In this week’s episode, we discuss the sometimes toxic pressure of career growth, titles, and money. We hear from a couple of listeners who share their personal stories of how the anxiety to go for higher jobs has caused them to rethink their priorities. For anyone who’s worked a job with a hierarchy, there can be immense social pressure to climb the ladder. For many people, though, it’s a source of constant anxiety, and there are ways to deal with this. We review some of the reasons why workers feel compelled to grow their careers and how you can let go of those pressures and be happier in your job.

In this episode, Maggie shares her experience and tips for signing up for medical benefits on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. We discuss how to sign-up, some of the details of how the program works, and the best tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way. And we share the specific amount Maggie and Greg are paying for benefits in 2023 on the marketplace.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the specific mechanics of different ways you can fund early retirement and different withdrawal strategies. We start with a reminder of how early retirement works and then review the various levers that could provide income during your early retirement. We discuss various withdrawal strategies, tax advantages, and other considerations. We also use our own real-life scenarios as examples of withdrawal approaches.

In this episode, we talk about the steps you can take to get your money back when something you buy doesn’t work out. Maybe the vendor never delivered it, maybe it broke, maybe they misled you; no matter what happens, you have a bunch of options to get your money back! We encourage you to try one or many of these and fight for your rights.

In this episode, we share our top 10 favorite products and why we love them. Well, that’s what it was supposed to be; it really turned into Maggie sharing her top 10 favorites and Mike explaining why he isn’t really attached to anything. This becomes a philosophical discussion about stuff and our relationship with it.

In this episode, we discuss the concept of financial intimacy and how focusing on financial intimacy can improve your relationship. Financial intimacy is the level of trust and comfort that couples have when they are discussing and managing their finances together; it’s a measure of how open and honest partners are with each other regarding their finances. We share specific tips and advice for how to improve your financial intimacy.

In this week’s episode, we share how to protect your child’s financial identity and create a strong credit store to set them up well for the future. We dig into why this matters and the specific steps and recommendations for what to do.

In this episode, we talk about how to set boundaries and say no, with your time and with your money. Learning to set boundaries is a critical skill that will help you live a happier, more fulfilled life, and that’s what we’re all about. We discuss why boundaries matter and specific tips and tools to create more boundaries with your time and money.

In this episode, we answer your money etiquette questions and share specific scripts you can use during tricky money conversations. Talking about money with friends and family can be awkward, but we encourage you to train the muscle of being open and honest, and it will get easier over time. We encourage you to speak up and be firm when it’s necessary, but also choose your battles and know when to let things go.

In this week’s episode, we do a full-year expense review and share what each of our families spent this past year. We share our total spending for the year and break down our top spending categories, which areas we’re feeling good about, and where we’d like to improve in 2023. We also share additional reflections and financial goals as we kick off 2022.