Before the real Season 2 starts, Caitlin drills Sara about what the hell is going on in the economy and why the financial news just keeps getting worse.

How many “all time” stock market lows can we hit until we should start squirreling away sea shells, Pop Tarts and collectible Beanie Babies?

Will our retirement accounts vanish into thin air?

Does the economy have Covid? Will it ever get better?

Sara slips into her late night radio DJ vibe to calm us all down and lead us through these uncertain times.

Also, she explains what exactly a bear market and a recession are, and how surfing is an excellent financial management strategy right now.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page!

Follow Sara on Twitter @SaraontheVerge and like our Facebook page.

Transcripts for all of our episodes are available on our website.

Episode co-produced and edited by Kelly West.

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

This is the last episode of Season 1, in which Caitlin asks Sara if gas will soon cost $15 a gallon, what is the point of anything?

Sara explains how inflation typically works in the US, and shares the bananas cure for high prices: EVEN HIGHER PRICES.

How the F are we supposed to pretend we’re saving for our future if it seems like we’ll never be able to afford a hamburger again, much less retirement?

Sara shares a few strategies to keep our eyes on the prize, even if we're gonna be grasping our suspenders for a while.

Oh and there’s some stuff in there about how you really need to know about finances even if you’re married and your spouse takes care of it all.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is taking a hard look at how much cash you've stored up so you’re not losing more value than you have to with high inflation.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our website!

Transcripts for this episode also available on our website.

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Getting a whole pile of money is the dream, right? But what the hell are you supposed to do with it? What if you invest it all and the market goes down the next day?

Freak out!!

Or not. Sara shares a couple different approaches to investing windfalls for both the strong-willed and faint of heart.

Also, we didn't come up with a Cosmo quiz for figuring out how "risk tolerant" you are, but we should have. It turns out, there's only one key factor...and it involves the ability to close your eyes, plug your ears and sing, "La la la la la".

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is looking at the progress you've already made in your investing journey.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website!

Transcripts posted on our website!

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

How are parents supposed to prepare for their own future financial stability *and* save for their kids' college educations?

There is so much conflicting information to navigate. You NEED to already have a 529. But also, DON'T start a 529 because then your kid won't qualify for financial aid.

Sara shares some strategies for the near and medium term to help out your kids, without losing out on your own retirement goals.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is figuring out how much a college education might cost anyway.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website.

Transcripts for this episode available on our website.

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Some debt is "good" and some debt is "bad", right? But how can we tell the difference?

Sara walks us through how to think about debt, and how to decide if paying it off early fits into our financial planning strategy. (Spoiler alert: Not as often as you'd think.)

Caitlin realizes (again) that banks don't always have our best interests in mind when it comes to lending us money and finally masters some financial concepts Sara has explained to her one billion times.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is figuring out her "debt inventory".

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website.

Transcripts for this episode available on our website.

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Emergency savings accounts are super important, right?

Sara agrees, but worries too many people over-emphasize their rainy day fund and under-emphasize their retirement savings.

She tells us how to hit the balance between the two, and warns that we might have to start investing before we're psychologically ready. It's scary!

Caitlin attempts a metaphor involving Wall Street "experts" and seating arrangements on a roller coaster, and asks Sara if maybe this investing thing is just too much for us to ask of ourselves.

Sara wonders why she has a co-host on an investing podcast that still hasn't gotten with the program.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is figuring out how much she *really* needs in an emergency fund.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website!

Transcripts for this episode on our website.

Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

WOTVFB listener Carin asks: What do I do with all of the retirement accounts I've accumulated from past jobs?

Sara tells us the one thing we have to do with those accounts (spoiler alert: it's not consolidating them!) and what part we don't have to freak out about.

Caitlin gets validation for her investing strategy of never checking on the market, and Sara wonders who the hell will ever listen to our podcast since our advice is so boring. Set it and really forget it??

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is taking a peak at just exactly what's inside of those forgotten retirement accounts.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website!

Transcripts for this episode also available on our website

This episode was edited by Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

What's my number? How much money do I need to put into my retirement account between now and when I stop working?

Sara and Caitlin walk through an online retirement calculator to show how to figure that number out, without freaking out. You might need a chocolate milkshake for this one.

The good news is that we share the many factors that you can play with to get closer and closer to the amount you'll need to live on later on.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is going online and trying out a retirement calculator. This is the Schwab one we use in this episode.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website.

This episode was edited by Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

How do I actually "get into the market"? Sara tells us how to literally start investing by sharing the first three steps. They're so simple that ANYONE can do them.

She pleads with us to stop trying to make perfect decisions with all of the available knowledge - just freaking open an account and get started. Promise that you can refine and update your strategy as you go.

We also talk about the hazards of treating investing like a game and getting caught up in quick trades.

We're in it for the long haul, right? So let's set up a system that works for us, instead of working for a system that can very easily fail.

This week, the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is opening a freaking account by using the three simple steps.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website. Transcripts for this episode also available.

This episode was edited by Jes Rowe and Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

When does it make sense for a "normal" person to check in with a financial advisor? Do you have to be a millionaire or can you be an aspiring thousandaire? And how do you know what questions to ask and if you'll be tricked into shady investments?

So many questions, and Sara has so many answers that lead to finding someone you can trust, even if it's just for one meeting to get on track.

Do you know that you can choose a financial advisor based on whether they have a sense of humor? Well, sort of. But you definitely have to like them.

And we learn that a custodian isn't just a school staff member.

This week the one thing Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough can do TODAY to take the first, or next, step towards building a strong financial future is practice the two questions Sara says we need to ask our financial advisors.

Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.com

Transcripts for this episode available on our website!

This episode was edited by Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.