Original subtitles

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm Jonas Nadler.

I'm 23 years old.

I live in Orange County, California.

So I went to a private Christian college.

Freshman year of college, I had no idea what I wanted

to do, just like a lot of students,

so I studied business and economics.

I graduated in May, and right now

I work in financial planning.

I've been doing this sales job for a while,

and I just can't see myself strictly in a financial realm.

It doesn't make me happy.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I love music, and I love working on

and writing music and just playing songs

and just letting it out.

It's a great way to express yourself.

I really just want to be working in the entertainment music

industry.

The only problem is, 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--

How many credit cards?

10, 11, 12.

12.

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

of financial independence.

I just want to get out of debt, and I want you to 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.

And who owes today?

Well, today, we have Jonas, 23-year-old.

He went to Westmont College, a really

expensive private school.

It was $60,000 a year in tuition,

so he ended up taking out a lot in student loans.

I can imagine.

And his mom cosigned a loan?

Tell me a little bit about the relationship

between mom and son.

Sure.

So his mom immigrated here to the States,

and she's been stuck in-- in jobs that just

don't pay enough to help keep them afloat really

to make ends meet.

OK.

So Jonas had to grow up pretty quickly to help her out.

I don't think he makes this phone

call unless there's something going

on that we don't know yet.

So we ready?

We're ready.

OK.

Jonas, here we come.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Jonas?

Danetha.

Jonas.

Nice to meet you.

How you doing? I'm Dan.

Doing well. How are you?

Very nice to meet you.

So it'd be great if we could just

learn a little bit about you.

Yeah.

I just graduated college.

I am working in a commission-based job, right?

I majored in business and economics, minored in music.

I play guitar, and I sing.

My real passion is in the entertainment industry.

And as much as I love finance--

So you want to quit?

I'm-- I'm--

So that's really the reason you called,

which is you don't--

if you quit, you won't have enough money.

You have a passion you want to follow.

So that's really at the core of this.

Do you live with your mom?

JONAS NADLER: I do right now.

Yeah.

You got a challenging living situation.

I'm sure no college grad wants to live with their mom.

Right.

It's a one bedroom apartment.

She rented out that room while I was in college.

And right now, she's letting me stay in that room,

and she's sleeping out on the couch.

My dad actually passed away when I was two years old,

so my mom is just supporting me, getting me through school.

JONAS NADLER: My mom had to take out $80,000 of Parent PLUS

loans to pay for my college tuition,

and it's just been an insane struggle

just to get me through school.

And she's just been putting herself

more and more into debt.

My mom means the world to me.

Ever since I was born, she's dedicated

her life to raising me.

Feels like the world's on my shoulders

because I have to figure out how to pay off all these loans

and support myself, and I have to be able to support her.

So combined with my mom, I have around 120K debt

in student loans on top of all the debt my mom had to take

out to put me through life.

And I called you guys because I want to figure out how to pay

back the money in an efficient manner

and just what I can do in order to be

able to support her because of what she's done for me.

But you're fighting a different force, aren't you?

I'm trying to figure out if there's a way, you know,

to support my mom while pursuing my passions, yeah.

What does she want for you?

Definitely not to pursue entertainment.

My dad was a musician, and she saw how he struggled.

JONAS NADLER: My dad was exactly like me.

He was a businessman and a musician.

And my mom saw the struggles that he went through trying

to get his music out there and trying to make it,

and he never did.

So she's seen, like, how hard it is, I guess.

Makes a whole bunch of sense.

You know, there's a bunch of people

wanting to do a limited field.

So look, you've got a big burden.

Yes, sir.

The first thing for us to do is get grounded in the numbers.

All right.

So why don't we go inside, sit down,

take a look at the paperwork, and then

start building from there?

Yeah, no problem.

All right.

JONAS NADLER: Trying to figure out how to navigate all of this

has obviously been really tough.

I haven't had that, you know, father figure in my life guide

me, so I've had to figure it all out myself.

So Dan and Danetha stepping in is great,

but there's a lot of work to do.

You have a financial burden, and that financial burden

shouldn't be a life sentence.

Well, let's just ground ourselves in what situation

you're currently looking at.

So are you currently making the $400

per payment on your individual student loan?

Not yet, no.

You're not making that payment.

And then you've got the PLUS loan that's going to kick in.

And do you have any idea what that monthly payment would be?

Around 600.

OK.

It'll kick in in two months.

OK.

I want to get a clear understanding

of your balance sheet as well, so your assets

versus your liabilities.

Can you confirm you have $8,000 in your checking account?

I do, yes.

OK.

And your investments are at $10,000?

Sophomore year, I started investing in the stocks

on my own, and I opened up a mutual fund last May,

so not this past May.

This is fantastic.

And I don't count as money I have.

Because you're not going to spend it.

- Exactly. - Perfect.

And then I try to make enough money to pay my bills.

That is fantastic.

I do want to take a moment just to honor the fact that you have

thought through that and are making solid investments

into your future.

DANETHA DOE: Most 23-year-olds are

not thinking about retirement.

I certainly wasn't at the age of 23.

So when Jonas showed me the amount of money he had already

invested, the amount of cash that he

already had access to in his checkings account,

I was very impressed.

The flip side of that is currently Jonas

is breaking even, and his student loan

payments have not kicked in.

That means in two months, Jonas will have about $1,900

in monthly expenses, but only $1,400 in income.

So every month he'll be adding $500 in debt

instead of paying off the student loans faster.

If you look at this, this is as clean a sheet

as we're going to see from a 23-year-old

who owes this kind of money.

So this is really about the struggle

you're dealing with between your passion and your desire

to have more money.

How's mom with money?

She's part of this equation.

Yeah.

Probably worse than me.

So maybe we should also have Mom here or talk to Mom?

DAN ROSENSWEIG: After meeting Jonas,

it became clear that he's financially

dependent on his mother, and more importantly,

that his mother is taking financial risks

on Jonas's behalf.

You and Mom are in this together because she sacrificed

on your behalf, and you're willing to sacrifice back

to make sure she doesn't get into trouble.

I think we should also work with her.

So what do you say we sit down with Mom first thing tomorrow

morning and engage her in this process?

How would she feel about that?

She'd be fine.

DANETHA DOE: Cool.

Yeah.

OK.

Let's do it. Sounds good.

- Thanks. - All right.

Thanks, Jonas.

JONAS NADLER: Thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN ROSENSWEIG: How are you?

OLA NADLER: I'm good.

I'm Ola Nadler.

Very nice to meet you.

Sit down.

You seem to be the most generous mom that we have wanted

to meet, because as I understand it,

you've been incredibly supportive,

both emotionally and financially.

And he owes, thanks to you, a lot of money.

Yes.

Tell us a little bit about what you hope for him.

I hope for him to have a good stable career,

also pursue his passions along with that on the side.

Do you two talk about this?

It's a very small apartment.

Yeah, we do a lot.

Well, you're about to have loans

kick in where you're going to have to start to pay them.

OLA NADLER: Yeah.

And normally, you would say, look, it's my life,

I want to go live it, but it's her money and her risk.

So I wanted to know how that-- how

that plays out in your home.

Yeah.

So you see me ultimately ending up

and staying in the financial world, and that's not--

Not necessarily.

You might start liking it more career,

or you might still just continue to exercise

your passions on the side.

But I don't want it to be a side gig my whole life, you

know what I mean? - No, I know that.

Yeah.

Once we understand what we need to earn,

then we can focus on getting him a job that helps him earn that.

Plus, it may be in the industry that he wants to be in.

But your biggest concern is that he

makes sure that he can earn enough money

to not fall further behind.

Is that fair?

Yeah.

OK, so let's-- let's do the math,

and-- and then maybe we'll see if we can get comfortable.

How's that?

OLA NADLER: That sounds very good.

OK.

And we can start with the industries that I want--

We'll go to the industries next.

Yeah.

No, but I'm saying-- yeah.

I'm-- I'm--

I'm 57, so I'm listening to Mom first.

OK.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

And we can start with the industries that I want--

We'll go to the industries next.

We'll go through this.

No, but I'm saying-- yeah.

I'm-- I'm--

I'm 57, so I'm listening to Mom first.

I agree.

No, I just--

So-- so let's-- let's do the math.

Let's find out what you--

what you have to earn, what you have to pay,

and we're going to figure out what

you may have to pay for rent in a year from now

when you move out.

All right.

How's that feel-- look it, it's the first time Mom smiled

since she's been in the room.

Yeah.

And I guess part of my frustration is because, you

know, like, you make it seem like I want to be staying,

you know, in-- in the room at my mom's apartment,

and, like, I don't.

Well, what I'm saying to you is--

and this will drive you crazy-- you're in control

of these choices.

Right.

So you're choosing to not get a steady job.

You're choosing not to.

I'm trying to push you a little bit to realize

that these are choices.

They're not your destiny.

The goal of this is not to be a dream crusher,

it's to be a dream creator.

Cool.

All right, Danetha, take it away.

So we're going to need to at least bring in $2,038.

Which he can easily do.

There are jobs that you can get that will pay you enough

for you to afford to balance these things,

but you're going to have to make some tough decisions

about timing.

You may not be able to balance it perfectly at first.

But we got to get some revenue coming in

on a consistent basis, or we're going to have Mom

and you having this discussion every night

for the rest of your life in that one bedroom apartment,

and that's not good for anybody.

Fair enough?

Fair enough.

All right.

Because you guys have both been very disciplined

and because there's been some shared sacrifice

of living at home, you're not out of control

with your spending.

This is an income situation.

Yeah.

So let's talk about that.

We got to get you a job.

Anything over $30,000 a year, you're making money.

Yeah.

So I feel like we know what the primary focus is.

All right, so we're going to give you some homework.

I'm going to ask you to come back

with five jobs in the industry that you want, in the role

that you want.

Right.

Life is long.

We don't have to solve every problem at once.

This one is the first one you need to solve.

It may be the way you learn the things you need

to learn to build your own career path

two and three years from now.

Yeah.

And it could be in one of those companies that--

We're going to look for them first.

Yeah, cool.

OK, we will look for them first.

JONAS NADLER: That's a deal then.

You just got to-- you just got to calm down, open your mind,

and realize Mom loves you.

OLA NADLER: Yeah.

And you got to also-- we're going to teach Mom to say no,

but you're going to have to learn to say, no, thank you.

OK?

It's such a pleasure and an honor to meet you.

It's very nice to meet you, too.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: We got this, my friend.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JONAS NADLER: So Dan and I made a deal that I would find five

jobs in the music industry.

I'm burning the midnight oil.

I've been searching all the sites,

asking friends, and contacting my college for advice,

and I can't find anything.

Finding a job is rough.

Finding a job you don't think you can get

and you're not sure you want is even rougher.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Move the chair from the bed to the window.

Candlelight flickers shapes across the wall.

We are here to see Jonas perform tonight.

I'm so excited that Jonas has struck a chord between being

financially responsible as well as

pursuing his passion of music.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: So we thought it was a good idea to actually go

watch Jonas play to see just how much he really desires

to be in the music industry.

I'm Jonas Nadler.

All right.

[APPLAUSE]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Do you believe there's such

a thing as a soulmate, yeah.

I've been searching for a while now, been looking up and down.

Where you lying, my soulmate, my soulmate, yeah.

You got me--

Watching Jonas play, it was very obvious to us

that this is not just a professional ambition,

it's a personal ambition.

His father's life was music, and so clearly

that is part of who Jonas is and part of something

he feels the calling to pursue.

(SINGING) Are you in bed?

[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]

DAN ROSENSWEIG: We want to help Jonas succeed in music

because, in addition to the financial upside

that he needs to experience, this is

an important emotional upside.

Unbelievable.

Well done, my friend.

Thanks, man.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You don't have to quit your day

job to pursue your passions.

And in many cases, you can turn your passions

into a side hustle.

And if you find your side hustle with one of Acorns' partners

through the Found Money feature, they not only pay you,

but they will invest in your future as

well, helping grow your wealth.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN ROSENSWEIG: Hey, how's Mom?

She's doing well.

All right.

Will you tell her I say hello?

DAN ROSENSWEIG: So as we've got to know Jonas,

it's very clear that he's smart and he understands finances,

but his real passion is music.

And so we thought the best way to help

Jonas was to use the Chegg team and the Chegg services

to help him connect to jobs in the music industry.

OK, so we want to find him a job in the music industry that

can leverage what he does in finance

and the fact that he's got a four-year

degree from a great school.

Can you guys help him?

Sure can.

So you have a great background.

There are a number of jobs that we've actually

gone out and been able to match your skills with

the appropriate roles for you.

Yeah, sounds good.

JOHN FABELLO: Great.

Through the data we have about students and people like you,

we know that graduates from business at Westmont College

enter into these types of jobs.

They're all in the entertainment industry,

either media, content, music specifically.

What do you think of these kinds of roles?

They're-- they're kind of finance-oriented.

They are at great companies that are in the industries that

I want to be in, but I'm still kind of, you know,

torn because as much as I know I have the ability

and the qualities needed to perform a lot of these jobs,

they're not necessarily where I want

to be long-term because it's only

looking numbers all the time.

So it is hard for me to kind of envision

me starting one of these jobs because I don't know the path

that it's going to lead to.

It's not always the first job that you get

is going to be your favorite job, right?

Ultimately, it's that second, third, fourth job

that you end up having by meeting people in the business.

You never know where they're going to end up.

So you're going to be able just to start building your network,

right?

You're going to leverage your network at a later date.

You've got to start someplace, right?

We have other jobs.

Here's one at Warner Music Group, a financial analyst

entry level position.

You'd be a great fit for that, especially, you know,

coming from a financial background,

you have an economics degree, and

they're looking for someone with zero

to two years of experience.

It's in the music industry.

You can learn, you can leverage the skills you have,

and then be able to grow those skills even further.

The great thing about this job is

it's really cross-functional.

They talk about working with sales,

with the legal department, production department.

So you'll get a chance to meet a lot of people

and really learn the business from the inside out

and start that network for yourself.

That's cool.

Would you be willing to do the first application with us

so that we can help you take that first step towards getting

one of these jobs?

That'd be really great.

Let's do it.

OK.

And you focused on business and economics.

This would be a great time to call out

your minor in music as well.

You're going to have to apply to at least five

to begin to hear back from people,

but applying to the first job is a great first step.

Are you ready to hit Send?

Yeah, let's do it.

Go for it.

Apply to that job, man.

All right, there we go.

All right.

So the first big step in hopefully

what will result in a great career and the ability

to get out of debt, get off Mom's couch,

and also start to really pursue your creative side.

I am very thankful that all of you are working with me.

One of the things that I want to do for you is give you

a chance, meet with an executive vice president

coincidentally at Warner Music.

He's agreed to sit down and mentor you.

Sick.

How does that make you feel?

It feels good.

There's a great leg up that most candidates don't get.

That's true.

Well, congratulations, man.

Thanks so much.

OK, my friend, let's go after it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

At an interest rate of just 1% or even 2%,

you're still losing money after taxes and inflation.

So what do you do with the extra money

that you've got sitting in a checking or savings account,

more than you need in an emergency?

The no-brainer move is to use that money to pay

off high interest rate debt.

That way, instead of getting a 1% to 2% rate of return,

you're getting a rate of return equal to whatever interest rate

you're paying off that debt.

And that interest rate is guaranteed.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Good to meet you, Jonas.

How are you? - Doing well.

How are you, Brandon?

I'm doing well, thank you.

I'm glad I could be here.

Dan has told me a lot about you, and I'm

excited to meet with you.

So why are we here, man?

What's your deal?

What do you want to do in terms of the music industry,

and how can I help you?

Well, Dan was telling me that I actually

have to start in the finance sector

if I want to get into the industry

because that's what my background is in,

and it's been ridiculously hard for me

because I've been kind of torn on,

like, if that's going to get me where I want to be.

So I believe Dan is right, that you need

to use what you've learned, and that's

going to give you some background

to be able to obtain a job.

But once you get into those positions,

I started out doing front office work as an assistant

and moved from being an assistant

to running an internship program over to marketing to sales.

So I've done quite a bit of-- of different things.

And I think that's the best part about the music industry

is you can come in one way and see what's going on

and really make something happen.

In the music industry, everybody comes

from different backgrounds.

Right.

Majoring, you know, in economics and business and then

minoring in music.

So you think I should try to wrap that around and use

all of it and not just--

Absolutely because you're competing with everybody

wants to be in the music industry.

It's very sexy to a lot of people.

It-- it has a lot of moments that you could never imagine

you're a part of, which is amazing,

but that's not limited to people on the creative side.

It's also people on the-- the business side as well.

It's more about how can you get the foot--

your foot in the door.

Right.

So that makes a lot of sense.

Do you think I can send you my resume--

Absolutely.

I'm happy to help you to get things prepared with you, to--

to help you figure out where in the business that you could

potentially use your skill set to get your foot in the door,

and then to be somewhat of a mentor for you

to help you get into this role.

It's exciting.

You should not give up your hope.

Even though it's tough to get in, once you're in,

it's like a family.

Sweet.

Thank you so much for your time.

It was great meeting you, Jonas.

Looking forward to working together, my friend.

This has been a crazy journey.

Dan and his whole team has helped

me take steps towards finding a career

that I'm going to love in the future.

DAN ROSENSWEIG: When we first met Jonas,

it was very clear that he was a smart guy.

He understood money.

He understood business.

Giving him a chance to get a job in the industry

and make money and pursue his dream at the same time,

I just know it's the right path for him,

and I really see his energy and his enthusiasm.

I am really, really excited to get my foot in the door

and to be working in the industry that I love

and to be paying off my debt and propelling

myself towards my eventual goals in my career.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

In this episode, Jonas learns that you can align

your job with your passions.

Visit goingfrombroke.info to learn how you

can make your dreams a reality.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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