Episodes

  • "My kids don't need their college savings anymore. Can I keep the tax benefits?"

    "My kids don't need their college savings anymore. Can I keep the tax benefits?"
    Apr 10 2026
    You saved diligently for your kids' education, and now that chapter is closing. So what happens to the money? Can you protect those tax benefits and roll the funds into something new? We're getting into it. This week, Jean is joined by Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of TrustWillow.com, a personalized advisor-matching platform that connects women and their families with vetted, fiduciary financial advisors who are legally required to act in your best interest, and who have been trained specifically in working with women's financial lives. They dig into your mailbag questions from: Inge, who opened Coverdell ESAs for her kids 20 years ago, just got a notice that Vanguard is shutting down the program. What are her options for keeping that money tax-protected? An anonymous listener just paid off her husband's student loans and is officially done with daycare. Where should that newfound money go? Rebecca, who is recently divorced with a high school senior and a 529 that covers about one year of college. She wants to know: Are there financial planners who specialize in college planning? 🔗 Connect with a vetted fiduciary advisor at hermoney.com/findanadvisor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Introducing: A Week In Her Wallet

    Introducing: A Week In Her Wallet
    Apr 9 2026
    Do you actually know where your money went last week? Not roughly...where it actually went. Every coffee, every impulse buy, every bill that hit all at once on a Monday morning when you were least expecting it. A Week in Her Wallet is a HerMoney limited series where real women from our community track every single dollar they spend for one full week, and then sit down with Jean Chatzky to talk about what they learned. Because the way we spend says so much about what we value, what we're afraid of, and where we might want to make a change. In this series, you'll hear from women like: Kortne, a 55-year-old tech director in Texas who meal preps every meal — even on race day at a half-marathon across the country — but didn't think twice about dropping $820 on Bruno Mars tickets for her daughter Kristen, a single woman in her 40s who travels constantly for work, owns her own home, and used her yard sale earnings to buy festival tickets for a night out with a friend Larisa, a Maryland mom juggling a rental property, two busy kids, a road trip to Florida, and a Sam's Club run that started with paper towels and ended with a bathing suit Real women. Real numbers. Real life. Subscribe to HerMoney on Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode, look for A Week In Her Wallet directly in your HerMoney podcast feed. And if you want to track your own spending with us, apply here to be featured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • Ep 522: The Economic Forces Shaping Your Money, Career, and Future with Planet Money's Alex Mayyasi

    Ep 522: The Economic Forces Shaping Your Money, Career, and Future with Planet Money's Alex Mayyasi
    Apr 8 2026
    At HerMoney, we're always trying to make money a little less intimidating; breaking down the big, complicated stuff into things you can actually use in your real life. And when it comes to understanding the economy, nobody does that better than today's guest. Alex Mayyasi is a contributor to Planet Money, the NPR podcast that has spent seventeen years making economics genuinely entertaining, and he and the team have just written a book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Alex also stuck around for a Mailbag, answering listener questions about tariffs, tax-loss harvesting, and why everything you buy seems to be getting more expensive but less high quality at the same time. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the economy feels so broken right now, even when GDP is growing, inflation is down, and wages are solid Baumol's Cost Disease: the simple but powerful concept that explains why childcare, healthcare, and college keep getting more expensive What the history of the ATM tells us about AI and whether it's really going to take your job Why it's nearly impossible to beat the market, and what a cute animal experiment reveals about how stocks actually work The one economic principle Alex has found most useful in his own life, and why it applies to way more than just your money Resources mentioned in this episode: Planet Money’s new book, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Subscribe to the free twice-weekly HerMoney newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • Why Playing It Safe With Your Money Might Be the Riskiest Thing You Can Do

    Why Playing It Safe With Your Money Might Be the Riskiest Thing You Can Do
    Apr 3 2026
    You've heard the rules. Subtract your age from 100. Go 60/40. Play it safer as you get older. But what if those long-held guidelines have been steering you wrong and costing you? Yale finance professor James Choi returns to HerMoney to share groundbreaking research that could change the way you think about your investments forever. His new asset allocation formula goes far beyond the traditional rules of thumb, factoring in your income, your savings, your risk tolerance, and something most investment guidelines completely ignore: the future paychecks you haven't earned yet. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the "100 minus your age" rule and the classic 60/40 portfolio have a critical blind spot The concept of "human capital" and why your future paychecks function like a bond in your overall wealth portfolio How the formula shifts dramatically for mid-career investors, and why the size of your nest egg matters more than you think What near-retirees and women already in retirement should really know about how much risk to take on Resources mentioned in this episode: James Choi's allocation spreadsheet calculator The Wall Street Journal piece on James's research Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck (coming Sept 2026) Subscribe to the free twice-weekly HerMoney newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 mins
  • Ep 521: The Economy Is Sending Mixed Signals: Here's What That Means for Your Wallet

    Ep 521: The Economy Is Sending Mixed Signals: Here's What That Means for Your Wallet
    Apr 1 2026
    Q1 2026 has been a lot. Tariffs. Oil above $100 a barrel. A war in the Middle East. Recession chatter. Stock market swings. And the creeping feeling that something has shifted in the economy… and not for the better. This week, Jean Chatzky sits down with economist and fan-favorite guest Kathryn Edwards for a full Q1 economic report card and a roadmap for what Q2 might bring. In this episode: The K-shaped economy explained Why the White House's 4% growth projection was never realistic, and how we got from boom talk to recession odds so fast How long oil prices need to stay elevated before the economic damage becomes truly lasting Why Kathryn is still an optimist, and why she believes Americans are resilient to change Links mentioned: Follow Kathryn on socials: @kedseconomist Subscribe to Optimist Economy wherever you get your podcasts Join InvestingFixx — your first two classes are free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • “I’m 54. My advisor said fully funding my 401(k) won't make a big difference. Is he right?”

    “I’m 54. My advisor said fully funding my 401(k) won't make a big difference. Is he right?”
    Mar 27 2026
    When was the last time you felt truly in control of your time? Not your calendar, not your to-do list…your time? If the answer is "I can't remember," this episode is for you. Jean Chatzy is joined by Andy Hill, AFC, founder of Marriage, Kids, and Money, and author of Own Your Time: 10 Financial Steps to Put Your Family First and Escape the Corporate Grind. Together, they tackle your most pressing mailbag questions about the real tension so many of us are feeling right now: how do you balance saving aggressively for the future with actually enjoying your life today? In this episode: A 41-year-old high earner wants to know what to do with extra money beyond maxing out her accounts A 54-year-old asks whether her financial advisor is right that fully funding her 401 (k) won't make much difference. A 52-year-old is stretched thin between her career and caring for her aging mom and wonders: Is it financially irresponsible to step back during her peak-earning years? Andy also shares how he and his wife hit their Coast FIRE number, redesigned their lives around a 20-hour workweek, and what the first move looks like if you want to do the same. Ready to make your money work harder so you don't have to? Join InvestingFixx and learn how to build a portfolio that buys back your time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Ep 520: Why Smart, Hardworking Women Are Struggling With Money Right Now And What To Do About It

    Ep 520: Why Smart, Hardworking Women Are Struggling With Money Right Now And What To Do About It
    Mar 25 2026
    You're earning more than you ever have. You're doing everything you were told to do. So why does it still feel like you can't get ahead? This week, Jean sits down with Hanna Horvath, CFP, personal finance journalist, and writer behind the Substack Your Brain on Money, to talk about why so many women are struggling with money right now, and why it probably has a lot less to do with your choices than you think. In this episode, you'll learn: Why GDP being up and your life feeling hard are not contradictory, and what's actually driving the disconnect The concept of mattering, and why losing your sense of economic contribution can feel like an identity crisis The four money behaviors that show up when economic anxiety takes hold Why community investment is one of the most underrated strategies for financial resilience The one question to ask yourself before every spending decision Join InvestingFixx, our twice-monthly women-only investing club. Your first two classes are always free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • Stephanie Link's 2026 Market Outlook: International Stocks, Crypto, & the AI Power Boom

    Stephanie Link's 2026 Market Outlook: International Stocks, Crypto, & the AI Power Boom
    Mar 20 2026
    Markets are swinging. There's a war with Iran. Oil is spiking. And if your stomach has been dropping every time you look at your portfolio, Stephanie Link has something to say about that. Stephanie is Chief Investment Strategist and Portfolio Manager at Hightower Advisors, and a longtime CNBC contributor with more than 30 years of experience managing money through every kind of market cycle. She joined Jean Chatzky this week to cut through the noise and tell us exactly what she's doing with money right now. Stephanie shares her boldest market calls for the rest of 2026, including why she's bullish on Brazil and why its role in the AI power story is completely underappreciated, which sectors she's watching closely, and why the fear that AI is going to kill software companies is, in her words, overdone. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Stephanie says it's impossible to time the market, and what to do instead Her top three international markets right now The AI infrastructure food chain, and which industries stand to benefit most How much crypto she actually holds in her own portfolio The one book every new investor should read Connect with Stephanie Link: LinkedIn: Stephanie Link X: @Stephanie_Link Hightower Advisors: hightoweradvisors.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins