When you think about the biggest financial goals that you have.... do you really believe that you can achieve them? Believing in yourself isn't sufficient to achieve your financial goals... but it is necessary. In today's episode, I invite you to consider what needs to change in order for you and your spouse to deeply believe in your ability to achieve financial success. 

Overspending, emotional spending, or "retail therapy" is a topic you'll hear plenty about on financial blogs... but I like to think this is a little bit of a different twist on the subject. In today's episode, we discuss Jonathan Haidt's psychological framework of the Elephant and the Rider, and how it can be applied to help handle emotional spending. Enjoy!

Homeownership is a great thing - IF you buy your home when you're ready, the right way, and in the right place.  In today's episode, we discuss what it means to be "ready" to buy your first home, as well as the steps you can start taking now to buy your home from a position of financial strength (rather than financial stress.)

Whether it's a career change that requires a step down in pay, or either you or your spouse deciding to leave your job altogether, making decisions that change your family's income might be the highest stakes financial decisions you face as a family.  In this episode, we discuss the factors to consider when making decisions as a family that affect your careers, work/life balance, and income.

Today, we cover the third of our "four walls" - the four key areas to focus on to be on the same financial page as your spouse (debt, location, budgeting, and career decisions). In today's episode, we discuss how to set your family up for financial success in 2021 by setting a budget for the year. If you've had a hard time sticking to a budget in the past, this episode is for you.

For some couples, deciding where you're going to live - and whether or not it makes sense to relocate - is a no-brainer. For others, it's one of the toughest decisions you'll ever make. In this episode, we discuss the three layers to the decisions you'll face around where to plant your roots as a family - right down to how to pick the right house for you to buy. 

Money is an emotional topic for all of us, but nothing tends to trigger those emotions quite like debt. In this episode, we discuss the most common question I get from couples when it comes to debt - how to handle situtations where you or your spouse bring a lot of debt into the marriage. Should you treat all of your debt as "joint" obligations, even if you borrowed the money before you got married? Tune in today to learn more. 

As a generation, we love to hate big financial companies. From banks, to insurance companies, to life insurance companies, to your student loan lender... name a big financial institution that you trust is doing the right thing.  *crickets* But - there does tend to be one exception to this rule... and it's the subject of today's episode. 

In past episodes, we've talked about how to decide whether or not you should combine finances with your spouse, and how to pick the right bank for your family. (Those were episodes 8 and 28, respectively.)  In today's episode, we cover the right mix of accounts you should have, and how to use each one. 

Don't forget to email me ([email protected]) with your feedback on the changes I discuss in the first two minutes! We've talked a lot about money fights in this podcast... but what does it mean if you and your spouse don't fight about money? Does that mean that everything's ok, or is it a potential warning sign? In this episode, we discuss a few reasons where it might be bad if you and your spouse don't fight about money... and a few reasons that mean you're doing great! 

It's never been easier to buy things quickly and have them delivered same-day, and pay for them after the fact rather than ahead of time by using a credit card. But research shows that the opposite approach is more likely to bring you higher levels of satisfaction with your purchase. In this episode, we discuss one of the key ways you can use your money to increase your well-being: paying for things in advance of consuming them. If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend checking out...

All of us have baggage - financial, or otherwise. In this episode, we discuss how to recognize when "financial baggage" presents itself in your marriage, and how to handle it so you can move forward as a team. 

In today's episode, we have a new twist on a "classic" question. You might be surprised how this simple exercise of thinking through what you'd change if you won a million dollars will help you get on the same finanical page as your spouse and dictate the next few steps in your financial plan. 

If you've struggled to save money in the past, this is the episode for you. Today, we discuss a simple - but surprisingly effective - way to start saving money that you can implement today. 

A quick Google search of "how many couples get divorced" will quickly tell you that the divorce rate in America is about 50%. But it turns out, these statistics are incredibly misleading. In this episode, we discuss why you should feel empowered rather than scared about the divorce rates in America today, and what you can do to increases the chances of success in your relationship. 

I'm gonna let this episode speak for itself. Today, we take a brief detour from our usual content and, by popular demand, I share a behind-the-scenes story of why I dislike the Knights of Columbus (hint: they're a life insurance company, believe it or not!) and how I got blacklisted by them earlier this year. 

Being your own boss is a lot of work, but it's awesome. If you have entrepreneurial dreams - you should absolutely put a plan in place to make those dreams a reality. But, you shouldn't try to accomplish this through a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company. In this episode, we discuss why MLMs are so problematic, and what you should try instead of pursuing an MLM "opportunity". 

Most couples come into their marriage using not just separate bank accounts, but accounts at separate banks. What's the best way to pick the right bank to use for your new family? In this episode, I share the criteria I use to help couples decide the right banks to use for their joint accounts (and what ones to steer away from!)

Should you manage your household finances by reviewing every single cent that you earn and spend each month, or is it ok to take a more laid-back approach? Turns out, the answer is both. In this episode, we discuss why I recommend most couples give themselves a 3 to 6 month financial bootcamp or financial cleanse to get control of their finances, and then move into "maintenance mode" to make your financial progress sustainable in the long run. 

Is it insane for a financial planner to say that financial plans are (almost) useless? Probably.  But as you'll see in this episode, I make a big distinction between financial planNING and "financial plans". The process of financial planning is absolutely invaluable in helping you create the life you love - the financial plan itself is only one small part of this process! Listen to today's episode to learn more. 

Short and to-the-point episode today. If you're looking to improve the way you and your partner communicate about money in your marriage - without spending hours working on it - this is the episode for you!

When we think about differences between spouses when it comes to money, we tend to immediately think of spending vs saving habits. But there's a second common difference that is just as important to handle. In this episode, we talk about the other common difference in priorities that many couples have when it comes to their finances - and how to manage these differences to make your marriage thrive. 

If there's one word that summarizes how most couples feel about their money, it's "anxiety".  In this episode, we'll talk through some of my favorite strategies to help you and your spouse kick financial anxiety to the curb - for good!

I don't know if I entirely agree with this assessment, but it's definitely the most entertaining piece of feedback I've gotten about this podcast so far. But, I kind of see where this listener is coming from! In this episode, we discuss how I've made the shift from a type A, numbers-driven financial analyst to a financial planner that emphasizes building your own criteria for success rather than "just" trying to maximize the numbers. 

Black Friday is the biggest spending day of the year. So, why not talk about how to spend money in a way that is likely to increase your happiness. In this episode, we discuss one of the key ways you can use your money to increase your well-being: buying experiences, rather than things. If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend checking out the book I mentioned in the episode, Happy Money: the Science of Happier Spending.