Chloe Puff, owner of Chloe Puff Training, pre and postnatal women’s fitness specialist, and Sami’s personal trainer, joins the podcast to discuss how she made the transition from professional dancer to entrepreneur while on her motherhood journey. We also chat about the intersectionality of finance and fitness, the importance of personal development, how childhood shapes your adult perception of money and body, and more! In this episode, you’ll learn more about: How Chloe went from a...

You’ve seen “Marie Kondo minimalism” in peoples’ homes… but have you ever heard about financial minimalism?  In this episode, Sami explains the benefits of financial minimalism, how you can start practicing it, and the exact number of bank accounts your family needs.  In this episode, you’ll learn more about: What financial minimalism is + Sami’s financial minimalism journey Ways to be strategic with your money to get the “biggest bang for your buck” How to organize your bank accounts...

In this unfiltered episode, Sami chats about how her life has changed in the last decade: from working 60+ hours a week to deciding enough was enough. Through her darkest seasons of life, Sami emerged to fulfill her wildest dreams– and you can do it too. She also discusses mental health, the familiarity of chaos, starting a business, and more! In this episode, you’ll learn more about: Sami’s breaking point and why she decided to quit working full time  How to adopt your own brand of...

Sami chats about how you can make budgeting a regular habit and why you SHOULD! She also gives actionable tips to make this happen and explains how budgeting changed her life.  In this episode, you’ll learn more about: How to budget in a sustainable way Why budgeting is important for your overall financial wellness Apps, tools + mindset shifts to guide you on your budgeting journey The reason folks tend to “fail” budgeting, budgeting misconceptions, how budgeting can reduce stress + more ...

Ellyce Fulmore, Queer and neurodivergent financial educator, content creator, and best-selling author, joins the podcast to discuss how identity has an impact on the financial decisions you will and are able to make in your lifetime.  We also chat about how Ellyce went from Kinesiology to finance, why representation matters in money, handling keyboard warriors, the process of writing a book, and more.   In this episode, you’ll learn more about: What an “Identity-based approach” to...

If you’ve ever asked yourself: “How much should I have in a rainy day fund?”  “Where should I keep my emergency fund?”  “What constitutes an “emergency”?” Today's A Sunny Side Up Life podcast episode is for you! Sami discusses everything you need to know about emergency funds.  Sami also talks about her first emergency fund, If she agrees with Dave Ramsey, the magic of automation, and how to avoid “draining” your savings account.  In this episode, you’ll learn more about: Why you need...

Sami is back for season 3 of A Sunny Side Up Life Podcast! In this debut episode, Sami goes over life updates, a brief history of the fight for financial independence for women in America, and actionable steps you can take to have more financial autonomy in your own life, regardless of relationship or socioeconomic status.  In this episode, you’ll learn more about: Sami life updates including where she’s at with her CFP, net worth, home expenses + more The 1700s practice of coverture and...

The nebulous idea of “enough” is the topic of conversation in the season 2 finale of A Sunny Side Up Life podcast. Most of us struggle with this concept very early in our lives, as we begin to understand complex topics and facts of life like class, race, and inequity.  But how do we handle not being enough as adults when not reaching “enoughness” has real mental, physical and psychological ramifications?  I explore “being enough” by discussing our inner critic, the power of therapy and...

No lie: I used to think people truly meant saving cash when they said, “I’m saving for retirement.” I thought people had a vault with stacks of cash. Boy, was I wrong. In this episode, I go through what saving for retirement actually means, why you need to get started NOW and the power of compound interest. I also chat about different investing accounts, income limits and tax advantages, and where you can go online to start educating yourself about investing. In this episode, you’ll learn...

It was early 2020 and my husband and I were bright-eyed and bushy tailed when we bought our land.  Acres of East Texas pine trees, quiet neighbors (mostly cows), and a creek.  We planned to build our forever home and get old and gray on that property… until Covid hit and lumber prices skyrocketed. Our dream no longer aligned with what we needed, life happened, and we made a huge decision that changed everything. In this episode, you’ll learn more about: How to be stubborn about your...

“Who in their right mind has $1,000 just sitting in a savings account!?” That’s what I thought when I first started Baby Step 1– back in the Dave Ramsey days– when I had $0 in savings. Fast forward to today: I’m bringing you this episode all about emergency funds and why you probably need more than $1k. And good news… I have $20k in savings now. Let me educate you all about why you need an emergency fund to begin with, how much to keep in it (hint: it’s personal to you and your situation),...

Alyssa Davies, content creator and published author, joins the podcast to talk about how she was able to approach her finances from a new perspective and remove the guilt and shame from spending money. We discuss financial trauma, how mental health is tied to personal finance, and why internalized capitalism is something to fight against, not praise. In this episode, you’ll learn more about: Different forms of trauma in money  What Coast FIRE is + steps you can take to reach it The...

Can you imagine living in a 32 ft trailer with your partner, kids, and dogs? Would you go stir-crazy? Well… now you don’t have to imagine it, you can hear all about it. Kailey Maloney, from @believeandbudget, joins the podcast to talk about how her world transformed with simple living. We discuss embracing the messy moments of life, intentional minimalism, advice for starting your debt free journey, if her and her family plan on staying in the RV for the foreseeable future, and more! In...

The term “trauma” seems to be rampant in 2023… especially on social media.  Being “trauma informed,” experiencing “childhood trauma,” or having a “trauma bond” are phrases used repeatedly to describe certain pivotal and disturbing life experiences and/or mental distress. And while sometimes “trauma” is over exaggerated or used incorrectly, the current spotlight on this pervasive problem has brought, front-and-center, the need to explore it in greater depth. This leads to the question: what...

Being a content creator sounds enticing, right? The glamor of having creative agency, working with big brands, and being paid to simply be you. Unfortunately though, like every job, it’s not all ring lights and TikTok trends. In this episode of A Sunny Side Up Life podcast, I chat with @shaybudgets, business owner, social media influencer, goal-setting expert, budget coach and more. We talk about how she started her influencer journey, the realities of juggling a full-time job and working a...

For decades, finance has been dictated by straight, cis-gendered, white males. The need for something radically different is what pushed Regina and Angela, founders of Women’s Personal Finance, to begin their online community for women and non-binary identifying folks.  WPF originated from female friendship and has grown into a force of personal finance education, encouragement, and inclusion. WPF has been featured in The New York Times and Forbes and won the 2021 Plutus Award for Best...

If you’ve always wanted to ask these personal finance questions, but have been too scared or embarrassed, this episode is for you. Learn all about sinking funds, goal setting, high yield savings accounts, debt payoff methods and more! In this episode, you’ll learn more about: What sinking funds are, how to set them up, and popular things to save for Realistic goal setting and tackling multiple goals at once How HYSA (high yield savings account) will change your saving game The best debt...

Sami is back in season 2 of A Sunny Side Up Life Podcast! In this season 2 debut episode, Sami chats about her journey towards becoming a Certified Financial Planner®, signs you need professional financial help and what to do if you can't afford that professional help. She also catches us up on what she did during her podcast break, the different services Sami provides and to whom and what she's doing to level up her business in 2023. In this episode, you’ll learn more about: Steps to...

My husband, Daniel Womack, joins A Sunny Side Up Life podcast to talk about his perspective on our debt free journey, budgeting, and different client personal finance situations. Daniel and I have been married for 14 years, together 19 years. Through that time we’ve gone from half a million dollars in debt to an over three hundred and fifty thousand dollar net worth.  It hasn’t always been rainbows and butterflies– and often in the personal finance space, a male partner’s perspective is...

Andy Hill, founder of the award-winning podcast and blog Marriage, Kids, and Money, joins the podcast to talk all things FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and mortgage free living.. He and wife Nicole started out their money journey with $50K in debt and paid it off in less than a year. In the next 10 years, they paid off their mortgage and built their net worth to more than a million dollars. Andy and Nicole’s story has been featured in Time, CNBC, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance,...

You've probably heard the saying, "It's not about how much money you have, it's how you manage that money." Well, this episode is a perfect example of why that is 100% accurate. Haley and Justin Brown-Woods from Price Of Avocado Toast Podcast joins A Sunny Side Up Life podcast to talk about their journey into the personal finance space and financial coaching, how their lives have been changed by podcasting and what it takes to work together as a Millennial married couple on money...

In this solo episode, Sami deconstructs the harmful narrative of college being the one and only choice after high school and how she is using launching funds as an alternative in her own family.  While statistically college increases income and earning potential over a lifetime, we must consider if this is the right path for our children and the high-stake resources needed to earn a high education degree. If you’ve ever felt conflicted about saving for your kids' future, this episode is for...

Jannese Torres, nationally acclaimed Latina money expert, educator, speaker, writer and business coach, joins the A Sunny Side Up Life podcast to discuss her path to financial freedom, the realities of passive income, and economic activism. Jannese became an accidental entrepreneur after a job loss led her to create a successful Latin food blog. Now she helps her clients and listeners build successful online businesses that allow them to pursue financial independence and freedom.  Jannese...

If you’re reading this, you likely currently have or have had credit card debt. So how do we take action to mitigate risk and stop giving huge amounts of money to greedy credit card corporations? Sami gets candid about her own experiences with credit card debt, why people find themselves drowning in it, and ways you can pay down that debt. She also explains the importance of credit scores, emergency funds, and getting your money mindset right before diving into using them strategically. If...