It’s hard living a frugal life. I’m constantly questioning myself whenever I do things like taking leftovers from a free corporate lunch or doing date night at 4pm so we can get happy hour pricing. Although these frugal practices are simply a journey all 20-somethings need to live through, it’s not what I want to be doing forever. But what if I told you you could live it up now while also accomplishing your financial goals like paying off student loans or heavily investing to reach financial ind...
Jan 03, 2024•46 min•Ep. 131
For today’s episode, we are going to pause our money content to share a powerful story. With 2024 quickly approaching, I’m sure you’re giving thought to some changes you’d love to make in your life. It could be that you want to eat healthier, repair a relationship, feel more confident, tap into your true potential, or anything of the sort. But maybe those ideas come with some discouragement. If it is something you want to change now, it is probably something you’ve been thinking about changing f...
Dec 25, 2023•50 min•Ep. 130
I’ve noticed that New Year’s resolutions have been taking some heat lately. I get it, it is totally illogical that a single predetermined day is chosen for everyone to start a major life change and by February, most of us have given up on our grand changes and retreated back to our normal lives. But there is something about a fresh calendar year that gives me hope and naturally makes me prioritize the changes that I’ve been putting off. I think with intentionality and some realistic level settin...
Dec 18, 2023•12 min•Ep. 129
I’ve always dreamt about becoming a dad. I know little moments like teaching them the ABCs, running them to soccer practice, or helping them pick out their prom outfits are going to bring me a lot of joy. I’m even ready for the challenging moments like sleepless nights, pre-teen outbursts, and difficult “growing up” conversations. One thing that I’m not sure I’m ready for is the cost of children. I was reading a survey and apparently, the average cost of raising a kid from 0 to 18 years old in t...
Dec 11, 2023•41 min•Ep. 128
We are closing up on 2023 and I thought it would make for a fun episode to recap some of the top financial news headlines from the year. Being a fellow money nerd, this year provided many interesting headlines that were fun to follow and watch play out. And looking back at it all, these stories reminded me of an important lesson that I’ll share at the end of this episode. Key Takeaways: The Federal Reserve continues its interest rate hikes The new Federal borrowing benchmark The impact of the gl...
Dec 04, 2023•9 min•Ep. 127
Today we dive deep into a universal struggle that affects us all: the comparison trap. In a world fueled by social media highlights and curated success stories, it's easy to find ourselves measuring our worth against others. This happens to me all of the time. I see someone else’s life: the promotion, the new house, a fancy vacation, their business success…and start frantically wondering why I don’t have that yet. Setting aside dismissing my own successes, never once did I stop and think…is that...
Nov 27, 2023•50 min•Ep. 126
The holiday season is in full swing and I’m so excited to spend the next month celebrating with friends and family. With all of the parties and get-togethers, it will be 2024 before we know it. But before we say goodbye to 2023, I have a few things I want you to check off your to-do list. In today’s episode, I’m going to give you a financial checklist of 8 tasks you may want to consider doing by Dec. 31 to tidy up your finances. Don’t worry, all of these tasks take 30 minutes or less so you can ...
Nov 20, 2023•15 min•Ep. 125
I love big, life changes…said absolutely no one ever. Significant life changes like moving out of your hometown, changing career paths, or ending a significant relationship are terrifying even if you know it is what you should do. It takes proper planning and a lot of courage to follow through with these major milestones. These decisions have never come easy to me. I was terrified to quit my first job. It took me over 6 months to pull the trigger on moving out of my hometown. And I don’t even wa...
Nov 13, 2023•46 min•Ep. 124
Do you currently feel like you’re stagnant in your career? Like you haven’t learned a lot lately and are living the same work day over and over? Or maybe you want to expedite your professional growth as you’re looking to take the next step? Well, this is the episode for you because we are going to be talking about how starting a side project can solve these feelings and 8 ideas for projects that you can start today. Key Takeaways: 3 reasons why side projects are helpful Using side projects to fo...
Nov 06, 2023•13 min•Ep. 123
What kind of impact would it have on your career if you could be mentored by Tim Ferriss, Brene Brown, Cal Newport, Oprah Winfrey, Les Brown, Ryan Holliday, James Clear, and Carol Dweck? This is a handful of the top thinkers from the last decade and the great news is, we can receive their mentorship. No, unfortunately, they don’t have a special lottery program where you can enter to win a free mentoring session but they do have something even better, a book. Yes, all of these top thinkers are al...
Oct 31, 2023•46 min•Ep. 122
In this current series, we’ve been deep-diving into blueprints for how you can take control of and accelerate your career with various professional growth strategies. Assembling a personal board of advisors and reading books are amazing avenues for taking steps forward in your career but we also want to be playing defense and ensuring we aren’t taking any steps backward. We don’t want to be putting all of this hard work in only to be paddling upstream. Over the first decade of my career, I’ve no...
Oct 23, 2023•10 min•Ep. 121
Have you heard of this concept before? A personal board of advisors. I think it is kind of interesting. Many companies have a board of directors who help advise and guide them on key decisions. Why shouldn’t we have a similar group to rely on? Especially as early career professionals, we face many critical questions about career pivots, job opportunities, work-life balance, purpose, leadership moments, and more. When I started thinking about it, assembling a personal board of advisors is a must ...
Oct 16, 2023•49 min•Ep. 120
We are kicking off a new series called “Your Map to Professional Growth.” The goal of this series is to give you ideas for how you can take ownership of your career. Each episode will center around a different blueprint for growing professionally. But all of these tools are useless, just like a map, if you don’t know where you want to go. With that in mind, it seems fitting to kick off this series with a conversation about setting professional goals for yourself. In particular, there are 3 types...
Oct 09, 2023•11 min•Ep. 119
I have to admit, this is one subject in the personal finance space that I don’t have much experience with. I’m so impressed with my friends who get free airfare and hotels through credit card points and I think it is time for you and I to do the same. I just get overwhelmed and I’m not really sure where to start. What cards should I have in my wallet? Which card should I use on what? Are cards with annual fees worth it? These questions and more are all going to get answered in today’s episode an...
Oct 02, 2023•38 min•Ep. 118
Should my career be driven by passion and purpose or serve as a means of financial stability? At one point or another, you will face this career conundrum. I’ve thought a lot about whether I should follow a practical career path with a stable income and obvious earning power or take a chance on a path that will be filled with passion and fulfillment but the money and stability aren’t quite as obvious. At some point in the first decade of your career, this will probably be a decision that y...
Sep 25, 2023•16 min•Ep. 117
We often hear about 401Ks and IRAs, two incredible retirement planning tools but what if I told you there was a third, secret retirement account that trumps both of these? Today we are discussing the Health Savings Account, or HSA, and why the HSA is not only a financial game-changer for managing your medical expenses but also a powerful tool to build wealth for your future. This episode is a replay of episode 40 where I interviewed Sean Mullaney Financial Planner, and the voice behind FITaxGuy....
Sep 18, 2023•29 min•Ep. 116
So far in the Mastering Money at Work Series, we’ve discussed 4 steps to setting up your 401(k), which was episode 113, and last week, Jesse Cramer taught us how to ask for a raise. These were two topics that I really wanted to cover because I believe they can be huge game changers for your career-earning power and lifetime take-home pay. This week though, we are going to get a little more…creative and scrappy. We are talking about employee perks and how these seemingly nonchalant offerings can ...
Sep 11, 2023•13 min•Ep. 115
I don’t want to steal Jesse’s thunder so I won’t tell his specific example that he shares, but negotiating a raise early in your career can lead to a 6-figure increase in your lifetime earnings. And that is just one negotiation. By developing your negotiation skills and making a habit of consistently asking for a raise throughout your career, you’re bound to outearn a peer who starts at a similar salary by a long shot. But on the flip side, asking for a raise is intimidating. The fear of rejecti...
Sep 04, 2023•47 min•Ep. 114
Starting a new job always comes with a hectic first week of paperwork. More than likely, one of the documents is about investing in your company’s 401(k) program. If you grew up in a household like mine, the importance of investing in your 401(k) account was hammered into you but let’s say you didn’t set up your 401(k) account right away. Maybe the thought of investing for your future seemed like a pipe dream when student loans, car payments, and buying furniture that isn’t Grandma’s hand-me-dow...
Aug 28, 2023•19 min•Ep. 113
Today we are concluding our series on how to level up your professional network. We’ve learned easy ways to find in-person networking events, how to host an easy yet effective networking party, the best practices for virtual networking, and how to make connections at the next business conference you attend. With all of this knowledge, you’ve been busy meeting new people. But we don’t want the payoff from all of this hard work to disappear by this time next year. We need to make sure to stay on t...
Aug 21, 2023•41 min•Ep. 112
With the calendar turning to fall, conference season is heating up. People are making arrangements and gearing up to attend academic, industry, and professional conferences. Some “volun-told” by their employers, but others, assuming someone like yourself that would listen to a podcast like this, are attending because they’re wanting to level up their career. I love attending conferences. I typically plan to attend at least 3 a year. In the spring, I attended a podcast conference called Podcast M...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 111
We all know at least one person that can walk into a room full of strangers and emerge with a group of new friends. They’re so good at attracting people, building trust with them, and turning others into fast friends. This is someone that is charismatic, friendly, and great at building instant rapport. Having rapport with someone means you understand each other's feelings and communicate well. This happens over time as you build a relationship with them. The frequency and proximity allow you to ...
Aug 07, 2023•16 min•Ep. 110
We’ve all been to one: loud music, people huddled in clicks, and little to no guidance from the host. I’m talking about poorly run networking events. The kind of events that spike the anxiety of us introverts and solo attendees. But nobody wants to throw a bad event. The host wants to make sure everyone is having a good time and leaves having made meaningful connections. The problem is that nobody taught us how to throw a great networking party. That was until Nick Gray wrote The 2-Hour Cocktail...
Jul 31, 2023•50 min•Ep. 109
I could make a case that any interaction with someone else could be considered networking. From your friend’s parent to the barista who handed you your coffee this morning, anyone could be someone that changes the trajectory of your career. I’m all about embracing some of the serendipity of relationship building, aka networking, but this series is bringing intentionality into this effort. We are going to be talking about purposely meeting people and the ways that you can do that. I don’t know ab...
Jul 24, 2023•17 min•Ep. 108
I’ve never felt like I’ve had style. Honestly, I’ve always felt a little intimidated and lost when it comes to fashion. With that in mind, I didn’t put a lot of emphasis on it. I opted for safe and affordable options versus clothes that I felt comfortable and confident in. I don’t think that’s entirely the wrong perspective. Personal style isn’t something that everyone cares about but I do want to make a case for it. For better or worse, your outward appearance does say something about you. It i...
Jul 17, 2023•51 min•Ep. 107
To-do lists help you remember what needs to get done, they create order, they set priorities, they relieve stress, they help you delegate, and they track your work progress. I could go on and on about the benefits of to-do lists but I am confident you already know this. I’m not one to prescribe a specific method for managing your to-do list but if you are looking to implement a system or overhaul your current, there are some elements that you should consider. Today, we are going to talk through ...
Jul 10, 2023•13 min•Ep. 106
Do you ever feel like you’re living in Groundhog Day where the events yesterday, feel like today, and you’re probably going to have those same feelings tomorrow? The weeks are moving fast yet you don’t feel like much is changing? If this is the case you might be in a rut. If I’m being honest, I’m coming out of a period of my life where I’ve felt like I’ve been in a rut. I’ve had my head down, hard at work. I’m really satisfied with most of the elements of my life right now but I have this underl...
Jul 03, 2023•52 min•Ep. 105
For all the ways we depend on them, it’s kind of amazing how little attention we tend to pay to make sure our calendars are working for us. Your calendar can set your day-to-day priorities but without intentionality, that will fall to other people’s priorities. This has been really evident for me in 2023. It crept up on me but meetings started to take over my day. I was jumping in and out of meetings all day long only to look down at my to-do list getting bigger, not smaller. This was all out of...
Jun 26, 2023•15 min•Ep. 104
I remember being on fire for the first few years of my career. I was learning so much and every day brought a novel problem to solve. Boredom wasn’t even a thought. I didn’t quite understand why people felt stale in their careers. And then things started to slow. What was once a unique puzzle to solve, turned into an ongoing job responsibility. My job was filled with less learning and more…work. Finding a balance between being comfortable in your role and stretching your limits is challenging. T...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 103
Between reading through messages, crafting the right responses, and keeping tabs on the emails that require follow-up, staying on top of your inbox can feel like a job in itself. Email can be a pain but it is a critical component to most knowledge-based roles that many of us college graduates step into after graduation. Until I started working in the “real world,” I didn’t know this though. And the thing that blows me away? College never taught me a system for efficiently managing my email. It w...
Jun 12, 2023•17 min•Ep. 102
