getting paid,

and continue to grow
his ability to make

money doing what he loves.

Steven?

Yeah, Tanner.

- Thanks for coming in today.
- Very nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Have a seat.

So we would be
looking for somebody

who could work about 20 hours
a week here in the office.

Tell me a little
bit about yourself.

How did you end up here today?

So for two years I've
been doing freelance video.

And I actually run my
own YouTube channel.

And so I've got a lot
of experience editing.

I could show you a ton
of work that I've done.

Well, I would love to
see some of your work.

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's pull it up.

TANNER: All righty.

STEVEN SIEVERT: So I
feel like something

like this might
be beneficial when

filming these gorgeous houses
in the Hills, et cetera.

TANNER: Yeah, definitely.

Well, I love the work that you
showed me, and your creativity.

And I'm willing to
take a chance on you.

Awesome.

Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.

That's amazing.
Thank you.

No, thank you.

This job is exactly
what I wanted.

So it's part time,
which allows me to focus

on my acting and videography.

But it pays three times
as much as anything else

I've been doing.

So it's-- honestly,
it's the most perfect

thing I could have asked for.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN ROSENSWEIG: Look,
I'm proud of Steven.

He's putting himself out there.

So because he's
taking action, I'm

going to set him up with a
good friend of mine Adobe.

They will help
him understand how

to use the technology better
and maybe help him advantage

himself in his career.

ERIK ESPERA: My
name is Erik Espera.

I'm with Adobe, and I'm an
Associate Creative Director

on the Adobe Studio Team.

Steven?

Hi, yes.

Hey, man.

How are you?

I'm Erik.

So I'm here today
because my buddy, Dan,

said he has this really
great young person

that he's working with.

So I'd love to be
able to surprise him

with some of our Adobe tools.

So you direct, shoot, and edit?

Mm-hmm.
Yeah.

Kind of do it all.
Right?

Absolutely.
Yeah.

So I actually spent some
time on your YouTube channel,

and really am impressed with
the vlogs that you make.

Thank you very much.

That's very kind of you to say.
- Yeah.

Watching your journey--
and I just have to say,

like, the dedication
that it takes

the record yourself like that--

STEVEN SIEVERT: Yeah.

--and to be able to,
like, open up to the camera

and just kind of
share your feelings

and then cut it together--

I'm really happy to see that,
you know, that you stuck

with your craft, that
you haven't given up,

that you keep working at
it, keep working at it.

One thing I didn't notice was
I didn't see a website for you.

Like, I was trying to
look for your reel.

I just really was wanting
to see the Steven demo reel.

But maybe that could be
on a website somewhere.

OK.
ERIK ESPERA: Yeah.

Yeah.

But I know it all takes time
and I know it takes money.

You know, again, Dan was really
impressed with your dedication

to the craft.

And we just thought to be a
great idea if we, you know,

help you out a little
bit and give you

a subscription Creative Cloud.

Oh, wow.

ERIK ESPERA: So we have access
to all the tools, so, you know,

you can use Premiere
to edit your videos,

Photoshop to do all
your graphic stuff,

after effects, and
do whatever you want.

I appreciate that.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, man.

Just keep it up.

Awesome.

Everybody has a story,
and Steven has a great one

that he's been telling over
the past couple of years

through his vlog.

And these Creative Cloud
tools will help him up level

all the things that he makes.

STEVEN SIEVERT: Things are
definitely on the up and up.

And all my hard work
is finally paying off.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So today is going to be a very
interesting and exciting day,

and we don't know
where it's going to go.

We're going to surprise Steven.

We called his father.

We brought his father
out, and his father's got

some things to say to his son.

How you been?

STEVEN SIEVERT: I've been good.

I was actually looking
forward to catching up.

Obviously, I was concerned.

I had not dealt with somebody
that lived in their car before.

So more than anything,
getting you on a path

that you want to be on
means the world to me.

When we first met, we had a
conversation about your support

systems or lack
of support systems

because you want to be selfish.

But I really sense that you
want to believe in yourself

and you want other
people to believe in you.

And so, first of all, I want you
to know that I believe in you.

And I hope you feel that.

But I think you need to believe
that your family believes

in you.

Mm-hmm.

I think that would
make the road easier.

Absolutely.

And so we brought
your dad out.

Yeah?

[LAUGHS] What's up, Dad?

It's good to see you.

Good to see you, too.

Welcome to LA.

I haven't seen my dad
in nearly two years.

I've kind of been avoiding
his calls and emails because I

hate fighting about money.

But it's been hard not
having him in my life.

I'm so happy he's here.

You've shown two
incredible signs of support

for your son, which is one,
you lent him a lot of money

and took a risk.

And two, when you were
called to come out here,

you didn't even
hesitate a minute.

And--

It's because I love you.

It's great to see you.

I love you.

You know, I know it's
been tough between us.

I want you to know it's
not that I don't care.

I do really care.

I feel very responsible,
as I should.

It sucks that this debt
has come between us.

I lost, I couldn't tell
you how many night's sleep,

thinking that you're
going to screw me over.

And honestly, I never would
have co-signed on that loan

if I had known the future
or what was going to happen.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: How does
this make you feel, Steven?

It makes me feel awful.

Yeah.

Makes me feel terrible.

I never realized my dad has
lost sleep over my actions,

and I'm making him this upset.

My dad has done so much for me.

I don't want this to
be how I repay him.

From now on, I'm going to
be financially responsible.

What day is the
loan due every--

STEVEN SIEVERT: It
is due the 17th.

Of the month?

STEVEN SIEVERT: Yes, sir.

I promise you I will pay it
every month from this point

forward.

Would that be the
direction you want him to go?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

STEVEN SIEVERT: I really
want to make my dad proud.

I think we truly had
a good connection.

We had a great moment there.

And, I mean, it's
something we couldn't

have done over the
phone or it probably

never would have happened.

I want to be more responsible,
and I want to do right by you.

I want to do right by myself.

CRAIG SIEVERT: Good.

That's good.

Makes me happy.

I love you.

I love you, too.

[LAUGHS]

DAN ROSENSWEIG:
Steven is very smart.

He's really put in the, time
and the energy, and the effort.

It's been an unbelievable
transformation in just a month.

I truly owe this all to Dan.

Without him, I don't
think any of this

would have been possible.

And man, I'm just ecstatic.

And it is feels
like a ton of bricks

have been lifted
off my shoulders.

One of the best things
about this journey

was having my father
come out here,

and, you know, just to be
able to do right by him.

And it's just been
incredible to have

that relationship mended again.

Getting to meet
Ashton and the advice

he gave me-- that
was incredible.

And I'm excited to see where
life is going to take me now.

Because I've got all
these tools in my pocket,

and I know that with this
new found work ethic,

the sky's the limit.

[MIUSIC PLAYING]

To check in with Steven
and to see where he is now,

visit GoingFromBroke.info.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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