>> 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 Knock$"... >> It looks like if you do not pay, then it will go to short sale.

And then where do we go with the three babies?

>> I am struggling.

I mean, I live paycheck to paycheck, so I started taking out credit cards, and I almost maxed all of them out.

>> How much debt are you guys in?

>> So, we have $60,000 in credit card debt.

>> It's more than that.

>> It's more than that?

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

>> We've 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 going to 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 going to 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 attained online, interest rate's 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?

♪♪ ♪♪ >> So, basically, pay two mortgages within eight days?

So, it looks like if you do not pay, then it will go to short sale.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We got to move, and we have to move quickly.

So I want to start by sending you to The Opportunity Finder website where there are tons of resources right here in your own backyard.

So, whether they are nonprofit and offer low- to no-cost services or community development financial institution -- CDFIs -- that can help you with the debt and those types of things, right?

Because we're five days away.

It's a little past time to get the mortgage assistance that I would normally suggest, but on The Opportunity Finder, you can select "Get money for an emergency."

This is an emergency.

>> I'm sick and tired of struggling.

I'm exhausted all the time.

I'm ready to be the best.

>> This requires fast action, so I'm glad you have some of the money, but you still need that to live.

>> Yeah.

>> So we got to get the mortgage money, and it's not enough to just ask for what you need for... >> Just that.

>> ...just the payment.

You need the second payment and the third payment if you're going to be able to meet the demands of the trial period and keep the house.

So that's really where we have to start because you only have five days.

I know that didn't help the anxiety at all, but at least there's a resource because if not, what were you going to do?

>> Nothing.

There's... >> Okay.

And then, we're also looking at -- Are these student loans?

>> Yes.

>> How much in student-loan debt?

>> Like $2,500.

>> And then how much in credit-card debt again?

>> I think we're at $23,000.

>> $23,000.

And then how much in medical debt?

>> That is like -- >> Only, like, maybe two -- 2 grand.

>> Yeah.

>> Got you.

But we're looking at about $27,000.

I mean, right now, essentially, your credit-card payments match your mortgage.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> That's wild, right?

So that has to come down.

Okay.

So we're going to The Opportunity Finder, number one.

We need to get the emergency money, like, now.

And if we don't do that, the house will go on a short sale, and Bobbye's worst nightmare will come true.

And that's not what we desire, right?

We want to stay in the house, keep the kids grounded.

So we're going to start with the getting the emergency money.

Next, I want to go to the fit pillar.

Becoming your best self, feeling good mentally and physically, which means we need to focus on the health and medical services that we can find.

We definitely got to get you to the dentist because two to three years in pain... >> Yeah.

>> ...intolerable.

You want to look for healthcare and dental services.

And then, also, we need to look at better job possibilities for you.

You can also look for career counseling.

I think career counseling is going to be important for both of you.

For you, we definitely need to get the income up and get you home more and get you on dates with Bobbye more -- right?

-- and enjoying the family because working those many hours and not getting any more compensation or health insurance for it doesn't really support you or the family.

Then, Bobbye, I think there's some work-from-home job opportunities.

I know how difficult it is with the childcare and still having a small baby.

Okay.

So, all of these things we have to get with.

So, we're working with a lot, but you guys have each other.

You're not doing this alone.

So you can keep each other accountable, right?

>> As Miss Patrice is telling me this, these resources they have, I see a light that, you know, I can strive for.

>> How are we feeling?

>> I would say, you know, very excited, very looking forward at what is out there and what the potential of us is.

>> Yes!

>> I'm excited.

>> I'm excited, too!

All right, let's do this, guys.

>> It's going to be hard work to change the entire mindset that I've been stuck in for years.

But to crawl and climb for it, to keep trying to be better and knowing there are places and opportunities that I can reach out to to become my best self, I'm excited.

Well, I appreciate you coming.

Looking forward to it.

>> Oh.

I love hugs, I love hugs.

Yes, I can't wait to see you guys, hear all the progress.

>> Absolutely.

>> All right.

>> Bye.

Okay.

Hoo.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> I feel like I'm in a rut that I can't get out of living paycheck to paycheck and struggling, and I just -- I need some kind of guidance and help me and my kids to be better.

And, I mean, I've always wanted to even take them on a vacation.

I can't even do that.

>> In this situation, the event was the divorce, right?

There's a lot of emotion tied to what you did.

You and your kids have been getting any kind of help, any kind of therapy or counseling?

>> I haven't because I don't have health insurance.

My daughter is currently in therapy.

She has some big emotions.

Anxious.

My son is going to start therapy in December for some of his behaviors and a little bit of anger that he's also presenting.

>> Okay.

Well, there's this chart that I use.

I just want to quickly show you.

I call it the Financial Health Healer, but this is the same thing, right?

We talk about this is the money, but your money is affecting -- it's a mental, emotional health, it's the spiritual health, the relationship health, your physical health.

Without having that health insurance, you haven't been able to get the counseling or the therapy.

I think it's something that you really owe to yourself.

>> Louis's words are just so calming, and he has this great presence about him that it just, like -- you feel like you can take a breath and it's going to be okay.

>> We're gonna shift our focus to our outcome.

>> Okay.

>> We want to get rid of this 30% interest rate.

We want to earn more income.

We want to have a little bit of emergency reserves, because without those emergency reserves, you stress out because you're using now more credit cards.

>> Right.

>> Is there anything, by the way, that you could do to make extra money?

We haven't talked about that.

>> Well, sometimes I do, like -- I would call my side hustle -- like, I make T-shirts and doormats.

So I try to sell those a little bit, but I never really make a lot of money.

But maybe I could push that more to get some side money.

>> You know, you have these certain unique abilities, these certain gifts that you're not showing the world right now, maybe because you're so focused on trying to get out of this hole that you're in right now.

We're going to have resources.

We're going to take you to The Opportunity Finder to help you.

You'll enter your zip code.

It'll help you find resources in the area where you live.

>> Mm.

>> You mentioned earlier that you have no health insurance, right?

So we're going to enter your zip code, and it'll help us find resources to get health insurance, as well.

>> Oh, perfect.

I haven't been able to really go to the doctor's because I don't have healthcare.

And when I do, I have to pay up front, which I usually don't have the money for.

And it's really difficult because, being a military spouse, that was given to me.

I had that taken care of.

And then, now being divorced, I don't have any healthcare.

And healthcare is expensive.

I can't afford it.

>> All right.

Open up your notebook.

Get your pen.

I've got your homework for you.

>> Okay.

>> Okay?

I'm going to give you three pieces of homework, okay?

The very first one, I want you to go to The Opportunity Finder.

>> Okay.

>> And search for "Building credit."

>> Okay.

>> And getting rid of your credit-card debt.

That's going to take you to a CDFI, right?

-- a community development financial institution -- right near you.

All you have to do is contact them, and they're gonna take care of you.

>> Okay.

Perfect.

>> Okay?

Second piece of homework.

You're going to search for "Education" and "Paying for technical school or college."

>> Okay.

>> And the last thing is, you're gonna go, and you're gonna search for "Talking to someone about my emergency."

>> Okay.

Perfect.

Louis gave me a lot of homework.

A lot of homework.

The last time I was given homework was probably in college five years ago.

[ Laughs ] I really need to focus on my budgets and my money, and I think it's only going to benefit me.

>> The journey doesn't end here, right?

>> Right.

>> You and I are gonna work through this.

>> Okay.

>> I want you to believe that everything is going to change, and I want you to find that peace in that there's now hope, and you're going to be happy.

>> Yes.

>> We're going to turn your life around like you have no idea.

>> Okay.

>> All right?

>> Sounds good.

Thank you so much.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm excited to have a direction because I honestly didn't know where to look.

To be given any direction is helpful because sometimes we don't know where to start, so I'm excited to see what the outcome is.

Thank you again so much.

>> My pleasure, Nicole.

I'll see you really soon.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> This pattern of spending money that you don't have is really going to have to change.

It doesn't make sense for somebody who's earning a quarter million dollars a year to be thinking about filing bankruptcy.

That's where you're headed.

>> When Jean says bankruptcy, I immediately was like, "Failure -- oh, that's not an option.

There has to be a better way."

>> This has to change.

You all are going to start tracking your spending every day, every dollar.

>> Bankruptcy had to be the switch, to me.

These walls need to come down because Jean is here for us.

She is going to give us the tools so that we can avoid this.

>> Let's start with the cars.

How about your son?

Could he pay for his own car?

>> He could.

>> Maybe it's time for that.

>> Yeah.

>> How much would that save you?

>> Roughly around 500 to 600 bucks a month.

>> Yeah, 'cause the insurance is... >> The business.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Is the business a not-for-profit?

Is it a for-profit enterprise?

How does it -- how does it work?

>> Well, initially, I started out as a for-profit.

>> Okay.

>> And the reason why I started out as a for-profit because I didn't understand how to make it a nonprofit.

>> I think what you're doing is so smart and so helpful to so many people, and I would love for it to succeed so that we could put it on The Opportunity Finder and veterans could source your help through this tool.

You know, we get you cooking, this is just going to feed on itself.

>> I'm passionate about what we're doing.

As you could probably tell, I'm really passionate about it.

Since 2018, we've helped over 3,000 veteran- and military-spouses-owned businesses, and I'm super proud of that.

>> You're going to use The Opportunity Finder to find a business coach to figure out if your business is a business.

>> Okay.

>> I don't know.

With travel, I think there's a lot of potential, but you're going to have to figure out a way to be distinctive.

>> Right.

>> Right?

>> Right.

>> With the credit cards, you're gonna use The Opportunity Finder to help you find a CDFI or a credit union where maybe we can refinance this 28% interest at a lower rate, based on your good credit scores.

>> I heard about the CDFIs, I heard about credit unions, but I really didn't know to trust them or not, whether they can do the things that they say they can do.

>> We get information.

I know everyone gets information through Internet.

A lot of that we don't feel like we can trust.

But with Jean, I felt like this is something we can really trust.

>> We're going to find one that will help refinance this debt.

But then you've got to work the debt that remains.

The way that you pay off these debts is by doing what we call an avalanche.

A debt avalanche is where we stack your debts from highest interest rate down to lowest interest rate.

So you take all the extra money that you're going to find by tracking your spending, and you throw it against the debt that remains with the highest interest rate, and you make minimum payments on the rest.

>> Okay.

>> And then when that debt with the highest interest rate is gone, you move on to the debt with the next highest interest rate.

And once you find the CDFI, they'll help you figure out which of these debts gets priority.

When we go to The Opportunity Finder, you search for "Getting rid of credit card debt" or "Reducing my debt."

The second thing that we're going to look for is some general financial counseling, because you've got a lot of bad habits that have to change.

So we're going to search for "Financial counseling."

And then, we're going to look for business counselors for both of you.

Help growing these businesses.

Help figuring out if your business is a business.

And, Donnell, now, when you search for business counseling, we're going to look specifically for somebody who has knowledge about being a not-for-profit.

We hope it is, because then we'll be able to include you on The Opportunity Finder and funnel other veterans' businesses in to get the help that you are able to provide.

And, Tanda, search for "Getting advice on starting my business."

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

I know it's a lot.

Do you have other questions?

>> No.

Um...

This is, uh...

It's reaffirming that, you know, we need to really pay attention to how -- to our spending.

>> Oh, you're not alone.

>> Thank you.

[ Both laugh ] >> Everybody needs to pay attention to their spending.

>> When Jean said that we're not alone, it gave us hope, you know, that we're not the only ones messing up.

[ Both laugh ] >> You are in -- You have plenty of company.

>> We don't want to have that company anymore.

We want to be in different company.

>> We can be a success story, not only for Jean but for our son, and then, for our veteran community, to let them know that, "Whatever you're going through, that you can make it through.

Look at us.

Look what we've done."

$100,000 is not a -- is a lot of money.

And to be able to come back from that, we're going to show America that we can do that.

>> If you have questions, you just text me.

We'll work it out.

>> Thank you.

>> Awesome!

So we have a plan.

>> Yes.

Yes.

>> Great.

>> Thank you so much.

>> Oh, my goodness.

Thank you guys.

>> We want Jean to stay and help us go through this even more.

Thank you.

>> Sure.

I'll see you soon.

>> She is becoming a friend -- a friend with great information to help us.

Bye-bye, have a good day.

>> Thank you.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cellphone rings ] >> Reidland Auto.

I work at my parents' auto-repair shop.

I am the receptionist there.

My work duties consist of customer service, taking payments, phone calls.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Okay.

Homework time.

Okay.

Knowing that I have all this homework to do that Louis has given me, I jump right on at work to get the ball rolling on that homework.

Enter the zip code.

Search "I need help with, number one, getting rid of credit-card debt."

Search.

Oh, wow.

All you have to do is put your zip code in and click on the help that you need, and those resources pop right up.

And here is Raiz Federal Credit Union.

Just what Louis was talking about.

There's a lot of different locations.

It looks like a CDFI.

Okay.

Contact us.

Oh, wow.

It's actually really close.

Schedule an appointment.

Okay.

I was able to schedule an appointment.

I've never heard of Raiz before.

Didn't even know it existed.

I'm excited and curious to see what it's like or what they can even offer me.

And the next thing I'm looking for is "Education" and "Paying for tech school and college."

So, zip codes in, education, "Paying for technical school or college" -- search.

When I searched to look what helps me to pay for college, Raiz Credit Union also came up again.

So I'm also excited to see how they can help me in both areas -- credit cards and paying for school.

And then the last one -- "Talking to someone about emergency."

Search.

And it is Amistad.

Contact.

When I clicked to see for emergencies what was available, Amistad came up for me.

I chose for emergencies because I need help to provide for my kids.

I can't do it by myself currently, in that I don't have health insurance, and I have to be able to take care of myself to take care of them.

And I also was able to make an appointment for this one.

Perfect.

[ Cellphone rings ] Reidland Auto.

It's amazing to know that I have Opportunity Finder tool because I didn't know it existed.

And now to see those resources here in town that can help me is pretty amazing because I didn't know it existed.

Sometimes we just don't know where to start, and to have that tool to say, "This is where you should go for your needs," is great.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Bye-bye.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> You ready for the work we have to do?

>> Absolutely.

Jean just going over everything with us and then asking us the hard questions, that was -- that was really tough.

But at the same time, if we want to change, we have to change.

>> Right.

>> At first, you know, it dug in a little bit.

I was like, "Ooh, that hurt."

I was like, "Oh."

"Are you doing this?

Are you doing that?

Why are you spending this?

Do you need that?"

>> She is really making us think about our choices.

And that's something we've never had to do or never been held accountable for.

It kind of scared me when she said if we continued on this path... >> Bankrupt.

>> Yeah.

So now that we've gotten a lot of information, we can avoid that path and actually get on the path of financial success.

>> Yeah.

And share it with our son.

>> Absolutely.

Uh, he definitely needs to know.

>> I like the idea of, uh, tracking our spending.

>> Yeah.

>> Because it scares me to see it at the end of the month, but if I see it daily, I know where everything is going.

Let's get started.

>> All right.

>> Okay.

Let's start our journey to success.

First thing is enter our zip code.

Okay.

And then the first one, we'll find our CDFI.

Getting rid of credit-card debt.

Let's search.

>> SkyPoint Federal Credit Union.

>> And that's in our area.

Let's book an appointment.

Okay, we're looking for an appointment.

Next week?

Good for you?

>> Yeah, that sounds great.

>> All right.

>> So, the next one is, uh, financial counseling.

So we'll click here.

>> The Financial Empowerment Center is what we located.

>> And we need an appointment with them, also.

Here we go.

Got it.

So now we're looking for getting advice for starting my business and, uh, yours with the nonprofit.

>> Oh, it's right here in the city.

>> Great.

Thank goodness.

Center for Nonprofit Advancement.

Let's make your appointment.

Here we go.

Oh, my goodness.

This seems so easy now.

To me, it feels empowering.

I usually tell my students, if you don't control yourself, someone else will control you.

And that gives us the control.

And it makes us even more empowered so that we have choices.

We don't limit ourselves to what people want to choose for us.

We have the opportunity to make those choices.

Okay.

And then we're going to go to the advocacy.

And this will be for me.

Oh, look, the Greater Washington Urban League popped up.

>> And let's make an appointment for you.

>> Got it.

This seems so easy.

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

Next time on "Opportunity Knock$"... >> What was our next step?

>> I'd like to get some advice to start my business.

>> I had no idea that this existed.

>> Struggling trying to pay back these online payday loans.

>> There's a big if in the room.

>> It's pretty scary knowing that our whole life depends on this.

>> We're having to ration just to make the dollars, you know, last longer.

>> If they can't help us, we're going to lose our house.

>> I can give you a hug.

>> Yes.

>> 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.