Finance Girlies: Money Conversations for Gen Z and Millennial Women

Building wealth can feel like a long game, especially when you're doing all the right things but aren't seeing big results yet. Maybe you're contributing to your 401(k), saving what you can, and trying to make smart financial decisions, but you still can't shake the feeling that you're behind. The good news? Making progress with money doesn't have to mean doing everything perfectly, and your financial mistakes don't have to define your future.

In this episode, we're joined by Bola Sokunbi, financial expert, six-time bestselling author, and founder of Clever Girl Finance, to talk about what it really takes to build wealth while still enjoying your life. We explore how to stay motivated when progress feels slow, why investing is one of the most powerful habits you can build, and how to create financial goals that actually reflect the life you want — not just the milestones you're expected to reach.

We also get into the money mistakes we all make along the way, including a costly retirement account mistake Bola experienced firsthand. From overcoming investing fears to letting go of financial shame, this conversation is a reminder that building wealth isn't about getting everything right. It's about learning, staying consistent, and giving yourself permission to keep moving forward.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:30] Meet Bola Sokunbi and learn why feeling financially behind doesn't mean you're actually behind.
• [03:00] How to build wealth through your 401(k), retirement accounts, and consistent investing, even when you're starting small.
• [06:00] Why setting short-term financial goals can help you stay motivated through the messy middle of building wealth.
• [09:30] How to stop chasing traditional money milestones and start defining financial success on your own terms.
• [10:30] Finding the balance between enjoying your money today and preparing for your future, including why guilt-free spending belongs in your budget.
• [15:30] The one wealth-building habit Bola recommends prioritizing and how to overcome the fear of getting started with investing.
• [22:30] Practical ways to create additional income streams without sacrificing your time, energy, or well-being.
• [26:00] Bola shares her biggest financial mistakes, including a costly 401(k) rollover error, and the lessons she learned from them.
• [31:00] How to separate financial mistakes from your identity, let go of money shame, and rewrite the stories you tell yourself.
• [35:00] Why you don't have to wait until you earn more money to start building wealth, plus simple habits you can begin practicing today.

✨ Resources ✨

• Clever Girl Finance — Free financial education courses, worksheets, and community resources
• Clever Girl Millionaire by Bola Sokunbi
• Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen
• Clever Girls Know podcast 

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It’s easy to look back on a big financial decision and make the path seem clearer than it actually was. Buying a home is rarely that tidy — especially when you’re still touring houses, weighing compromises, and wondering whether the right one is even out there.

In this episode, we get both sides of that experience from our very own Emily as she navigates the first-time homebuying journey. First, you’ll hear an interview from early this summer, when Emily was actively house hunting. Then, we jump forward more than three months to hear from her again, shortly after moving into her new home. She shares how her priorities evolved, why she put less than 20% down, how she chose her mortgage, what surprised her after closing, and how she feels about the decision now.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:00] Why Emily and her husband decided they were ready to buy after previously planning to rent for years
• [04:00] Emily’s first steps, including comparing lenders, getting pre-qualified, and finding a realtor
• [08:30] How long the home buying process took, how many houses Emily toured, and how many offers she made
• [12:30] How Emily knew she’d found the right house and why location became such an important priority
• [15:00] The compromises Emily made on her wish list — and why none felt like major sacrifices
• [17:30] Why Emily felt comfortable putting less than 20% down, paying PMI, and keeping more cash in savings
• [19:30] How Emily compared different mortgage options and ultimately chose a 30-year conventional loan
• [23:30] The expenses that came up after closing, plus how Emily feels about homeownership now that she’s moved in

✨ Resources ✨

• Podcast: You’re Buying a Home with Silas Lindenstein
• Episode 95 of The Finance Girlies with Silas Lindenstein
• Book: Home Buying Kit For Dummies

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Buying a home can feel like one of those financial milestones we’re supposed to want — but is homeownership actually the right move for everyone? And if we do want to buy, how do we know when we’re financially (and emotionally) ready? In this episode, we’re talking with Silas Lindenstein, a Seattle-area real estate agent and podcast host to try to answer these questions. 

Whether buying a home is part of your five-year plan, you’re actively scrolling listings, or you’re perfectly happy renting, this conversation offers a much more grounded way to think about your housing situation. We’re getting practical about what being ready to buy actually looks like (and when you should feel confident continuing to rent), what deserves your attention (and what probably doesn’t), and how to prepare for a home purchase without putting your life on hold. 

Silas is hilarious and refreshingly candid, which makes a conversation about mortgages, inspections, interest rates, and home maintenance way more fun than it has any right to be. This is one of those episodes where we learned a lot, laughed a lot, and walked away thinking about homeownership a little differently.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [02:30] Why buying a home looks different for millennials and Gen Z — and why homeownership may be more of a lifestyle choice than a wealth-building strategy
• [05:30] Renting vs. buying, why renting isn’t automatically “throwing money away,” and the opportunities that can come with homeownership
• [13:00] What first-time homebuyers tend to worry about too much — and the seemingly small home maintenance issues that can actually matter more
• [15:30] Why location, community, commute, and your future lifestyle can matter more than having the perfect kitchen
• [23:00] Not sure whether you’ll buy in one year or five? How to start “paying your mortgage” now to test your budget and build savings
• [26:00] The difference between qualifying for a mortgage and actually being financially ready for homeownership
• [28:30] The housing costs that can get overlooked, including taxes, insurance, PMI, maintenance, and repairs
• [32:00] How to think about housing costs as a percentage of your income, plus the role refinancing can play in your long-term cash flow
• [38:00] Simple, relatively inexpensive ways to maintain your home and protect its value over time
• [40:00] Why trying to perfectly time the housing market can be tricky — and how to think through buying when the timing is right for your life
• [45:30] How fear and past experiences can shape the way we think about homeownership, even when our current circumstances look completely different

✨ Resources ✨

Connect with Silas:

• Podcast: You’re Buying a Home with Silas Lindenstein 
• Website: https://silasgetsreal.com/ 

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Saving for the future matters — but our money should also help us build a life we enjoy along the way. For Henah Velez, creator of the slow travel newsletter Departure, travel is one of the things worth making room for.

In this episode, we talk about how Henah went from a scarcity mindset to reaching Coast FI, why she’s prioritized travel at every income level, and how she balances financial independence with spending on experiences now. We also get into conscious consumerism and her refreshingly simple approach to points and miles — including beginner-friendly credit card strategies, when to use points versus cash, and tools that can make travel more affordable.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [02:00] How working on Money with Katie changed Henah’s relationship with saving, investing, and spending
• [06:00] Why Henah created Departure and how slow, intentional travel became its focus
• [10:30] How travel remained a priority when money was tighter — and how her approach changed as her income grew
• [15:00] Why slow travel can make trips more restorative, especially when plans inevitably go wrong
• [20:30] Conscious consumerism, creating friction before purchases, and deciding what’s actually worth a splurge
• [28:30] A beginner-friendly approach to credit card points and miles without tracking a million cards or obsessing over every redemption
• [35:00] How to use points and price-tracking tools when your travel dates aren’t flexible
• [40:00] Why day trips and weekends away still count as travel — plus ways to explore when a big trip isn’t in the budget
• [44:00] What Coast FI means and how Henah balances financial independence with enjoying her life today
• [47:30] Rapid-fire travel favorites, from repeat destinations to affordable trips and worthwhile splurges

✨ Resources ✨

Connect with Henah:

• joindeparture.com 
• https://www.instagram.com/henah/ 

Credit cards:

• Capital One Venture
• Chase Sapphire Preferred*
• Bilt

Travel tools:

• Max Miles Points Bilt points calculator
• Podcast episode: Bilt 2.0 Rewards Explained (Points, Cards, and Travel) 
• PointsYeah
• point.me 
• Sky Key
• Intrepid Travel
• Going
• Thrifty Traveler
• Google Flights
• Kayak

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*These notes contain a referral link, meaning we may be compensated, at no additional cost to you, if you use the link to apply for a credit card. And of course, we’d never recommend a product or service we don’t use and love.

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A will can feel like something for a future version of you — one with a house, kids, a spouse, and a lot more assets to worry about. But when you start thinking about the bank accounts, belongings, pets, and people already in our lives, it may be time to question that assumption. Chances are, a will is worth having sooner than you think.

The good news? Creating one might not be nearly as scary — or time-consuming — as it sounds. Cassidy recently went through the entire process, and in this episode, she’s walking through exactly what it looked like.

We cover what happens if we don’t have a will, how to choose beneficiaries and the people who will carry out our wishes, and why getting a good-enough plan in place can be better than waiting for the “perfect” one.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [01:00] What a last will and testament is — and what it can actually cover
• [01:30] Why a will can matter even if we’re single, don’t have kids, or don’t own a home
• [03:30] What can happen to our assets, pets, and belongings if we die without a will
• [05:00] Choosing an executor and why it’s important to talk to them ahead of time
• [07:00] The different ways to create a will, including using an online service
• [09:30] A step-by-step look at creating a will, from guardians to beneficiaries
• [14:30] Choosing an executor, power of attorney, and healthcare directive
• [19:00] Handling the emotional overwhelm of deciding who gets what
• [20:30] How long the process actually took — and why breaks helped
• [21:30] Getting documents notarized, storing them safely, and reviewing a will over time

✨ Resources ✨

• Ethos
• LegalZoom
• Trust & Will

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How many things have we bought for a version of ourselves who doesn’t exist yet? The art supplies for a hobby we’ll pick up someday. The clothes for a lifestyle we don’t actually live. The product that promises to make some part of our routine just a little bit better.

Those purchases can add up — in our homes, our budgets, and our mental load. But being more intentional with our spending doesn’t have to mean depriving ourselves or stripping our lives down to the bare minimum.

In this episode, we’re talking with Kelly Foss, host of the Millennial Minimalist podcast, to explore what minimalism can teach us about money. We talk about defining our own version of “enough,” recognizing when we’re spending for our aspirational selves, and deciding what’s genuinely worth bringing into our lives. We also get into emotional spending, the purchases that are absolutely worth making, and how buying less can help us feel better about spending on what we truly value.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [01:00] What minimalism actually means — and why it’s more about intentionality than owning as little as possible
• [06:30] The emotional side of clutter, stress spending, and why buying something new rarely fixes the feeling underneath
• [10:30] How to figure out what “enough” looks like when it comes to clothes, hobbies, and everything else we own
• [15:00] Practical ways to decide what stays, what goes, and what we’ll realistically use
• [18:30] The aspirational-self spending trap — and how social media can convince us to buy for a life we aren’t actually living
• [22:00] How buying less can reduce money anxiety, decision fatigue, and the mental energy we spend thinking about purchases
• [24:00] Finding our personal “number” and deciding what we genuinely want our money to support
• [27:00] Spending more on the things we value — from workout classes to coffee — while intentionally spending less elsewhere
• [33:00] How to enjoy our money without slipping into overconsumption, plus examples of purchases that genuinely improve daily life
• [40:00] A simple experiment for anyone who keeps buying things and wondering, “Why did I even buy this?”

✨ Resources ✨

• Kelly’s podcast: Millennial Minimalists 
• Kelly’s website: mastersimplicity.com
• Listen to the Finance Girlies on Kelly’s podcast: Money Made Simple with the Finance Girlies

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This episode was previously available exclusively to our paid subscribers and is now being released to all listeners. We’re excited to share it with all the girlies out there! If you enjoy it, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform — and thanks for listening! 💗

Buying a car is one of those financial decisions that can make even the most confident money person second-guess everything. How much should you spend? Is new or used the better choice? Are you getting a good interest rate? And how do you know when you’ve researched enough to actually make a decision?

We’ve been through all of that ourselves, so we’re bringing one of our most popular previously insiders-only episodes out from behind the paywall. We’re revisiting our two different car-buying experiences — one brand new and one certified pre-owned — and sharing the actual numbers behind both.

We get into how we decided what we could comfortably afford, what mattered most when choosing our cars, and how we approached financing and negotiating. We also share how Cassidy negotiated $9,000 off the initial dealership price, why Emily chose certified pre-owned, the extra ownership costs we planned for (and a few we didn’t), and what we’d keep in mind the next time we’re car shopping.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:00] Why buying a car can bring so much financial stress and overthinking
• [05:30] What we each wanted in a new car — and how we set our budgets
• [12:00] How we researched cars and narrowed down our options
• [18:00] Choosing between new and certified pre-owned vehicles
• [24:30] Getting into the numbers: financing, interest rates, and negotiation
• [32:30] Negotiating thousands off the purchase price — and the tactics that helped
• [43:00] Buying certified pre-owned, paying cash at the dealership, and navigating a trade-in
• [52:00] The extra costs of car ownership, from insurance to winter tires
• [58:30] Car-buying rules of thumb, loan terms, and our practical tips before heading to the dealership

✨ Resources ✨

• Consumer Reports 
• Kelley Blue Book
• Auto loan calculator (Bankrate)

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We truly believe investing can be simple. But all the jargon — 401(k)s, IRAs, ETFs, target date funds — can be enough to stop a new investor in her tracks. When every decision seems to come with another acronym or account type to understand, it’s easy to keep putting off getting started.

In this episode, we’re going back to the basics to answer two key questions: Where should your money go, and what should you invest in once it gets there? 

We walk through the accounts you may want to prioritize, beginner-friendly investment options, and what we’d each do if we were starting from scratch today.

Remember: You don’t need to understand everything or build a perfectly optimized portfolio before you begin. You just need enough clarity to take that first step — and you can adjust as you learn.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:00] The two questions that can make getting started with investing feel much simpler
• [02:00] Why an employer-sponsored retirement plan with a match may be the best place to start
• [04:00] How HSAs work, including the triple tax advantage that makes them so valuable
• [05:30] Roth vs. traditional IRAs — and why choosing the “perfect” one matters less than getting started
• [08:00] When a taxable brokerage account might deserve a higher spot on your investing priority list
• [11:00] Why trying to optimize every decision can keep us stuck — and why our investing strategies can change over time
• [12:30] The beginner investing step that’s easy to miss: actually investing the cash after transferring it
• [14:00] How target date retirement funds offer a simple, beginner-friendly approach
• [16:00] A more hands-on strategy using index funds and ETFs
• [18:30] What we’d each do if we were starting from scratch today — plus our beginner investing roadmap

✨ Resources ✨

• Why you don’t feel ready to invest (and how to start anyway) / 67
• We tried it: Opening (and investing in) an HSA / 89
• Roth IRA or 401(k)? Where to invest first with Sean Mullaney / 72
• Is investing $100 a week enough to fund retirement? / 85

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Opening a Health Savings Account (HSA) sounds like something that requires hours of research and a dozen decisions. In reality? After putting it off for almost a year, Cassidy finally opened one in eight minutes.

In this episode, we’re sharing exactly how we opened, funded, and invested our HSAs — from choosing a provider to deciding how much to keep in cash versus invest. We also talk about when it makes sense to use your HSA for medical expenses today and when you might choose to let that money grow for the future.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:00] Why HSAs can be so powerful — and why investing the money is worth considering
• [03:30] How we chose where to open an HSA and set up contributions
• [06:30] A real-life look at our HSA investments (and realizing we may have some adjustments to make!)
• [09:00] Putting off opening an HSA for almost a year — only to get it done in 8 minutes
• [11:30] Funding and investing an HSA, including how much to keep available in cash
• [13:30] Using your deductible as a guide for deciding how much HSA money to keep in cash
• [15:00] Therapy, menstrual products, and other expenses that may qualify for HSA funds

✨ Resources ✨

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): The incredible financial tool you may be overlooking  (Finance Girlies episode 54)
• Fidelity HSA
• IRS list of qualified medical expenses

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It's funny how some money rules can feel like absolute truth... until they don't. 

As we've learned more about personal finance — and lived a little more life — we've found ourselves changing our minds about advice we used to follow (sometimes, without question). Some of those rules helped us build great habits, while others eventually became more limiting than helpful.

In this episode, we're sharing ten money rules we've personally let go of over the years, from avoiding all debt and obsessing over lifestyle creep to believing you have to buy a house or put 20% down to be "good" with money. We talk about what changed our minds, where these rules can still be helpful, and why personal finance is often a lot more nuanced than the internet makes it seem.

✨ Episode Highlights ✨

• [00:00] Why we're revisiting the money rules we used to follow, and why it's okay for your financial philosophy to evolve
• [02:00] Why we no longer believe all debt is bad, and how low-interest debt can sometimes make financial sense
• [04:30] Our approach to using credit cards responsibly, and why avoiding them isn't always the best advice
• [06:00] Why waiting to invest until you're completely debt-free can cost you valuable time in the market
• [09:00] The difference between intentional lifestyle upgrades and keeping up with everyone else
• [12:00] Why we don't believe buying a home should be everyone's default financial goal (but it’s okay if it’s your goal) — and why renting can be a great choice for many
• [16:00] The truth about putting 20% down on a house and why many buyers take a different path
• [19:30] Why your emergency fund is meant to be used, and how to let go of the guilt when life happens
• [24:00] How our views on the FIRE movement have changed and why balance matters more than financial perfection
• [29:30] Why the "financially optimized" choice isn't always the right choice — and how talking openly about money can make all the difference

✨ Resources ✨

• Episode 70: Rethinking the Emergency Fund
• Episode 8: Debt 101: Is being in debt always bad?

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