In the show, a concerned person nominates friends or family members on the brink of financial collapse to receive Collins\u2019s financial guidance.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AGG5YS7UIBF3TIKJQM34RMWV7Y.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Collins is not afraid to bring up uncomfortable topics like sex and relationships in dishing out financial advice.<\/p>\n
The first season features one woman with 40 credit cards, one debt-ridden entrepreneur with an obsession for pricey collectibles and another struggling with student loans and depending on her mother for help.<\/p>\n
Alexis Morrison, who was on episode 2 of \u201cMAXXED OUT,\u201d said her finances weren\u2019t in a good place before being on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really bad, I had more than $60,000 in debt,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been able to get out of debt on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morrison followed Collins\u2019s advice to move to her parents\u2019 house and improve her financial habits to reduce unnecessary expenses. Since then, she has paid two loans and two credit card bills, and is in the process of starting a new business.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life is back on track, Morrison said. \u201cSince meeting Leah, I stopped playing games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head of OWN Unscripted Programming and Development, Drew Tappon<\/a>, said, \u201cMAXXED OUT\u201d isn\u2019t just a show.<\/p>\n \u201c[The show reflects] the financial pressures so many of us face and the ripple effect they have on our closest relationships,\u201d Tappon said in a statement.<\/p>\n Wedding plans bring a reality check<\/p>\n Collins brought her financial philosophy to her personal life, which, in 2020, took an unexpected turn.<\/p>\n At the time, Collins was engaged and had clear financial plans, which she later realized weren\u2019t as compatible with her fianc\u00e9\u2019s financial approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted a small, intimate wedding; his guest list alone was 200 people,\u201d Collins said in a TEDx Talk in 2024. \u201cYou don\u2019t really know someone until you have seen their finances.\u201d<\/p>\n The financial incompatibilities led Collins to call off the wedding, just a few weeks before the big day. She says that if people can communicate about money, they can communicate about almost everything.<\/p>\n Since then, Collins has helped couples, both premarital and married, navigate their financial situation.<\/p>\n Collins didn\u2019t know she would end up in the world of finance.<\/p>\n More people \u201cmaxxing out\u201d <\/p>\n In the U.S., 23% of couples have ended a relationship due to financial incompatibility, and another 34% would consider doing so, according to a LendingTree<\/a> study.<\/p>\n On the same note, household debt has increased by $191 billion to hit $18.8 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although Dallas County is in the lower range of debt-to-income ratios, surrounding counties such as Denton, Ellis and Kaufman recorded higher levels, data<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n Collins said student loans are a common cause of debt.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when at football games, I was at the stadium and there would be the credit card companies with their tables set up,\u201d Collins said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey would give you your free t-shirt if you signed up for a card. It starts very, very early.\u201d<\/p>\n Other common causes of debt include emergencies, medical expenses, and day-to-day living expenses, according to a JG Wentworth<\/a> study.<\/p>\n Financial literacy might be one issue.<\/p>\n The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) 2025 annual survey<\/a>, which measures financial literacy, found that only 49% of U.S. adults answered the index questions correctly. <\/p>\n The same report showed that, on average, Gen Z answered only 38% of the index questions correctly.<\/p>\n Those with a low level of financial literacy are twice as likely to be debt-constrained and five times as likely to lack non-retirement savings sufficient to cover one month of living expenses, or to be unsure whether they have such savings.<\/p>\n Collins said she likes strategies such as \u201cthe snowball method,\u201d which focuses on paying off the smallest credit card balances first and then progressively paying off larger debts. <\/p>\n Collins also recommends checking credit reports every six months<\/a> to stay informed. <\/p>\n In her TED talk, Collins also shared the \u201cthree don\u2019ts before you say I do,\u201d which aim to keep people financially protected while in a romantic relationship: Do not ignore the red flags, don\u2019t leave yourself unprotected and don\u2019t be afraid to walk away.<\/p>\n Collins continues to check on the people she helps while managing her responsibilities as a single mom of a five-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest challenge is just keeping up with everything,\u201d Collins said. \u201cMore people [are] reaching out to me needing help, and [I have] to respond to everyone and make sure that I\u2019m able to help people in the best way that I can, while also maintaining my mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n She also continues to work in corporate finance, provide financial advice and share tips and strategies on social media. <\/p>\n How Collins \u2018stumbled into finance\u2019<\/p>\n During an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Collins admitted changing her major five or six times in college, until her father told her he would not pay for her to go back to school if she didn\u2019t pick a major and stick with it.<\/p>\n \u201cLike many 18-year-olds, we don\u2019t know what we want to do with our lives,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI kind of just stumbled into finance.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins knew she was good with numbers and, like her mom, decided to pursue a career in finance.<\/p>\n She graduated from Texas Tech in 2006 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in finance, and from UT Arlington in 2013 with an M.B.A. <\/p>\n She now has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance, having worked at Fortune 100 companies while also growing as a personal financial coach.<\/p>\n Collins\u2019s own experience with debt also shaped her journey as a financial advisor. While doing her taxes around 2017, she realized her debt had grown. <\/p>\n \u201c[I] realized I made a lot of money, the most I had ever made,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI looked around and I was just trying to figure out, where did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n She decided to get her financial freedom back and, within 18 months, managed to pay off $40,000 in debt, raise her credit score to over 800, and purchase investment properties across the nation.<\/p>\n Collins saw an opportunity in her experience to teach others to ease their financial pressures, helping them protect their wealth and build their financial literacy. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce I got out of debt, that became my mission,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s my ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins\u2019s financial advice is now reaching a wider audience thanks to \u201cMAXXED OUT,\u201d which is described as a \u201cfinancial intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want viewers to feel seen and understood, while also walking away with practical tools to rewrite their financial story and reclaim their peace of mind,\u201d Tappon said in a statement.<\/p>\n Ashley Benavides, a senior at Southern Methodist University, said the show reflects a sensitive topic.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonal finances aren\u2019t something people want to put out there,\u201d Benavides said. \u201cI watch MAXXED OUT because I admire how people open up their lives to get out of their financial problems.\u201d<\/p>\n How a highly successful gambler and his cronies bought 90% of the $25 million $1 tickets – and won.<\/p>\n Single parents, part\u2011time workers and first\u2011time filers are among those most likely to miss out on tax credits.<\/p>\n A study from Smartasset measured cost of living changes in 236 American cities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leah Collins is used to giving out tough financial love to friends and clients. Now, the Dallas native…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,6874,27073,2492,2819],"class_list":["post-211444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-entrepreneurs","tag-influencers","tag-personal-finance","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773929948_236_2ID6TEPDNXPMYKBTRPT6L7ZNPE.jpg\")
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