Matt and Amani Learn to Stay Within Their $24,000 Monthly Budget on 'How To Get Rich'

Everybody dreams of being rich, but sometimes our spending habits get in the way. In the new Netflix show, How to Get Rich, financial expert Ramit Sethi counsels people on their relationships with money and what they can do to get on the path to wealth.

The show is the financial equivalent to “What Not to Wear,” but instead of pointing out that mom jeans are not a good look, Sethi tells his clients what they are wasting their money on. Keep reading to find out what Matt and Amani learned about budgeting on How to Get Rich.

Take Matt and Amani, are Sethi’s clients in the show's first season and together the couple spends about $27,000 per month. Matt and Amani live on one income, Amani’s salary as an account executive for a software company. Matt quit his job as a traveling electrical engineer to be a stay-at-home dad for the couple’s two daughters. Sure, a family of four living on one income can be challenging, but after crunching the numbers, Sethi found that Matt and Amani actually bring in about $24,000 a month. Where does the money go?

“In this month, they contributed $24,000 to this checking account, and they spent $27,000,” Ramit said. “They spent more than they made. This is a huge red flag for me.”

Sethi spends six weeks with each client featured in the show to help them turn their financial outlook around. He starts with a deep dive into their finances, assessing their accounts and spending habits. He then creates a blueprint and action plan for them to follow to get back on track.

Matt and Amani's overspending led to them depending on overdraft protection to cover their purchases. Overdraft protection accounts typically cost fees and high interest. Sethi gave the couple a “Design Your Rich Life” journal to work on together.

“The first step I want them to do is to start talking about money, getting positive with it, dreaming. This is a great opportunity for them to start asking questions instead of judging each other,” Sethi said.

Sethi is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich.” He also runs a blog and podcast under the same name. He started the “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” website in 2004 while studying at Stanford University. Sethi says he decided to learn about how money really worked after losing half of his first scholarship check in a stock market investment.

According to Entrepreneur, Sethi has a net worth of around $20 million. While a lot of financial advice out there tells you to stop wasting money on $5 lattes, Sethi believes you should enjoy all the lattes you want.

“A $5 coffee is not going to change your financial life. But learning how to automatically invest, how to select the right asset allocation, and how to negotiate a $15,000 raise will,” Sethi says on his website.

Sethi has specific money rules he recommends that can help people get their spending under control and build their wealth.

“Take all the decisions that you have to make in a given month — should I buy this? Should I buy that? Should I return this?” Sethi told CNBC Make It. “Roll them up into a few simple money rules that make it really easy to make decisions.”