What does it actually look like to spend just $400 in a week… intentionally, joyfully, and with a clear-eyed plan for the future? This week on A Week in Her Wallet, Jean sits down with Ann, a 63-year-old Early Childhood Director from upstate New York, who is on a mission to build what she calls her "rich enough old lady future self."

Ann brings in over $100k a year, but her spending week clocked in at under $400, not because she's depriving herself, but because she's figured out exactly what she values and what she doesn't. From homemade iced coffee and Sunday meal prep to a cleaning splurge she refuses to apologize for, Ann's week is a masterclass in intentional money.

In this episode, Jean and Anne talk about:

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What's the best financial advice you've ever received? Not the trendiest tip or the hottest stock pick; what’s the wisdom that actually holds up over a lifetime? That's exactly the question Diane Harris, Deputy Editor of Kiplinger, put to 35 of the most trusted voices in personal finance…and the answers are as practical as they are profound.

In this episode, you'll learn:

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What does it actually feel like to be on the cusp of retirement and wonder if you're doing it right? This week, Jean sits down with two listeners, Nancy and Melissa, who are both asking the same underlying question: How do I make sure I don't run out of money in retirement, while still actually enjoying my life?

First, Jean talks with Nancy, 68, a soon-to-be retired nurse with $850K saved, a pension, and Social Security on the way. Nancy wants to renovate her bathrooms before she stops working, but she's torn between using her HELOC or tapping her nest egg. 

Then Jean hears from Melissa, 53, who, along with her husband, has $1.2M+ saved across tax-deferred, Roth, brokerage, and treasury accounts, and wonders if she's taking on too much risk. Jean helps her zoom out, look at the full financial picture, and think through what a bucket strategy or annuity could mean for her peace of mind.

In this episode:

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Did you know that claiming Social Security at 62 instead of 70 could mean locking in a permanent 30% cut to your monthly benefits for life? 

In this episode, Jean sits down with Marcia Mantell, founder of Mantell Retirement Consulting and author of Social Security: Lightly Toasted, Not Burnt, to talk about what's really going on with Social Security's solvency, why Congress will almost certainly act before the fund runs dry, and how to make the best claiming decision for you.

In this episode:

Create your my Social Security account: ssa.gov

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What does a real week of spending look like for a busy working mom who also happens to be a landlord? This week on A Week In Her Wallet, we're heading to Annapolis, Maryland, to follow Larisa, a 48-year-old HR Director with a combined household income of $375,000, two kids in competitive sports, a dog, and a rental condo she's owned since her twenties.

We talk through it all: how she keeps a separate checking account just for rental income and expenses, why she almost always orders ahead for pickups at Sam's Club, and how she thinks about the guilt that still creeps in when she spends money on herself. Plus… Bucky's. If you've never stopped at Bucky's on a road trip down I-95, Larisa will make you want to.

In this episode, we cover:

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You’ve planned for retirement. You’ve built your savings, mapped out your Social Security strategy, and thought through market risks. But what happens if one day, you can’t manage your money at all? It’s an uncomfortable question – and one many people avoid. Yet, research shows that cognitive decline can quietly undermine financial decision-making, often earlier than we expect, and with serious consequences. 

On this special episode of HerMoney, sponsored by LIMRA, Dr. Chris Heye, LIMRA Retirement Income Institute Fellow and CEO of Whealthcare Planning and Wealthcare Solutions, explains why health risks – especially cognitive decline – may be one of the biggest blind spots in retirement planning today. Then, Erin Gilmore Smith, Head of Estate Planning for Edelman Financial Engines, joins us to share practical steps you can take now to protect your finances, your family, and your future self. 

In this episode, they’ll highlight:

If you’re curious and want to dig deeper, this resource from LIMRA can help:

Protect Your Retirement From Cognitive Decline: The Link Between Cognitive Health and Financial Security

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You saved diligently for your kids' education, and now that chapter is closing. So what happens to the money? Can you protect those tax benefits and roll the funds into something new? We're getting into it.

This week, Jean is joined by Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of TrustWillow.com, a personalized advisor-matching platform that connects women and their families with vetted, fiduciary financial advisors who are legally required to act in your best interest, and who have been trained specifically in working with women's financial lives.

They dig into your mailbag questions from:

🔗 Connect with a vetted fiduciary advisor at hermoney.com/findanadvisor

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Do you actually know where your money went last week? Not roughly...where it actually went. Every coffee, every impulse buy, every bill that hit all at once on a Monday morning when you were least expecting it.

A Week in Her Wallet is a HerMoney limited series where real women from our community track every single dollar they spend for one full week, and then sit down with Jean Chatzky to talk about what they learned. Because the way we spend says so much about what we value, what we're afraid of, and where we might want to make a change.

In this series, you'll hear from women like:

Real women. Real numbers. Real life.

Subscribe to HerMoney on Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode, look for A Week In Her Wallet directly in your HerMoney podcast feed. And if you want to track your own spending with us, apply here to be featured.

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At HerMoney, we're always trying to make money a little less intimidating; breaking down the big, complicated stuff into things you can actually use in your real life. And when it comes to understanding the economy, nobody does that better than today's guest.

Alex Mayyasi is a contributor to Planet Money, the NPR podcast that has spent seventeen years making economics genuinely entertaining, and he and the team have just written a book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Alex also stuck around for a Mailbag, answering listener questions about tariffs, tax-loss harvesting, and why everything you buy seems to be getting more expensive but less high quality at the same time.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Planet Money’s new book, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life

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You've heard the rules. Subtract your age from 100. Go 60/40. Play it safer as you get older. But what if those long-held guidelines have been steering you wrong and costing you?

Yale finance professor James Choi returns to HerMoney to share groundbreaking research that could change the way you think about your investments forever. His new asset allocation formula goes far beyond the traditional rules of thumb, factoring in your income, your savings, your risk tolerance, and something most investment guidelines completely ignore: the future paychecks you haven't earned yet.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

James Choi's allocation spreadsheet calculator

The Wall Street Journal piece on James's research

Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck (coming Sept 2026)

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