Season 4 has been our favorite season yet of The Fairer Cents, and today we're talking about our favorite moments and reading lots of listener mail we've received, some of it inspiring to financial feminists everywhere, and some of it heartbreaking.  We'll be back soon, so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss any new episodes when they're ready. And in the off-season, check out the links below for all the places you can find Kara and Tanja online. Stay safe and healthy! Kara: ...

This is the second episode in a two-part mini series on money in our relationships, today exploring money and family (most especially parents), AND it’s the last full episode of season 4. Before we dive in to talk about family, we’re talking about the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the stock markets crashing, because they’re way too important not to discuss, including steps to take with your money and how to make sure you prioritize self care at a time that feels completely chaotic,...

This is the first episode in a two-parter about how money impacts our relationships, and how we talk about money within those relationships. Within friendships, it’s a big social taboo to discuss money, right up there with politics and religion, but there are massive benefits that can come from breaking that taboo, from getting to know your friends on a deeper level, to feeling seen and known yourself, to even opening up the opportunity to do cool projects with friends (like this podcast!)....

This is the second in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on the myriad ways our current work world doesn't work for women. We've talked before about the economic disadvantages that mothers face in the workplace and across their entire careers, as well as the costs of beauty double standards, but we're now layering in the costs of disability -- which will affect 1 in 4 women during our lifetimes -- and how...

This is the first in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on creating your own path when there is no road map, whether that's because you're trying to break into a legacy industry without connections, or because you're literally heading out into uncharted territory. Our guests are Jada Gomez, senior platform editor at Medium (and formerly of Bustle, Time, People and a slew of other prestigious media...

This is the second part in a two-part series on women speaking, focusing today on our actual voices and how they are heard (or not heard) by our bias-filled culture. There is a ton of research showing that women and men are perceived differently when we speak, and that's both socially wired and generational. Like in so many parts of the economy, women are held to an impossible standard where you lose no matter what: either you're too assertive or you're not assertive enough. You're not...

This is the first part in a two-part series that is years in the making, and a topic close to our hearts. The fact is that when women and people from marginalized groups speak, it’s heard differently than it is when men speak. So we’re digging into that, today starting with the more figurative meaning of women’s voices, as in women daring to speak up and fight for something they believe in. Our guests are Noami Grevemberg who Instagrams about the lack of inclusivity in #vanlife at...

Today we’re completing the two-part series on the economic implications of reproducing, talking about the costs – often mysterious -- of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, especially in the U.S. In this episode, Kara talks to Carol Sakala from the National Partnership for Women & Families about the actual costs of delivering a baby, and shares an audio essay on the range of known and unknown stats a mother must contend with when pondering the costs of delivery. We’d...

Today’s show is the first in a two-part series all about the economic implications of reproducing — or not reproducing. On the next episode, we’ll talk about the wide range of financial implications of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, but today we’re talking about the massive financial impacts of not being forced to have children you don’t want to have for any number of reasons, impacts that go well beyond women themselves. In this episode, Tanja talks to Brigette...

This week, we conclude our two-part series on wellness by focusing on diet and weight loss, the real centerpiece of the entire wellness industry. Just how big a business it is, the lengths the industry goes to to hide itself, and how it hurts us as women in particular. Feminist dietician Rachael Hartley talks to us about how we’ve focused too much on diet and fitness in our quest to be healthier (or, really, thinner), and Tanja looks at the fat phobia that’s the real motivator behind so much...

This week’s show is part 1 of a 2-part series on the wellness industrial complex, and all the ways it manipulates women and makes us poorer. First up, we’re tackling yoga culture in particular, because of how ubiquitous it has become in western society, and just how problematic that is. We talk with Tejal Patel and Jesal Parikh of the Yoga Is Dead podcast about how yoga has been culturally appropriated from its roots in India and from Desi people today, and Tanja draws on her long career...

Today we’re closing season 3 with the ur-topic of personal finance: is your success in life ultimately a product of the amount of personal responsibility you exercise or the systemic barriers that surround you? To answer this question, we talk to two experts: Diana Elliott, a sociologist and researcher at Urban Institute who studies systemic barriers, and Charlotte Cowles, a journalist who writes about money for New York Magazine’s The Cut and New York Times and has interviewed hundreds of...

Though we usually focus on bigger picture topics like systemic issues within our economy that disproportionately affect women, this week we’re getting tactical, and sharing actionable tips that can improve your finances today, with a little help from some friends of the podcast. Be sure to check out the links here in the shownotes to find all of the awesome financial pros and content creators we heard from and referenced.   Links from the show : Broke Millennial Takes on Investing by Erin...

In the era of the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter and a torrent of books on the subject, it’s a time when women’s anger at the inequality built into our financial, economic and social systems is finally being heard. Or at least some women’s anger is. In this week’s episode, we’re talking with emotional labor expert and author Gemma Hartley, and comedian and author Sarah Cooper, about the moment women’s rage is having, the steps that most of us must still take to function in a...

Today we’re finally tackling the topic that we suspect some of you initially came to The Fairer Cents expecting to hear about: early retirement, financial independence and the FIRE movement or community. But because it’s us, we’re not just going to say “here’s how to retire early, now go buy some Vanguard funds and off you go.” Instead, we’re talking about how to broaden the conversation around FIRE, namely how to diversify it so more people feel welcome. Because it’s not just white tech bros...

Today’s show is the second of two parts focusing on how we can be the best possible financial allies to those around us. In part 2, we’re talking about how white women can do better about being allies to women of color, in particular by not being “white feminists TM.” That goes for in financial spaces, and just in general. Our guests are two women of color who've thought a lot about this: Kiona of How Not to Travel Like a Basic Bitch and Marivette Navarette of The Mujerista. Links from the...

Today we’re celebrating something HUGE in The Fairer Cents family: the publication of Tanja’s book, Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way! But we’re not just talking about that today. Instead we’re talking about everything that goes into women achieving creative dreams, from the glory of the finished product to the misery and messiness that can go into getting there, and even what creativity is in the first place. Our guest today is Claire Zinnecker, and interior designer and...

Today’s show is the first of two parts focusing on how we can be the best possible financial allies to those around us, whether that’s online or offline. In part 1, we’re talking about male allies: why we need them, and how men can be them. Our guests are Cord Jefferson, TV writer and outspoken feminist extraordinaire, and personal finance bloggers Matt Lane of Optimize Your Life and Brian of Done By 40. They’re all incredible allies to women, and they get vulnerable with us about how they...

This week we’re doing something we’ve never done before on the podcast: recording live! This episode was recorded live at the first Cents Positive retreat for women interested in financial independence (so you’ll notice that we talk about financial independence and early retirement a little more than usual), and included wide-ranging conversations on the origins of the podcast, why women need safe spaces for all things but especially money conversations, how money and emotion are intertwined...

The economic and social system we live in affects so much about our financial lives as women. So how do we change that? A big part of it is advocating for other women (and ourselves), and so today we’re talking to two incredible women from different generations who do exactly that, but in very different ways: Mary Beth Cahill, former executive director of Emily’s List, as well as long-time chief of staff for Senator Ted Kennedy and campaign manager for John Kerry’s presidential run in 2004;...

It’s 2019, and women are still being judged for jobs on whether we’re likable enough, whether we’re strong enough (but not too strong), and all the same old patriarchal b******t. That’s why we’re kicking off the new year and the new podcast season with one of the strongest women we know of: personal finance author, TV personality and all-around unapologetic woman Suze Orman. She’s got a new book out, but we mostly don’t talk about that. Instead, we talk about her origin story, including how...

We're days away from the midterm elections, and we have an unprecedented opportunity to elect more women than ever before. So let's talk about why that's important -- and why it's good for our money. Also on the show, Kara talked to Lily Herman, founder of Get Her Elected, about why women do and don't run, and what it will take to get more of us in office. Links mentioned in the show: Vox piece on representation of women around the world Legitimate rape spoof Washington Post piece on...

Today we’re reflecting back on season 2 of The Fairer Cents, and share a bunch about what’s to come in season 3, and even sooner than that! From our favorite episodes to this season to the tough moments, we dig into all of it. We give a preview of what’s coming in a few months (HOUSEHOLD NAMES, y’all!), and share our plans for in between the seasons. Be sure to stay subscribed so you don’t miss some of the special surprises we’ll be throwing at you this fall! We can’t wait to talk to you...

Society puts a lot of pressure on all of us to couple up, but what about those women going it alone, either temporarily or long-term? Or going it alone with a child? That’s right. Today we’re discussing all the single ladies and their financial landscape. (And no discussion of single ladies is complete without some Beyonce references, though she’s done some more progressive, feminist work since that song came out.) Join Kara and Tanja as we talk to two single women, Canadian personal finance...