Episodes

Debt does impact your mental health in a major way. If you've ever felt stressed out, depressed, or anxious about money know that you are not alone. Debt is one of the #1 reasons for anxiety and depression and has even been described as a heavyweight that is pushing down on you every second of the day. Melanie Lockert, the brains behind the successful blog Dear Debt, and the Mental Health and Wealth podcast, is sharing her story of dealing with debt, depression, and how she paid off over $81,000 in the process.LinksMental Health and Wealth podcastDear DebtEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Thanks to the Jordan Harbinger Show for sponsoring this episode. Search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Thanks to BetterHelp for sponsoring the show. I want you to start living a happier life today. As…

Have you cried about your money lately? As Joe mentioned in the intro, millions of people are crying about their money, you might be one of those. I know I certainly have in the past. With all the content out there about money, it’s so easy to still feel lost at the end of the day. Especially now with talk of a recession and who knows what down the line. Joe Saul-Sehy, host of The Stacking Benjamins Podcast, author of the new book Stacked, and a former financial advisor doesn’t just talk the talk. Joe’s mission is to help you get Stacked, aka how to grow and protect your money in a way that helps you live the life you want to live, and to do so while having some fun. In this episode, Joe shares the steps you need to stack your benjamins, what to think about the current economy, why your attitude about money matters, how to do money without having a nervous breakdown, and so much more.LinksStacked bookThe Stacking Benjamins podcastEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show…

Yes, it is possible to invest in real estate and earn passive income on any income. If you’re active on social media, you may have heard of Rachel Richards and her brand Money Honey. Rachel has been on the show in the past, however, in this episode she's sharing her story about getting started in real estate investing. The truth is Rachel isn’t a trust fund baby and actually never made six figures in a job. She found creative ways to save money and was saving half of her salary to ramp up to her first investment all with less than 20% down. Rachel is a great example of bringing intentionality to your money so you can achieve a money goal. In her 20’s she decided rental real estate was her means to generate passive income and essentially retired in less than 2 years. In her story, I hope you find a bit of yourself and motivation so that you can create your own version of Rachel’s passive income success. In this vault episode, we talk about what it means to have financial freedom, how t…

The question I get asked the most is, "how much money should I save for retirement." In this solo episode, I'm sharing 4 steps to figuring out how much money you save during your working years for retirement. There are endless calculators, blogs, and even podcasts that seek to answer this question. However, figuring out how much you need is a little more complex than completing a simple calculator. It all starts with visioning your future and understanding how much cash you'll need each year. From there, you can walk backwards into a target number that is right for your life. In this solo vualt episode, I'm sharing 4 keys to figuring out how much money you save during your working years for retirement.LinksInvestopedia article, How Much Do I Need to RetireRetirement Income CalculatorNerdWallet article, How Much Should You Save for Retirementsmartasset Retirement CalculatorHow to Train Your Brain to Achieve Money Goals episodeEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get…

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation with Keisha Blair. If you missed Part 1 we talked all about money trauma and how to heal your relationship with money. Make sure you click the link in the show notes to listen to this episode if you haven’t already. In this episode, we’re walking through the framework to uncover your personal financial identity. Why does this matter you ask? Well, your personal financial identity says a lot about how you think, act, and feel about money which has a direct correlation to your saving and spending patterns. Our guest, Keisha Blair is the author of a book called Holistic Wealth which was just recently updated, and the Founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth and will share with you how to uncover your personal financial identity and how to use your strengths and weaknesses to your advantage on your wealth-building journey. She’s even got a super interesting quiz you can take to identify what financial identity you are - there are four types Maximal…

What would it feel like to be a financial grownup? I share a bit more in the episode, but I grew up in a family where we openly talked about stock investments, wealth, and growing your money, even from an early age. However, I missed some important lessons around saving money, how to deal with debt, and honestly realistic expectations of how much money you make post-college. I did what you probably did, just figure it all out. However, I know you want more for yourself and for your kids…or future kids. You may recognize Bobbi Rebell’s name from previous episodes. She’s a Certified Financial Planner and is the author of Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Riches Life By Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart. She’s also a fellow podcaster with her show Money Tips for Financial Grownups. Bobbi is here to share insights from her book on how to launch financial grownups, money lessons you need to know, and how to talk to your parents and kids all about money.Link…

What would it feel like to check some money items off your to-do list and stress less? The summer is my favorite time of the year. My bday is in July and I just love a warm day that stays light out until well past 9 where I live. It’s also smack dab in the middle of the year and a good time to check in on your money so that you can stay on top of things without stressing yourself out. I'm sharing my top 15 to-do items for your summer money checklist in this solo episode.LinksTruebillKeeper TaxHaven LifeLadder Life InsuranceWealthfrontEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Thanks to the Jordan Harbinger Show for sponsoring this episode. Search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Taking care of your employees is more important than ever. With Gusto, everything you need to hire, pay, manage, and s…

Raise your hand right now if you’ve ever been a victim of identity fraud? I certainly have. In fact, did you know that identity fraud cost Americans $52 billion in 2021 and more than $1,500 in losses per victim? As our guest, John Buzzard, a nationally recognized financial industry fraud and security expert at Javelin Strategy & Research says, “it’s pretty hard to avoid identity fraud, and if you think you have, you better look again.” In this episode, we talk about what to do if you’re a victim of identity fraud, what to do about all those spam emails and texts, why credit freezes might be your best money tool, and a to-do checklist to get you protected for the rest of the year. Alright ETM’ers, let’s start talkin’ money.LinksJavelin Strategy & ResearchJohn Buzzard LinkedInEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Thanks to the Jordan Harbinger …

Are you struggling with money trauma? You can have money trauma from relationships, your childhood, your own money beliefs, and even generational money trauma that has been passed down. Our guest, Keisha Blair is the author of a book called Holistic Wealth which was just recently updated, and the Founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth is here to break down how to uncover, process, and heal from money trauma. Keisha shares her own story of managing money trauma and how to start taking agency over your money story. This is a very powerful episode that will give you chills and maybe even have you tearing up just a little, but I promise these will be tears of release to help you on your money journey. I’m not gonna lie, this one really hits home for me. Grab your tissues and let’s jump into the conversation.LinksHolistic Wealth bookInstitute on Holistic WealthMeet Keisha Episode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account…

Are these 5 investing taboos keeping you stuck?In Today's Shannah Shares, Community Q&A reboot episode, I tackle a question from Laquesha: "Hi Shannah. Thanks so much for answering my question. I really want to start investing but I keep getting hung up on all the chatter out there. I can’t figure out if I’m supposed to wait to start investing until I’ve paid off all my debt, or is that not smart to do? Also, it just feels like I need to be an expert at investing to do it well. I know that’s not true, but man, it just feels so hard to figure out investing. I know so many people are making a killing, and I kinda feel bad that I haven’t started at all, know what I mean. You’ve done so many great investing episodes, I’m curious if there’s an episode from the past that you think I should check out. You’re awesome and I so appreciate this show for motivating me. My boyfriend can’t believe I care this much about my money, but I just tell him, yes, yes I do and so should you. Ok, thanks …

The world of investing has largely been monopolized by companies that offer an outdated way of investing. Most investment companies don’t offer community amongst members or any type of education to help you. Enter Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani, two 25-year-old phenoms who are also the Co-Founders of Alinea. Alinea is an investing community that helps its investors take a look under the hood to meet the people behind the company, aligning their investor’s impact interests and personal values with their investments. Eve and Anam are sharing how to invest in this new era, including why social sharing is so key when it comes to investing. Eve and Anam detail in this episode their journey to creating Alinea and how they are taking on the big boys like Robinhood and other old-school investment firms to provide you a better investing community. That’s right, I said community, and these powerhouse women mean it.  Oh, and BTW, they are seriously smart when it comes to knowing how to invest wisel…

Alright, who has been guilty of a little revenge spending this year? I know I have. That dopamine hit is a real thing when it comes to spending. The truth is, most of us just haven’t felt in control during the pandemic so now you want to spend, spend, spend. However, is that a good thing for our bank accounts, but maybe helps a little with our mental health? As our guest, Dr. Jaime Peters, Assistant Dean and Professor of Accounting, Finance, and Economics at Maryville University says, “if you’ve saved up and you want to buy something great, but the problem is when you start stretching yourself to spend just to feel good again.” In this episode, Jaime shares what revenge spending is, how you can balance spending with achieving your money goals, and what you need to think about if we are headed for a recession this year. Let’s start talkin’ money. LinksDr. Jaime Peters Maryville UniversityJaime Peters LinkedInEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chim…

In this special vualt episode of Shannah Shares, Community Q&A, I'm sharing how to prioritize your savings goals for the big stuff. Today’s Community question comes from Robbie: "Hi there, Shannah, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my question and for all the great money content. I’m seriously learning so much. I wish I would’ve had this podcast when I was in college. I’m in my mid 30’s now and I just feel like I’m playing catch up all the time. I make good money and between my partner and me around $300K a year. We live in Chicago though and it can be pretty expensive. We’ve got some goals we’re trying to save for - a wedding, a home purchase, and a big honeymoon trip. The problem is that we save money and then we tend to blow it on things that aren’t so important or need it for emergencies or just dump stuff. Can you help us figure out how to prioritize our money goals seeing as we want to save for big stuff? I feel like I could use a little of your tough love to ge…

Does your credit need a bit of an overhaul? You’ve probably heard the term Cash is King, but I think it’s really Credit is King. Those three digits that make up your credit score hold a lot of power in your wealth-building journey. The truth is, It can be really difficult to build credit from scratch or improve a bad credit score. Jim McGinley, CEO of SeedFi, is here to show you how to create the credit score of your dreams and overcome any challenges in your way. In this special vault episode you'll learn, why it's difficult to build credit from scratch, how to avoid costly mistakes, and how finance companies keep you in a cycle of debt. LinksSeedFiSeedFi FacebookSeedFi InstagramJim's LinkedIn Episode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Thanks to Open Door Capital for sponsoring the show. Go to https://odcfund.com/ to learn more.Thanks to Shopify for spon…

I’m so excited about these new money 101 episodes. Over the course of the next few months, I’ll be breaking down some topics like how to pay off debt, ways to easily start investing, how to improve your credit score, and so much more. This episode is dedicated to the much-hated and universally loathed budget. As you can tell, I’m not a fan too. That’s because I believe that budgeting was never taught properly to you, so the fact that you hate budgeting isn’t your fault. It’s like a system that was set up to fail, so if you’ve never felt like you could do budgeting correctly or the numbers never work out, not to worry at all. In this episode, I give you permission to ditch your budget and instead learn the power of tracking your cash.LinksBudget Rescue episodeMonarch (great cash tracking too)You Need a BudgetEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Takin…

In this Shannah Shares episode, I'm tacking a topic that is on everyone's mind lately: are we in a recession and why should I care. I walk you through what a recession is, how it might impact you, and some thoughts on how to get yourself recession ready. LinksForbes Article: What Is a RecessionJaime Peters, Maryville UniversityWSJ Article: Recession ProbabilityEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Taking care of your employees is more important than ever. With Gusto, everything you need to hire, pay, manage, and support your hardworking team is in one modern solution: Gusto’s people platform. Get 3 months free when you sign up at gusto.com/mymoney.Thanks to My First Million for sponsoring the show. If you're the type of person who's like me and always thinking about new business ideas and startup ideas, start listening today to the My First Million p…

Did you know that there is currently over $25.3 trillion in U.S. home equity and 17+ million residential properties have over 50% in home equity? Maybe you’re one of those millions who don’t know how much home equity you have, whether or not you should tap into it, and then what to use it for if you do. If you’re emphatically saying yes, this episode is for you. Michael Gifford, Founder, and CEO of Splitero, a company that helps you access your home equity is here to share everything about home equity that you never thought to ask. With rising inflation and overall expenses, home equity might serve as a cushion against some of your money woes. LinksSpliteroMichael on LinkedInEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Taking care of your employees is more important than ever. With Gusto, everything you need to hire, pay, manage, and support your hardworkin…

Ever had one of those late-night online shopping sprees that you just knew you’d regret in the morning? Our inner state of mind is so instrumental in shaping what we do and how we do it, that if we don’t manage our own mind and emotions in a healthy way, it’s almost impossible to make healthy choices. Those are powerful words by our guest, Dr. Cortland Dahl. In this reboot episode, you'll learn how to train your mind to step into financial well-being, aka how to be happy with your money, uncover the power of meditation, and walk away with wisdom to transform your money.Dr. Cortland Dahl is the Chief Contemplative Officer at Healthy Minds Innovations and a Research Scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds ( at the University of Wisconsin-Madison). His current work focuses on studying the psychological and neural mechanisms of different families of meditation practice. He is also a creator and the voice of the free app, Healthy Minds program; a well-being training program that integrat…

This episode was inspired by a question from Bri: "Thank you for being the FIRST person to support me through my financial journey as an adult. I’m currently healing from many different emotions surrounding money. My question for you is about credit cards with perks. I got a few cards totaling 4,000 that I’m paying down but I didn’t realize I was doing a disservice to myself by not utilizing cards with perks (travel, rewards). Should I be moving toward paying off and closing 2/3 of those cards or pay off/down and try to add those smarter cards to my life? Thanks again for all you do, you’ve changed my life for the better. I’m not as afraid of money as I once was."Links MentionedCreditcards.comCredit KarmaNerdWalletCredit SesameShould I Close My Credit Card articleEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Taking care of your employees is more important th…

What are NFTs and are they really an investment? I’ve been looking forward to this episode for quite some time because I’ve got a lot of NFT questions. It feels like all I’m reading these days is more about NFT hacks and losses so I was curious to know everything - what are NFTs, how do you create one, and are NFTs actually investments that you should spend your money on. Also, I’m a bit curious if NFTs are just another passing fad or here to stay. I knew just who to talk to. Stephen Young is the Founder and CEO of NFTfi, a company that allows NFT owners to use the asset you own to access liquidity, aka cash. As Stephen says in our conversation, “NFTs are simply memes you can invest in.” I think we need to know a lot more about NFTs, so let’s get talkin’.LinksNFTfiStephen on LinkedInEpisode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Taking care of your employees…

I have some shocking info to share with you. Data shows that almost all women will be single at some point either later in life or in the earlier years. Whether it’s being married and getting a divorce, being married and being widowed, or never getting married, if you’re a woman listening, buckle up for singlehood. And, unlike dual-earning couples, many of America’s 66 million unmarried women survive on one income. Yep, I know, mind blown, right? Of course, women earn less and are more at risk when things like the current levels of inflation spike up. What this means is that we have to be smarter with how we save, spend and invest our money. Margaret Price and Jill Gianola have written a great book called, Single Women & Money detailing everything you need to know to live well on your income. These powerhouse women are guests on this episode and share why the money situation for single women differs greatly, how the economy impacts single women more intensely, financial resources …

In this episode, I'm featuring a Budget Rescue with Robert who asks:"Hi Shannah, thanks for taking the time to answer my question. BTW I love the new name of the show. This is one of the only places I feel like we can listen to all different types of conversations and you always surprise me with the topics. It’s so cool. I’m writing to see if you would give me some insights into my monthly budget. Here’s my snapshot - I make around $5K per month and have a fairly stable job, at least I think so. Here’s my spending:Rent - $1950Car payment - $350Student Loans - $300 once the pause stops in AugustCredit cards - I owe $6300 on two cards and pay $250 on one and $275 on the other. I know I need to get rid of this debtGroceries - approximately $100 a week/ $400 a monthEating out - $500 (sigh, I like to eat out a lot)Household items - $150Dog care - approx $125 a monthClothes shopping - $150 a month on averageUtilities - $250 a month Car insurance - $165 a month ATT cell phone - $127 a monthI…

How would your life have changed had you learned about money in high school or even college? I know mine would, fingers crossed, be very different. Our guest in this episode, Jake Cousineau, is a high school teacher helping young adults better understand personal finance as well as the author of “How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World”. Inspired by his own lack of personal finance knowledge, Jake poured himself into creating a curriculum for his students that would be life-changing and decided to detail it all in his new book. As Jake says, “the best time to fix your money problems is right now, no matter what age you are.” In this episode, Jake is sharing his best personal finance tips to help you move from being reactive with your money to proactive so you can avoid so many money pitfalls and rebound from any money mistakes you might have already made. We all need to foster this skill for sure! I’ll let Jake tell you more. Alright, let’s get talkin’.LinksHow to Adult book…

When you get married, you want to start your shared life together on the right financial foot. Most people are so involved with wedding planning that they put off having necessary money conversations that always arise after you tie the knot, and those often lead to fights and relationship breakdowns. If I’m honest, even as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I still had some money fears after saying “I Do.” Based on my years working as a financial planner (AKA a marriage financial therapist) and personal experience, there are six major money decisions to make after you get married.Episode SponsorsThanks to Chime for sponsoring the show. Get started with Chime today. Applying for a free account takes less than 2 minutes. Get started at chime.com/mymoney.Thanks to Open Door Capital for sponsoring the show. Go to https://odcfund.com/ to learn more.Thanks to Shopify for sponsoring the show. Shopify is more than a store. Connect with your customers. Drive sales. Manage your day-to-day. Go to h…