>> 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 Balance, a national nonprofit financial counseling agency.

And by Callahan & Associates, which facilitates collaboration between financial cooperatives.

Previously on "Opportunity Knock$"... Is everyone ready to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

>> All: Yes.

>> Through the help of our financial coaches and nonprofits in your area, you will gain a personal education that is not normally taught in schools.

>> I was told we were signing up for coupons.

[ Laughter ] >> We currently live with my parents.

>> This thing is not just for us.

This is for you, too.

>> Our lives will change if we make some really good financial decisions.

>> Every day, millions of Americans must make the choice between rent and food.

"Opportunity Knock$" has matched three expert coaches with six struggling families to give a personalized financial experience that even you can benefit from.

Through this journey, we will see that the American dream is possible with the right advice.

Will the obstacles they face prove to be too much for these six families?

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

♪ Coach Patrice Washington is here for her inaugural coach meeting with Pastors Charles and Tiffany, who live in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with their two teenage kids.

>> Hi!

>> Hi!

>> Come on in!

>> Thank you.

Oh, hello.

Who is this?

>> Bentley.

>> Bentley?

>> Yes.

>> Oh, I love it.

Hi, Bentley.

>> He's a puppy.

>> Hi.

How are you?

>> Hi, Charles.

>> Hi.

>> I'm a hugger.

Come on.

Oh!

>> My first impression of Patrice is... no nonsense.

>> So basically preacher and teacher.

So you guys are both folks who have a heart for people.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> So how has that -- how has that impacted your finances?

>> Uh...

So let's just say that I have -- Like, I've had the hardest time learning how to say no.

>> We were not always in this position.

>> Okay, so take me back, girl.

Tell me history.

>> She does have that presence like, you know, "I'm here, and we're about to get started."

When we were newly married, I was all about keeping everything in check.

You know, I had a binder, and it had, like, bills here, what we can spend here, you get this much for this, and you get this much for this.

And then life happened, really.

>> Tell me about life.

>> We were married for seven years, and we didn't have any kids.

And then on the seventh year, God just blessed us.

And we found out we were having twins.

My little boy, Christopher, he was born without kidneys.

And so, they told us, "Either he's going to die in the womb, or he's going to die when you have him."

And they were right.

I mean, he did.

Code when I had him.

But Christopher came back to life.

He was a miracle baby.

And there were doctors that flew all over the world trying to discover why he's still alive.

He was literally a miracle child, so we couldn't work.

His job actually told him, "You need to be with your son, so we're going to let you go."

And then the hospital told me, "You can't work.

You got to be here every day."

That whole seven months we had him, we lived in Texas Children's Hospital.

We ended up getting in tons of debt, behind medical expenses and bills and things like that.

We lost everything.

We lost our house.

We lost both of our cars.

We lost our son all in the same year.

We lost everything.

And from then, we just kind of got on this... >> Float -- Float through life, basically, is what we did.

>> We just living.

That really, really took a toll on us, not just financially, but just in life, period.

So it's been, what, 13 years?

And literally we fell apart then financially, you know, and it's just been trying to... >> Mm-hmm.

Now, I know you said a lot of life has happened, so, I mean, 13 years is a long time.

But I know that here in Lake Charles, there's been storms.

How did the last few storms impact you all?

>> We started a church almost seven years ago.

>> Mm-hmm.

Seven years ago.

>> Seven years ago here.

>> As soon as we got here, you know, we started, you know, with the church and everything, and then, within these last couple of years, we've experienced two hurricanes here in Lake Charles back-to-back.

And it literally just tore up our city, tore up our church, tore up everything, you know?

>> In 2020, we were hit by two hurricanes in a six-week span.

We watched the buildings, the businesses, the homes just blowing away in the wind.

And almost two years later, and in certain areas, it's as devastating as it was the day after the storm.

>> We had to stay in Houston, 'cause for a while, we couldn't even come into the city.

That took a lot of finances, and then we were spending money helping church members because they didn't have anywhere to go.

>> It's a lot back-to-back.

And so, where has that left your finances?

Like, what are we talking now, with credit card debt and...?

>> Well, when we left to evacuate, we used credit cards.

We had money saved, but that went quickly 'cause you're talking about hotels.

That's $1,000 just for that week.

And we stayed there at least for three months, I think, we stayed out.

And so, we used -- we went to use savings.

We used all of that.

Then it was credit cards next.

>> So how much in credit card debt are we talking?

>> I think it's $11,000?

>> Yeah.

Somewhere around there.

$11,000, almost $12,000.

>> Okay.

And how many credit cards?

>> I think we have like 13.

>> You have 13 credit cards between the two of you?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

♪ >> Coach Jean Chatzky is about to meet Jared and Lauren for their first coaching session.

Jared and Lauren and their two young kids moved in with Lauren's parents about a year ago in Raleigh, North Carolina.

>> Hello!

>> Hey!

Welcome!

>> Oh, thank you so much.

>> Hi, Jean.

>> Hi!

It's nice to meet you.

This is beautiful.

>> Thank you!

>> Wow.

>> My mom's here.

>> Oh!

I'm Jean Chatzky.

Nice to meet you.

>> It's nice to meet you.

>> This is your home?

>> Yes.

>> And how do you like having these guys living here?

>> I love it.

[ Laughter ] We love having the kids here to be able to hug them and see them whenever we wanted.

>> Oh, be honest.

Is it the kids or the grandkids?

>> Oh, well, the grandkids.

[ Laughter ] >> Living with Lauren's parents is -- It's great.

It is -- I know my face probably looks -- like my facial expression.

So, yeah, to be honest, it was a bit rough for everybody at the beginning.

>> I've had all my kids live with me at some point or another, just to help them out.

You know, I think young couples need a lot of assistance nowadays just to get started.

>> In my family, there's kind of always been a pattern of my parents' home being a gathering place and open and willing for us kids as we have needs emerge in our life.

And my parents just opened their doors, and they're so welcoming.

And, you know, we'll have upwards of 15 people here sometimes.

And it's -- But it's -- We're a family.

We help each other.

That is the bottom line.

>> I appreciate you coming.

Thank you.

I'm going to let you two -- all get at it.

And I'm going to go back and check on my husband.

>> Thanks, Jan. >> Amazing.

>> Thanks, Mom.

See ya.

>> All right.

>> All right, we're going to be over here.

You can sit right here if you're comfortable there.

>> All right, so let me get situated, ready to go here.

I like to take notes while I talk.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

>> You're living with your parents.

>> Yes.

>> How did you get to this point?

>> Life is hard when you're starting out, but -- >> Well, just take me back because I hear -- I hear that this was hard for you.

Yeah.

What was going on financially that you made the decision to move home?

>> Yeah, so we were living back in Utah, and we had just gotten pregnant with our second.

And so, we were just stretched very thin and very stressed out and never had time for -- Something always had to give.

Right?

You try to manage your career.

You try to manage your family relationships.

You try to manage your time with your kids and your time with each other.

>> And financially, were you falling into debt?

Were you unable to save?

What was -- >> Jared and I started off our marriage.

He came in with a lot of debt.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So we start off our marriage with this huge weight hanging over us, and we worked our butts off for those first several years.

>> How much debt?

>> $75,000.

>> Wow.

Was it all student debt?

>> Half my student loan debt and half credit cards and a car loan.

♪ ♪ >> Coach Louis Barajas has arrived for his initial coach session with Patricia on her farm property in El Paso, Texas.

Her house, where she lives with her six kids, is on a large piece of land and includes a few rental units as well as a cellphone tower.

>> Patricia?

>> Yes.

How are you, Louis?

>> So nice to see you.

Finally so nice to see you.

>> Very good to meet you.

>> All right, you want to give me a little tour?

>> When Louis arrives on the property, I see the answer to my prayers.

I see someone that is very confident and also very just down to Earth.

>> Look at this art.

>> This is the gallery.

Most of the work right now is mine.

So all of the artwork that you see a little heart on, that's me.

>> Right here -- Patti.

I see.

>> Patti.

>> Uh-huh.

This is all the kids?

This is the work that the kids do from the classes that they take?

>> Yeah.

>> This is beautiful.

>> Isn't it?

So right now, this is our living-room area, but I've kind of set it up as an artwork space/gallery.

>> Okay.

Fantastic.

>> Go to the kitchen here.

I have six children.

Three boys and three girls.

>> Okay.

>> Hi, mijo.

Steven, this is my friend Louis.

>> Hey, how's it going?

>> Steven?

Pleasure.

I'm so glad that you're here to help your mom out today.

And, Steven, what do you do?

>> I just graduated college.

Right now I'm working.

>> Where'd you graduate?

>> UTEP.

>> Okay.

And what was your major?

>> Psychology.

>> Fantastic.

>> Yeah.

Thank you.

>> Yeah, I'm so proud of him.

>> All right.

Okay.

So as I walked in, I saw that you're creating this unbelievable artwork.

>> I've always wanted to have, like, a big art show.

>> What's holding you back?

>> The place.

It's not -- It's not ready for an art show.

There's so many things wrong with it right now.

>> Tell me about how you paint.

What's your process in painting?

>> I really don't think about what it's going to end up like.

More go with how I'm feeling and allow for the tools, paints, colors to choose me.

>> Okay, well, we're going to do a little different approach than you're used to, then, because I want to begin with the end in mind.

I want to know what our outcome is going to be, and then we're going to work backwards.

I want you to tell me where you see yourself in five years, let's say, financially, with your home, with your children.

>> I would absolutely love to have stability and not be worried about cash flow so that when something breaks down, that I have the means to repair that.

Our current situation is we have no heating, and we have no cooling.

We've had no water for a few days.

It takes a toll, right?

And at the same time, you're wanting to... >> Go ahead.

>> Well, as a parent, you don't want your children to feel the pain, the difficultness, right?

You don't want them to experience it because they have their own journey.

They're in school.

They need to progress.

They need to succeed.

But at the end of the day, it's very difficult to say, "Okay, well, tomorrow's another day.

Tomorrow and just let me just get some energy for today."

>> I want to ask you, mijo, what are your thoughts about seeing your mom right now?

>> I mean, I don't like to see my mom cry, obviously.

I mean, it does kind of, like, hurt me a little bit.

But I know that, like, she always tried her best.

>> What's caused you to get to this point, where you can't even fix the problem with the water or the heating?

What caused this, where you do not have the money?

What's going on?

>> Well, I have recently -- I'm recent divorced.

>> Okay.

>> And after the divorce, I had a fall, an accident.

>> Okay.

>> And so, I could not work.

I was pretty much bedridden for quite some time.

>> So after the divorce, there was no child support, alimony?

>> Yes, there was.

There was.

But this ranch requires -- It costs quite a bit to be here.

So I've been late on my payments.

>> How late are you on the mortgage payments?

How many months?

>> Ten.

Ten payments.

We are in foreclosure.

>> You're currently in foreclosure right now?

>> Yes.

>> I would be a disaster right now if you haven't made the payments for ten months, right?

You're on the verge of foreclosure, of losing your sacred space.

We've got to face what's going on right now, because the only thing that you have left hanging on to, besides your children, is this place.

And you may not be here long.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> You have 13 credit cards between the two of you?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay.

It's not -- Like, all hope is not lost.

Are all the credit cards maxed out?

>> I got like $20 available on one of them.

>> That would put you in the maxed-out category.

It's fine.

>> I do feel like Patrice is listening to understand what our thinking is.

And then, on the other hand, I feel she's listening just to be able to compare it to how she's about to tell me off.

>> I don't want you to think that I'm sitting here judging.

I'm not judging.

I've made the same mistakes.

I got into credit card debt, because about 14 years ago, I was 20 weeks pregnant when I took a fall down the stairs that sent me into pre-term labor.

Ended up with me in the hospital for 10 weeks on bed rest.

I went in with a seven-figure business, and by the time all of the smoke settled, I was scraping up change.

Like, I know what it's like to have to make a decision between, am I going to get formula for my baby, or am I going to pay this rent?

I get being in that survival mode, right?

But I also know what it takes to get back on track.

>> I think we were paired with the best coach for us.

Our stories are so similar.

And so, when I heard her story, instantly, the walls came down, because now I'm listening to her from the point of view of she knows where I've been.

>> I want to get into the nitty-gritty details here.

So how much is the mortgage here?

This house is beautiful.

>> It is beautiful.

We are renting this house.

We were living in a home that was $1,800 a month.

That was a rented home.

But after the storm, there were no homes available.

So we found this home, but it was at $2,500 a month.

I would never pay $2,500 to live in a house, but there was nothing else.

And so -- >> Yeah, 'cause that could be a mortgage.

>> Yes!

>> Yeah.

Okay.

Car notes, anything else?

>> Yeah, we do have a car note.

$564.

It's a pretty horrible interest rate that we got on that.

>> Double digit?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Sounds like it.

>> Which, bad credit.

I know, you know?

I knew what we were getting into.

>> And you also didn't do research.

And you also didn't shop around.

>> We needed a car.

>> And so, you've just accepted.

>> Right.

>> And even if you need it, another seven days of research could have made all the difference.

>> Yeah.

>> So no more of that, that type of speech from y'all.

I'm not settling for that.

Anything else I should know?

>> Mm...

I think that's it.

>> How much does it take to operate the church?

>> About $7,000 a month.

Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> That's significant.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We went from a church of about 130 down to about 50, and we've slowly been climbing back up, so we're about at 80 or so right now.

But me being the person I am, when we were going through all of that, I was like, "Don't give me no offerings."

I know what we were going through at the church.

I know.

I know.

I'm not saying it was the smartest move.

>> I'm just listening.

>> It was definitely the most heartfelt move at the time.

As the words are coming out of my mouth, she is politely troubled.

Like, she's smiling, but I can tell she does not agree with my decision at all.

And her body language is obvious to that.

>> Nobody had any money, you know, and so, the money we were getting, you know, if we got any, we had to pay the bills.

>> The church doesn't run if they don't give.

It's still a business.

It still has expenses.

You still have people you need to pay.

And how much have you had to pay some months just out of your pocket?

>> Sometimes $3,000.

>> Yeah, at least.

>> $3,500.

>> At least 50%.

>> Yeah.

>> Do you even get a salary?

You can't get a salary 'cause -- >> No, not right now.

>> Do you ever plan on getting a salary?

>> So if I'm being honest, I probably spend more time strategizing on how I can give one instead of get one.

>> Why?

>> I don't know.

I didn't expect her to react like that, because in my mind, it feels like the right thing to do.

Obviously, it may not be, not with her response, not reading her response.

>> 13 years flew by, didn't it?

>> Yeah.

>> Another 13 is going to come real quick.

>> Yeah.

>> So you have to start reconciling that, and you have to start just making some shifts.

It doesn't make you a bad person to take a salary.

It doesn't make you any less faithful, any less noble, any less righteous to be able to sustain the church as a business, but also sustain the business of this household.

'Cause you have kids.

>> Yeah.

>> And I think sometimes, as people of faith, we get it twisted.

"If I take a salary, I'm not a good person."

That's a lie from the pits of hell.

♪ [ Train whistle blows ] ♪ ♪ >> Is that priority number one?

We want to buy a home and move?

>> I would definitely say it is, if not number one, you know, in the top three, but we want to be sure that as we move towards that financial goal, that we're not putting ourselves in a bad situation.

>> Yeah, look, you moved home to give yourself runway.

Coming here and making the decision to not pay rent for a while while you save a little more, amass a down payment -- smart choice, right?

>> Jean telling me that moving in here is the right decision for us feels so confirming and relieving in a way, because I have put a lot of judgment on myself because now I'm in my 30s and I live with my parents, and that's an uncomfortable thing to say.

So having somebody who is expert in their profession tell me I made the right decision helps me not beat myself up.

>> I want to dig into the numbers because the numbers are really what's going to give us some timing on this.

How much money are you earning?

>> About $55,000 a year.

>> Okay, Lauren, tell me, are you earning any money right now?

>> Not right now.

>> Is there no pressure to move?

>> There is.

The pressure would come from -- >> Lauren's making a face.

>> I feel -- >> Lauren's making a face.

>> She really wants -- the number-one source of pressure is from Lauren >> [ Laughs ] >> But it's not bad.

It's not something we fight about.

>> No.

>> It's something we talk about.

>> Yeah.

We put this pressure on ourselves, but we almost feel behind in certain ways, behind -- You know, we started off our marriage with debt and some of the decisions with careers and jobs and school.

>> It's hard to not compare yourself to your peer group.

>> Alright, so let's lay out the buckets.

What's in savings?

>> In the home bucket, we've got $12,000.

>> Okay.

Any other savings accounts, investment accounts?

>> We have three HSAs just that have carried from different employers.

Then there's, like, 401(k)s from all those, and we have a Roth IRA for each of us.

>> Why so many employers?

What's -- What's -- Tell me a little bit about the job history.

>> I worked for a large healthcare company out in Utah, struggling with figuring out where my career is going to go or where I fit.

>> Mm-hmm, okay.

Alright, look, this is not a picture to beat yourself up about.

This is just a picture where you say, "Okay, we're gonna be smart."

>> Yeah.

>> "We're gonna be smart about what we do next.

We've got money coming in."

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We've got money saved.

>> Yes.

>> Let's talk about money going out.

>> Okay.

>> Alright?

So you live with your parents, so who pays for what?

>> A lot of it, we share.

>> Okay, and is that, like, dinner every night?

>> How much would you say we spend a month on groceries?

>> Probably like $500.

>> Okay, other big expenses?

>> Health insurance is $260 a month.

>> For the family?

>> For the family.

>> Any money that you need to spend on medical, are you pulling from the HSAs?

>> Yeah.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Okay.

Looking at all of this and listening to your work history, I don't quite see how you, "A," buy a home and actually afford it.

So my question is, and it's a question for you, Lauren, are you willing to go back to work?

>> [ Sighs ] I'm going to get emotional.

[ Laughs ] [ Voice breaking ] That's a really hard decision.

♪ >> To find your own opportunities, please visit OpportunityKnocks.net.

Next time on "Opportunity Knock$"... >> Hi!

>> I'm Jean.

>> Oh, no, here she is, like, this famous woman who is going to destroy us.

[ Both laugh ] >> I believe Section 8 keeps me stagnated.

>> Mindset is first, because if you have your mindset dialed in, then you'll find a way to get to the money.

>> You've had problems getting pregnant?

>> Yeah.

>> You probably financed a lot of this.

>> We have a total of $35,000 in loans.

>> Let's be honest, what kind of a burden is it putting on the marriage?

>> 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 Balance, a national nonprofit financial counseling agency.

And by Callahan & Associates, which facilitates collaboration between financial cooperatives.