NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Scammers alleging to help you cancel your student debt are coming for you — whether you actually have student debt or not. To kick off this episode, Sean Pyles and Liz Weston walk you through how to outsmart these fraudsters. 

Then Sean and Liz are joined by their regular co-host, Sara Rathner, to talk about how you can save for retirement when your employer makes you wait to access its retirement plan.

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Also, we’re working on a special end-of-year episode — and we need your help. We want to hear your financial rose, thorn and bud of 2022. What does that mean? Share the best thing that happened to you this year, a struggle you encountered, and what you’re most looking forward to in the new year. 

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 12:21 

Money Question segment: 12:22 - 37:01 

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Is your bank holding out on you? If you haven’t checked on your savings accounts lately, you should — or risk losing out on money you could be earning. In this episode, hosts Liz Weston and Sean Pyles talk about how Liz discovered her supposedly high-yield savings account was anything but.

Then Sean is joined by personal finance Nerds Kim Palmer and Sara Rathner to discuss whether you should put your credit on the line to help a loved one by co-signing. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 6:08 

Money Question segment: 6:09 - 23:47 

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Fear can control your life — if you let it. And when it comes to financial fears, what haunts you can mean the difference between a life of prosperity and one of anxiety. 

To start off this episode, Sean Pyles and Liz Weston talk about their financial fears — and how you can overcome your own. Then they answer a listener’s money question about whether they should get life insurance, even if they don’t have children.

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 10:42 

Money Question segment: 10:43 - 27:18 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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Paying off student debt isn’t easy — even for a Nerd who writes about it.

In this episode of our “How the Nerds Do It” series, student loans Nerd Anna Helhoski talks about how she paid off her debt, the challenges she faced along the way and how you can find the fastest and most affordable way to resolve your student loans. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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Black Friday isn’t the shopping extravaganza it once was. With rolling deals from major retailers, you might be able to get the best price for items on your list weeks — or months — before Nov. 25 rolls around. To kick off this episode, Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski talk with personal finance Nerd Amanda Barroso about how to approach holiday shopping this year.

Then Sean hosts a roundtable discussion with the Travel Nerds about how you can find the best prices when traveling over the holidays, including whether it’s better to drive or fly and how to combat credit card point inflation.

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 12:28 

Holiday Travel Roundtable: 12:29 - 34:52 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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Buying a house takes grit, know-how — and, frankly, a good amount of cash.

In this episode of our “How the Nerds Do It” series, mortgage Nerd Kate Wood talks about how she bought her first home, and why she almost fell for a house with a poisoned well. Kate also gives you her tips for buying a house, including the importance of finding a real estate agent whom you can trust. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

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 It’s finally here: The application to cancel up to $20,000 of your federal student loan debt is live. 

In this episode, Sean Pyles is joined by student debt and breaking news Nerd Anna Helhoski to walk through the debt cancellation application in real time. They also talk about scams and when you can expect your debt to be canceled. 

Call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected] to send the Nerds your money questions.

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Do you know where your passwords are? To start off this episode, Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss the risks of peer-to-peer payment apps. Then they talk about the one thing you should do this month to protect yourself online.

In this episode’s money question segment, Sean and Liz Weston answer a listener’s question about when to sell stock — and when buy-and-hold might be too much of a good thing. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 10:05 

Money Question segment: 10:08 - 28:26 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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Points or cash. Bargain hunting or splurging. Deep research or impulse booking. A lot can go into booking the perfect vacation. 

In this episode of our “How the Nerds Do It” series, travel Nerd Sam Kemmis talks through how he books his vacations and how you can get into the points game yourself. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

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It’s time for some money hot takes. To start off this episode, Sean and Liz share their (maybe unpopular) opinions about personal finance topics. Sean goes off about why buy now, pay later loans aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And Liz shares her thoughts on how the credit bureaus can fix the way they handle your data. 

Then they answer a listener’s money question about when you might have too many credit cards — and what to do about it if you do. 

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected].

Timestamps:

This Week in Your Money segment: 0:00 - 12:33 

Money Question segment: 12:35 - 35:17

Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices