Rich Girl BT wrote in saying, "We talk more money with friends—but once they know the salary, they'll hold it against you. For example, they'll say, 'You can afford $750 for two nights at my wedding.' But I don't want to spend that." So, how do we navigate these situations in an attempt to be more transparent about finances?

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's 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.

*Instrumental theme credit from Justin Canton.

Reminder: This is not financial advice; we are not certified financial professionals—please do your own due diligence.

Transcript, show resources, additional production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/money-conversations-friends.

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The world of status symbols and all their various manifestations (“quiet luxury,” “stealth wealth,” and even conspicuous dressing down as a backhanded sign of prestige) has operated in a more or less predictable way over the course of history—until now.

Amy X. Wang, whose reporting for the New York Times uncovered a replica black market that’s exploded in popularity in recent years, joins me to discuss.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/luxury-black-market.

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“Tax drag” can hold your money back from reaching its fullest potential—what is it, how does it work, and what do the outcomes look like? Plus, we share a wild money story involving $90,000 of debt. Have a money story of your own? Email us at [email protected], and we’ll anonymously share it.

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's 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.

Reminder: This is not financial advice; we are not certified financial professionals—please do your own due diligence.

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

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Writer Elise Loehnen (“On Our Best Behavior”) joined me to explore how our money stories make us spend, work, and live. Distinct cultural scripts shape our relationship with money, like “sloth” and “greed” or the idea that “a man should be a provider.” Even if you’re not consciously abiding by this societal shorthand, Elise says, it probably influences your attitudes.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/money-stories-culture.

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We're always told how expensive children are once you have them—but how do you prepare for them financially before they're here? How should you adapt or shift your budget when it comes to doctor's visits, insurance policies, TTC tools, and more?

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's 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.

Reminder: This is not financial advice; we are not certified financial professionals—please do your own due diligence.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/cost-of-children

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You know them, you love them, and you probably own them—but do you understand them? By “them,” I mean exchange-traded funds, or “ETFs.”

We’re digging deep into these magical little devices (everything from fee structures, to diversification, to how “bond ETFs” might be a great replacement for your complex bond configurations). We’re joined by Samara Cohen, Chief Investment Officer of ETF and Index Investments at BlackRock—one of the largest providers of ETFs in the game—to see how she’s thinking about ETFs in 2024.

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

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A recent Bloomberg Opinion piece said, "Your 401(k) will be gone in a decade," sounding off alarm bells in the MWK community. Is it true, and if so, what does it really entail?

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's 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.

Reminder: This is not financial advice; we are not certified financial professionals—please do your own due diligence.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/401k-future.

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If you've ever waded into personal finance content, you’re probably familiar with lifestyle creep. It gets a lot of airtime because it’s a natural financial experience: to spend more as you earn more. But because there's no positive equivalent about intentionally upgrading your lifestyle, all enhancements are cast through this "to-be-avoided-at-any-costs" lens.

Fortunately for us, my evolution on the subject has been entombed for eternity on the internet. I dug through five years' worth of posts for this episode…and I share the equation that helped me determine "how much" creep is encouraged.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/lifestyle-creep-episode.

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We've got some range for you today: Dissecting the recommendation to spend 30% on your housing (and if it's outdated), stories of folks receiving inheritances and homes from their parents, and a social experiment on gender and appearance.

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's 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.

Reminder: This is not financial advice; we are not certified financial professionals—please do your own due diligence.

Transcript, show resources, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/30-housing-rule.

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If the entire US economy were worth $1,000, a few of those dollars would be driven by music and movies. Of those few dollars, just three people (of whom one is imaginary) were at the helm in 2023, driving 30 cents of it on their own: Barbie, Beyoncé, and Taylor, who together generated around $10 billion in economic value last year. 

But despite this strong showing, women's media is still consistently belittled. Author, culture commentator, and host of the popular Be There in Five podcast, Kate Kennedy joins me to unpack the ways society often delegitimizes women's interests, how pop culture shapes actual culture, and the (financial) power of women's storytelling.

Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/womens-economic-power

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