Opportunity Knocks

>> Major funding for "Opportunity Knock$" is provided by the National Council for Financial Opportunities, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing poverty and creating economic mobility by breaking down systematic barriers, increasing equitable access to capital, and making opportunity accessible to all.

Its programmatic areas of focus include financial resiliency, financial accessibility, and income adequacy.

Additional funding provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation, which seeks to strengthen historically marginalized communities by investing in pathways to economic advancement and generational wealth.

Additional funding for "Opportunity Knock$" provided by Balance... and Callahan & Associates.

Previously on "Opportunity Knocks"... >> I'm going to be meeting up with a financial coach named Patrice.

>> Awesome.

>> And she's gonna help me, like, pretty much get my life in order.

>> I've looked up our financial coach, Jean Chatzky.

I'm hoping that maybe Jean can help us figure out how we can pay rent.

>> Apartment life sucks.

>> Yes, absolutely, it does.

>> [ Laughs ] I'm so excited that somebody is coming to rescue us.

>> Yeah, if he can come through and show us where we're spending wrong, that'd be helpful.

>> Every day, millions of Americans must make the choice between paying rent... >> We're behind on rent.

>> We got to pay the mortgage.

>> ...or buying groceries.

>> I live paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes that doesn't even cut it.

>> So, we got spaghetti with no meat.

Are you serious?

>> "Opportunity Knock$" is back with our three esteemed coaches and six new underestimated families to create a personalized journey... >> Are you gonna do what I ask you to do?

>> ...that everyone watching can benefit from.

>> I'm just hopeful that I won't always be struggling.

>> Through these families' experiences... >> This is an emergency.

>> ...you will see that a better life is possible with the tools that they are provided.

>> And we're gonna turn your life around like you have no idea.

>> Are the obstacles that these families are facing too much?

>> Your mom is sick, too.

>> A loan that I obtained online.

>> Interest rate is like 600%-something.

>> What I'm seeing is almost 700%.

>> You're looking at bankruptcy.

>> Or will their coaches help them open the door when opportunity knocks?

>> Hi.

Louis?

>> You must be Omar.

>> Yeah.

Lynette?

>> Lynette.

>> Nice to meet you.

Louis Barajas.

It's a pleasure.

>> As Louis comes into our home, I'm not quite sure how I -- how I feel, other than anxious, I guess.

>> I mean, I see he's got a backpack, so he's obviously prepped to talk to us.

You know, he's got the suit, so he's taking it serious.

>> We're pleased and blessed to have you here with us to help us with this journey, because we really do need it.

>> It's definitely exciting.

I just want to get to know really all about where you're at, where you want to be, what's going on?

So if you can just tell me a little bit about yourselves.

>> We met on a dating site.

>> [ Chuckles ] >> Have you guys been married before or... >> I was married before, for 14 years.

>> Okay.

>> And my experience was, I had three children with my ex-husband.

>> Are the children living with you here in Seattle?

>> Yes they live with us here.

>> And do you have any children together?

>> No, but I have a son from a previous relationship.

When the kids met, everybody just clicked.

I mean, nobody knew each other.

But you couldn't tell when you look at them.

>> Are they doing well in school?

How are they doing?

>> Oh, yeah.

>> Yeah?

>> Everybody's all A's, except when it comes to math.

>> Yeah.

>> They -- Everybody seem to struggle in math.

>> A lot of people struggle in math.

>> I don't like the math.

>> I'm here with the math part.

So, talk to me about, some goals for the future here.

>> The main goal is a house.

Since we've been together, we have been apartment-hopping.

That's only because of the low wages, you know, and debt.

>> Okay.

>> So, those two are a lethal combination when you're just trying to live.

>> Okay, so you said "debt."

>> Yes.

>> So, talk to me a little bit about what's that all about.

>> In between, like, both of us being laid off at different times, underemployment, no employment, taking some loans, just made some bad financial choices there.

And it's like, "Oh, my gosh, it's taking my whole check."

>> Well, let me take a look at what you got here, what you're giving me here.

>> Louis looks like a pro, definitely, you know?

>> He's not as judgy as I thought he would be, so that's that's helpful.

>> Here's some of the credit that you're paying -- your auto payments.

There's this one card here that you're -- have you owing about $931 and, man, that you're paying almost close to 30% on that one.

>> Hmm.

>> We've got the Discover card in which you're paying -- wow -- close to 28%.

A little bit over 28%.

>> There's a lot of bills in this house.

Wasn't really paying attention to how many it actually was until we did the printout for Louis and actually looked at it.

And I'm just like, "Wow, dude!

We really are spending a lot of money every month."

>> And then what's Ascend?

>> Ascend is a loan that I obtained online.

And that was when, you know, things were kind of just crazy.

And I was like, "Let me just help."

But I didn't help, because the interest rate was like 600%-something.

>> 600% and something?

>> Yeah.

>> What I'm seeing is almost 700%.

It's 699.01%.

It's almost 700%.

>> Whoa-oh, whoa Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh whoa-oh Whoa-oh-oh oh-oh-oh >> Hi!

>> Hi.

I'm Jean >> I am a little bit nervous with Jean coming today, because I know that I'm a spender.

>> It is scary to have someone come into the home and look at all of our finances, to be vulnerable to someone.

>> I know I'm here because you're having some issues financially.

Tell me what has been going on.

>> Well, it's a lot.

First, I was the head of household, making money.

Everything was good.

I guess, just everything started getting more expensive, more expensive.

I can't keep up.

And then she started working.

And then now both of us can't keep up.

>> We are like two months behind on rent.

Um, then, our electric bill -- we're behind on that.

So we had to pay $700, or they were going to disconnect.

Well, they did disconnect us.

>> Oh no.

>> And then we had to pay that to get reconnected.

For that, we had to ask family to help with it.

And that's where we got behind on on rent, because we had to use our rent money to get our electric turned back on.

Like, it's a struggle.

Right now, life is really hard.

It's been really hard right now.

[ Sniffles ] >> We have to look at this as a puzzle, right?

We take the pieces, we try to pull them apart and figure out what is causing, you know, the bigger issue, right?

I mean, in some ways, money is just math.

There's money coming in, there's money going out, and you got to make it work.

But what happened around the time... >> We've just moved here.

>> We just moved up here.

>> Alright, and when you moved, did your cost of living go up?

>> A lot.

We wanted to give our kids a better life, but it was a huge financial difference, compared to where we lived when we were only paying $200 for rent, compared to, we move up here and it's almost $1,000.

I immediately felt her gentle personality, her vibe.

She just came in, and her smile just helped calm me a lot.

Like -- Like, that she was there to help, not to tell us what we're doing wrong.

>> Right.

>> Did you figure out if you had enough coming in to sustain living here?

>> Honestly, I don't really think we did at that time.

>> So, if you had to look back, was that when everything started to fall behind?

>> Yes.

>> Oh oh oh oh Oh oh Ooh ooh ooh ooh >> Come on in.

>> Hi!

How are you?

Hi.

I'm well.

I looked up Miss Patrice.

She's pretty, she's slim.

She's a powerful woman.

I feel like she's gonna get on me.

>> So, Erika... >> [ Chuckles ] >> ...why am I here?

>> 'Cause I'm struggling.

I need help.

>> We need help?

What's going on?

Catch me up.

>> Financially, like, I'm, like, in a lot of debt.

Just need help, like, learning how to, like, manage money and help get out of debt.

And I feel like I have so many talents, but I'm stuck at a 9:00-to-5:00 that's keeping me from, like, I guess, growing.

>> Mm-hmm.

So, what do you do at your 9:00-to-5:00?

>> So, my 9:00-to-5:00, I work at condos.

I work the front desk at condos.

And when I'm getting off, I do, like, a lot of bling stuff with clients.

Like, I have makeup clients, hair clients.

>> This makes sense.

Okay.

>> [ Laughs ] >> Okay.

This makes sense.

>> I'm Bling Erika.

>> Yeah.

I'm excited that we got paired together.

Okay, are there any other hidden talents I should know about?

>> Hmm.

Besides makeup and nails and stuff, no... >> Wait.

Nails, too?

You didn't say nails.

Oh, my gosh, wait a minute.

>> [ Laughs ] I started doing all this because I was like, "I'm trying to save all money," and that's what made me go to beauty school, because I felt like I was spending too much money.

>> You've also been to beauty school?

>> Yeah, I went to beauty school.

[ Laughs ] >> Okay.

>> And I make clothing.

I have like three sewing machines, and I decorate people's houses sometimes.

>> Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Okay.

>> I'm not understanding why I ain't making the money.

>> Okay.

I mean, well, my first thought is, you might be spreading yourself very thin, so let me just make sure I got it.

Okay, so, hair and makeup, you're a walking billboard.

This seems like a no-brainer.

And then your home is beautiful.

So you also do decorating?

>> Yeah, I decorate people houses where I work at, since I'm already there.

>> For free?

>> Yeah, I be doing it free, and I shouldn't.

>> Yeah.

Then what else was it, sewing?

>> Yeah.

So, I made clothes.

I sew clothing and stuff for people.

>> You sound like a full-service stylist.

>> I -- Yeah.

>> So, you're already giving so much at the 9:00-to-5:00, and then you're taking on all of these hobbies.

>> Yeah.

>> Because they're not a business yet, because you're not treating it like a business.

You're treating it like "this thing I like to do, 'cause I'm good at it."

And that's what a lot of us do, right?

We take our gifts and then we diminish the actual value and impact they have by treating it like, "Oh, yeah, I'm available, I can do it."

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, so, you said you need help managing debt?

>> Debt.

Me and my dad both had, like, cancer at the same time.

He didn't have insurance.

So I started getting behind because I had to make sure he was straight.

My dad pretty much died, like, the last day of my chemo treatment, and I got in a lot of debt just taking loans out, like, to do the funeral.

>> Oh, wow.

So it's a personal loan that you have, essentially?

>> Yeah.

>> What about any other debt, like car loans, student loans?

>> Student loans, my car.

My car just got taken.

>> What do you mean it just got taken?

Repossessed?

>> Yeah.

>> How recent was this?

>> This was last week.

>> Last week?

Oh, my God, I feel like we're here, like, right on time.

>> Yes.

>> Okay.

And so how did you get behind on the car?

>> Just paying other bills, trying to catch up, paying my mama bills.

>> Why are you paying your mama's bills?

>> She don't get no income.

>> What's going on with mom?

Aww.

>> [ Sniffles ] By just being sick.

>> Your mom is sick, too?

>> [ Sniffles ] Yeah, I just mean sick, not getting like, um, Social Security.

So, like, everything just falls on me.

>> Oh, my goodness.

>> What's Ascend?

>> A loan that I obtained online.

And that was when things were kind of just crazy, and I was like, "Let me just help."

But I didn't help, because the interest rate was like 600%-something.

>> What I'm seeing is 699.01%.

>> Ughh.

>> It's almost 700%.

And then we have another loan.

That loan, as well, is almost 699%, as well.

>> That 699% -- I got to be honest, that was just pure desperation.

That's why that was done.

We -- We had -- the lights was dangerously close to being shut off.

There was no food in the house.

So we -- we just jumped headfirst and dealt with the consequence of it later.

>> Did they let you know that you were gonna be paying almost close to 700% on that money?

>> They did.

And Omar had asked me -- he's like, "Are you sure?"

And I was like, "I think we, you know, really need it, and we'll be able to pay it off, like, but the payoff amount is before time."

>> Right.

>> But before time didn't happen.

>> Did you have any kind of plan?

>> It's hard because all we saw was, "Hey, here's $3,000 for you.

Your family needs it."

So that's -- that's all I saw.

And just went ahead and signed for it.

>> The thing is that if you're making the minimum payment on this, you'll never pay it off.

I mean, your children will be 100 years old.

You never pay this off.

You're on overwhelm, right?

>> Yes.

>> And the overwhelm is causing all this anxiety.

That's tough, right?

You know, we're gonna get -- We're gonna put a plan in place.

That's for sure.

But one of the first steps we're gonna do is we're gonna sit down and we're gonna have you work with a credit union.

A credit union here in your area that's gonna help you take a look at your finances and maybe consolidate some of these debt that you have so we can get control of the high interest that you're paying.

Because if we don't get it under control, this isn't gonna go away.

>> When you moved, did your cost of living go up?

>> A lot.

>> Was that when everything started to fall behind?

>> Yes.

When we moved up here, we wanted to give our kids a better life.

And for a while there, we were doing okay.

>> Tell me about your income.

Are you both working full-time?

>> Not right now.

>> What do you do?

Oh, I'm a Head Start teacher.

>> Oh, cool.

>> A teacher assistant.

>> And why not full-time?

>> With the kids being young, and daycare, like, I was having to get off work to get the kids off the bus.

>> And so how much do you earn now?

>> Um, it's about $450.

>> A week?

>> A week.

>> Okay, and if you worked full-time?

>> It would be probably closer to $700.

>> Wow.

That's a big difference.

>> It is.

>> Tell me about you.

>> So, I'm working at Kroger Deli.

>> Okay.

How many hours a week do you work?

>> 32.

>> Have you run the math on, if you worked full-time, what would it take to get Rowan in daycare full-time so you guys could both actually work?

>> We'd have to look at the numbers.

I don't know how much we can spend on childcare.

>> As I look at this, there are a lot of things going on.

The only way to solve them is with more income, right?

I mean, there's some problems -- When I meet with people, sometimes I'll look at their spending and I'll be like, "Well, of course you're having trouble.

You're spending is off the reservation."

You just looked at him.

Is his spending a problem?

>> Yeah.

>> Tell me.

>> A little bit of a problem.

>> What kind of spending?

>> You know, I like to go out sometimes with the friends.

>> How how much spending?

>> Um, I would say, at least, I don't know, $100 a week.

Maybe $150 on bar activities.

>> Do you do that?

>> No.

>> And how do you feel about that?

>> It can be frustrating.

>> I mean, the first thing I actually need to know is, are you going to do what I ask you to do?

Because it's not easy.

We've got tools to help you.

And I'm gonna to tell you about the tools.

But you got to be with me.

>> I'm in it.

>> Are you in it?

>> Can do it.

>> Okay.

I mean, the $600 a month, if I'm suggesting to Maegan that she take her hours up from making $450 a week to $700 a week, and you're taking that money and you're spending it someplace, that just ruins the work.

>> Right.

>> Right?

>> So we're gonna have to put it all together and work the income side of the equation really, really hard.

But you can't go ruining it with a night at the bar.

>> My car just got taken.

>> What do you mean it just got taken?

Repossessed?

>> Yeah.

>> How did you get behind on the car?

>> Just paying my mama bills.

>> Why are you paying your mama's bills?

>> 'Cause she don't get no income.

>> What's going on with mom?

>> Just being sick.

>> Your mom is sick, too?

>> [ Sniffles ] Yeah, just being sick, not getting, like, um, Social Security.

So, like, everything just falls on me.

My car got repossessed because I was behind, because it's, like, of course I had other bills.

It's like, "What do I pay, rent, or do I pay for the car or do I pay my mom's or mine?"

>> So you're paying her rent, too?

>> Yeah, I help her with, like, all her bills and stuff, yeah.

I mean, she's always worked, but when the pandemic hit, she got, like, laid off.

I applied for Social Security because she can't really work, because she's on oxygen and stuff, but kept getting denied.

>> Did you get any support with filling out the paperwork?

Is there a possibility?

>> Like, I applied online.

I went up there, and they would be like -- they told me she was denied, and we went back up there and appealed it.

And they was like, "She may get it.

She may qualify for -- I think it was disability, but she just never got it.

And every time I would call, they would be like, "We're processing it.

We're gonna see," so, like... >> Just the runaround.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, so, you're trying to maintain your household and her household.

Is there even an opportunity for you all to live together?

>> Me and my mom -- [ Chuckles ] If it was bigger.

If it was a different-style house, yeah.

I just can't... >> Yeah, okay.

Just wondering.

Okay.

Wow.

So, how much are these car payments?

>> So, my car payment is $600.

>> Dang!

$600.

Okay.

So, what was our credit doing?

>> Oh, it was bad.

[ Laughs ] >> The credit was already bad?

>> Yeah, it was bad.

>> Okay.

When we got the car?

>> Yeah.

>> So, now that we're behind, I'm sure it's only gone down further.

Do you know around what credit score you have?

>> Mhm-mhm-mhm.

Maybe 400 or 500.

I don't know.

>> 400 or 500.

Okay.

So I'm sure that's also then impacting your car insurance.

>> Yes, so it makes it higher.

>> Yeah.

Okay.

And what did you print out here for me?

>> I printed out pretty much my whole life story.

[ Both laugh ] >> You printed out your whole life story?

>> Everything I owe, everything I'm in debt with.

>> Well, the first thing I see, it looks like the Am-- >> [ Laughs ] >> Baby, this Amazon -- What is happening on Amazon every other day.

>> It be stuff I need -- like, products and stuff.

And then a little stuff I need, too, [Laughs] that I want.

>> So, is this products for the passion that you're not charging people enough for?

>> Yes.

>> How much a month do you estimate you're using to support your mom?

>> Um, maybe like $500 to $600, or sometimes more.

Just depends.

>> $500 or $600?

>> Yeah.

>> That was the car note.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

I definitely know what it's like to have to make a choice between "Am I gonna pay this, or am I gonna pay that?"

You know?

So, for me, this is very full-circle.

I think I live like five minutes away from here, in a 600-square-foot apartment.

And I had eviction notices every month.

I chased the power man down with my baby on my hip, begging him to turn the lights back on.

And so, when I'm sitting here looking at you, I feel like you make it look very pretty.

>> I do.

>> And there's nothing glamorous about living with that type of stress.

>> It's not.

>> You know, it's heavy.

>> Seeing her cry made me cry.

It made me feel like, "Damn, somebody actually went through this.

It's okay to tell your story."

Like, you shouldn't hide when you're going through something.

It's okay to, like, talk about it and share it with somebody.

>> I have found, in working with clients over the years, that sometimes when you don't feel like you have complete control over different parts of your life, you try to control the things you can.

>> That makes sense.

>> So you're controlling your appearance because that's what you can, right?

>> Yeah.

>> But I also believe that at some point, we got to come to a place where we're gonna choose peace over appearances.

>> I agree.

>> Which means, while we're working together, I am going to assert that you probably have more than enough hair, lashes, makeup, jewelry, bedazzled goods, and all the things -- you have more than enough to create different looks and be the vibe that you want to be.

But we have to get focused and take this seriously, because if we don't slow down, what happens?

>> I'm gonna be in more debt.

>> More debt, and maybe at your mama's house.

>> Yeah, and I don't want to go there full-time, no.

>> To find your own opportunities, please visit opportunityknocks.net.

Next time on "Opportunity Knock$"... >> How long have you been in pain or uncomfortable?

>> Um, two, maybe three years.

>> Living paycheck-to-paycheck and struggling forever.

That's my biggest frustration right now, is I don't want to live like this all the time.

It's too hard.

Emotionally, mentally, it's too much.

>> I'm looking through here, and what I'm seeing is credit card after credit card after credit card after credit card.

How much debt are you guys in?

>> Major funding for "Opportunity Knock$" is provided by the National Council for Financial Opportunities, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing poverty and creating economic mobility by breaking down systematic barriers, increasing equitable access to capital, and making opportunity accessible to all.

Its programmatic areas of focus include financial resiliency, financial accessibility, and income adequacy.

Additional funding provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation, which seeks to strengthen historically marginalized communities by investing in pathways to economic advancement and generational wealth.

Additional funding for "Opportunity Knock$" provided by Balance... and Callahan & Associates.