We had JL Collins, the Godfather of Financial Independence, on the show earlier this year, and there was one question we seemed to disagree on: Are the dollars and cents of life actually harder today than they used to be, or does it just feel that way?

This prompted a listener to ask for a deeper dive: The official Boomer vs. Zoomer cage match of economic strife to understand, all else held equal, how the financial worlds these generations grew up in are different (and, more intriguing, the striking ways in which they’ve never been more alike). Today’s episode is a then-and-now comparison into housing, education, wages, inflation, and investing—and I think it’s going to surprise you.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/gen-z-boomers.

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The FI/RE movement has picked up a lot of steam in recent years, but as one listener asks, how does that impact consumerism—and more broadly, can everyone to retire early?

Rich Girl Roundup is Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and her Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/fire.

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Some of you recently shared articles about the so-called “birth rate panic,” pointing out that the intersection of economic policy with people’s decision to have children felt a little…off. So, I decided to dig into the coverage, some of the gaps I see, the cultural scapegoats, and of course, the bigger issue of treating our economy like a global MLM.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/birth-rates.

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Many of you have asked: “How the heck do I make it work on a single income? What can I possibly do?” We’ll look at the levers you can pull (one in particular) and the context of how we got to this point. Plus, we respond to some of the feedback we received from our recent life insurance episode.

Rich Girl Roundup is Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and her Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/single-income

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Depending on the source, the average American buys between 1 and 1.3 new pieces of clothing every single week—and consumption is at an all-time high. So, why aren’t we tired of cheap shit yet and how can we better understand our psychological obsessions with spending? Well, we’re diving into it with sustainability expert and author of Consumed, Aja Barber.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/overconsumption.

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On this week’s special Rich Girl Roundtable with Berna Anat: Traditional financial advice isn’t “one size fits all,” and that’s especially true for first-gen Americans who face unique challenges around building wealth and supporting family. How are the rules different for this demographic, and how can we make conversations around money more inclusive?

Rich Girl Roundup is Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and her Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/first-gen-finances.

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Life insurance is a notoriously scammy industry, made more confusing by the fact that there are legitimate forms of life insurance that aren’t a total waste of money. So which ones are legit, and which ones should you avoid?

Reminder: I am not a certified financial professional and this is not financial advice; please do your own due diligence.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/life-insurance.

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It's possible you might already have enough saved up for retirement, thanks to the power of compounding—a phenomenon in the FIRE community known as Coast FI. We cover how to calculate that number, if it's a reliable safety net, and what else to keep in mind.

Rich Girl Roundup is Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and her Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/coast-fi.

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A few weeks ago, I asked you all if the concept of "disordered financial behavior" resonated with you—and the response was overwhelming. And while a large faction of millennials and Gen Z deal with money dysmorphia—or as I'm inclined to call it, money disorientation—I'm not sure if the traditional blame on social media is the real cause. So how are we developing money dysmorphia, and how can we learn to deal with it?

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and resources can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/money-dysmorphia.

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In this week's Rich Girl Roundup, Katie and Henah answer the one prompt they often receive as two childless women: "Please run the numbers on childcare." Tune in to hear them run through the average budget and costs to set aside for various forms of childcare, as well as Katie's impassioned diatribe about the state of care work in the US.

Rich Girl Roundup is Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and her Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/childcare.

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