Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough

Warning: There will be no champagne party in this episode. Last year it was the Bear Market, now it's the Bull Market. The market goes down, the market comes back up. And no matter what, Sara says we have to be super chill and nonchalant-like, even when things are good. Also, Sara describes what an economist victory lap looks like (dorky, but kind of bad ass) and why we need to keep plugging away at our plan, no matter what historical dips and historical climbs happen to be happening in the stock market. Will there ever be alarmist advice on this podcast?? Come for the reasonable amount of drinks at a very sensible, if muted, celebration. Stay for Sara fangirling over a famous female economist I've never heard of. It's Season 3, bitches!Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 3 on our Ask Us page! We have the social medias!! Here's our Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn.This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

For our last episode of Season 2, we talk about, what else??: how index funds are the freaking work horses of building a financial future for good reason.Caitlin grills Sara about a financial column she read that says what Sara has already been saying for two seasons (and 10 years before that): it's VERY VERY hard to beat the returns you can get over long periods of time when you invest in low-cost index funds. Like so hard that it's probably a fluke when it happens so don't believe anyone who says they have the winning strategy or insider knowledge. They don't. They can't. All of the studies for the past 20 years have shown this again and again.So, forget about the finance bros and pinstriped Wall Street “kings” who pretend they can pick the winners with their fancy words and boring golf stories. While they strive for fantasy heroics, you'll make more money than they will in the long term sticking to a long term index fund strategy based on reality and research.Also, Sara reminds us again how dangerous our own fear and greed buttons are to derail us from our deserved financial glory.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 3 on our Ask Us page! We also post our transcripts there.We have the social medias!! Here's our Instagram (Thank you, Gwen!) and Facebook and LinkedIn.This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

How do you know what kind of insurance you need, when you need it and how much you should pay for it? We have no idea!So that's why we invited certified financial planner Kacie Swartz back on the podcast to explain to us how to figure it all out. What does “term” mean? Should a young person get life insurance?? And are we supposed to get life insurance for our kids??? Kacie explains all of this, and more. And warns us that ignoring personal insurance can screw you or your loved ones if tragedy strikes. So, women on the verge of a financial breakthrough really have to figure this insurance thing out to build out their financial futures, no matter how boring it sounds. We'll help talk it through - it won't be so bad. Promise.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! We have the social medias!! Here's our Instagram (Thank you, Gwen!) and Facebook and LinkedIn.This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

OK, so investment advisors are the people we go to to find out how to turn our money into more money, but how do they know?? Are they on a secret call at 5am telling them what stocks are hot? Do they spend hours on some mysterious software machine that spews out a bunch of recommendations? Do they have financial tarot cards? On today's episode, we find out what one financial expert does every day to make sure she knows about what markets are doing to give out advice: Women on the Verge co-host Sara Glakas! Join us as we discover what the hell she does with her time, and be thankful that the fact that she does it means we don't have to.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! We have the social medias!! Here's our Instagram (Thank you, Gwen!) and Facebook and LinkedIn.This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

How does a bank run out of money?? Isn't a bank just a place where it's safer to store your money than in an empty ice cream container in your freezer?? And why is everything in the finance world so freaking complicated??!?In this episode, Caitlin asks Sara a very simple question: What the fuck is a bank? And Sara answers with a way too complicated answer. AS USUAL.To make a long story short, banks do stuff with our money to make them more money, but also we need them to do that so they can loan us money for our cars and houses and dream pony farms, and they need us to not allllll need alllll of our money alllll at the same time for the whole system to work. It kind of makes sense. Kind of. But the important part is that most of us don't have to do anything different than we're already doing. You should listen.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

This week, we're rebroadcasting an episode we recorded at the end of last summer in the midst of what one hoped was a temporary bear market. The stock market keeps doing scary shit, however, so we decided it was worth a re-visit to remind ourselves, I mean our listeners, to keep our eyes on the prize and to not get spooked. Let Sara soothe you with her steely-eyed confidence that all will be well. One day.What do you do if you actually have money to invest in the stock market but the constantly sinking numbers are scaring the shit out of you? Are you really just supposed to pour perfectly good dollars into a sinking (market) ship?And what about that whole “buy low, sell high” thing?? Is now the low?? But can it go even lower??And, and what the fuck are iBonds and why is everyone talking about them?!Sara explains to Caitlin, again, what risk means when it comes to investing in the stock market, and how we get the reward for taking so much risk. Which is supposed to be the whole point. (Spoiler alert: In order to get the reward you have to stay on the (stock market) boat, even during the lows. Especially during the lows?) And there's more set it and forget it for the lazy, I mean wise, investors!Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Taxes. Ugh. Whoops. I mean: What a great opportunity to save money and pay your fair share! Many of us never learned how to take advantage of different strategies to avoid paying overly high taxes because we started out not making enough to have any money to protect. But, we have to learn all this stuff to build our wealth and be smart with our income. No matter how painful it is. Oh, and what the hell is a capital gain?In this episode, Sara and Caitlin grill Austin-based CPA Erica Fink who works for Mangold Anker Phillips, a professional accounting firm, about all the ways we can take advantage of tax saving programs and strategies. We promise there are only a few references to the tax code.Erica tells us the one thing a woman on the verge of a financial breakthrough can do to level up her tax planning game through taking advantage of employer-supported retirement account matches, HSAs, FSAs and TSAs. Just kidding about the last one. It's hard to make taxes fun. We promise you'll learn something and it's the least boring version of tax learning that it could possibly be.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

The movies tell us one story about wealth and it looks a lot like white men playing golf and drinking single malt whiskey. But is that what we're trying to build for our futures??? No thank you.So, what's a more inclusive vision of wealth, and how do we find our own definition? Could wealth actually mean something that's achievable for a normal person?Caitlin asks Sara what it is we're actually talking about when we talk about wealth, and finds out, yet again everything about money is complicated - even our fantasies.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

What do you get when two women combine forces to figure out finance, share the mental load and build wealth together? Money sisters!! That's what you get!In this episode, longtime friends Emily and Kelly (who happens to be our co-producer) share their long history of making financial decisions small and large, and their deep, abiding love for the Splitwise app. Most of us are used to the awkward dance of trying to figure out how to fairly split a restaurant meal or a girls' trip, but what about buying a freaking house?? They tell us!So many women face financial decisions on their own and it can be paralyzing and lonely. Emily and Kelly help us see a creative alternative that can open up our investing opportunities and turn our friendships into a financial partnership. Get yourself a money sister!!Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

So many of us want to invest in the stock market to make money for retirement, but feel pretty icky about where our money might be going. Do we just have to surrender to the greedy capitalists polluting our planet and perpetuating social inequities?Listen to this episode to find out! (Spoiler alert: NO)Sara and I grill sustainable investing expert Kacie Swartz about how to find funds that promote our values. And guess what? They do just as well, if not better, as the traditional funds that have gotten away with regressive social policies and short-sighted slash and burn environmental damages in the name of profit.Kacie explains how to find funds we can feel good about, without diminishing our returns, AND how this kind of activist investing is a very powerful way to change industries with our dollars.Here are some of the resources Kacie mentioned that are good for researching sustainable, environmentally and socially-conscious funds:Morning StarVanguardMSCIGreen Money JournalAnd here's Kacie on LinkedIn.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

You can take that takeout pad thai out of my cold, dead hands. If budgeting means not being able to splurge on a stressful Tuesday anymore, then let's go for broke. But we're supposed to have a budget, right?How do we create budgets that take into account our mental health now and financial health later? We invited budget coach Kara Perez, founder of the finance education company Bravely Go to help us figure this out. We talk about how to adapt a budget to the realities of your life without cutting out all of the joy, and making conscious choices about where your dollars go, and when. Also, Caitlin tries to get Sara and Kara to square off on different money management approaches. Instead, they agree there are many ways to take on your finances, as long as you do something. Anything! (Well, not anything, but not get paralyzed by the choices to the point that you never start.)For more of Kara's financial wisdom, sustainable investing approach and budgeting tips, follow her on Instagram and YouTube.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page of our website! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Your credit score is one of those things that you don't have to care about…until you really do. It's a system that kind of makes sense, but also can be crazy unfair.In this episode Sara and Caitlin (but mostly Caitlin) grill Lending Tree credit expert Matt Schulz on how credit scores are calculated and what it actually means. Do they stay the same for all of our lives? Can we make them better? Do they get worse if we check them every week? He tells us some very bad news about how bad credit can cost you a ton of money over your lifetime, but also hopeful news about how to build up your credit score so you can get out of the cycle.Here are some of the resources we mentioned in the episode:The government's consumer watchdog website: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau You can check your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com - it's a no strings attached website that you can trust.The three big credit bureaus where you can check your credit score and freeze your credit so no one can open up a credit card or line of credit on your behalf:TransUnion Experian EquifaxAnd to find out more financial tips from Matt, follow him on Twitter @matthewschulz and subscribe to his newsletter. And watch out for his book in 2024 that promises to help people pay less, earn more and keep more of their money by asking the right questions in everyday situations.Oh! And do you have a passive income story? A success? A failure? Tell us about it in a voice memo and e-mail it to: womenonthevergepodcast@gmail.comAsk us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Do you have a 4-year-old daughter or 15-year-old niece that you hope to help pay for college, but also would still like to have money for other things like toilet paper and health insurance, but feel like the two things are mutually exclusive ? Stop freaking out - we just might be able to pull this off. We know - we already did an episode about saving for college last season. But this time we invited a real life college finance mastermind! Our guest expert Ann Garcia is so expert that she actually wrote a book called…wait for it…How to Pay for College. Not only does she blow through all the myths about college saving making tuition more expensive, she explains what a list price is, and how what they say college costs is different than what college actually costs (in a good way). Also, all the programs and scholarships and other things we never knew about that lower tuition costs and help students choose the right school.After you listen, check out all of Ann's wisdom and resource-sharing on her website howtopayforcollege.com. And, to get even more of her specialized strategies, take her College Financial Plan Masterclass. Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough get a 10% discount!! Just enter promo code: WOTV10Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

We're back for the real Season 2! When you get a hot tip about individual stocks, can't you just buy a bunch and get really rich and then laugh at all the people that weren't as clever? But, wait, you have to sell them in order to get all those riches… So, can someone please just tell me when they're about to go down so I can sell them then? No? Wait, what?In this episode, we discuss how Sara's stupid rational advice about buying Airbnb stocks prevented Caitlin from buying a Corvette, or losing a bunch of other people's money, depending on how you look at it. Sara makes it clear what her professional opinion is about borrowing money to invest (a hard pass) and Caitlin makes it clear how it's possible to get emotionally attached to a losing stock (it may suck, but it's mine). Human psychology and an insanely unpredictable market seem to conspire against all of our fantasy get-rich-quick schemes when it comes to buying individual stocks.Also, we discuss this article that says that women retire with a quarter less wealth than men. WTF and how can we change this?Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on the Ask Us page of our website! This episode was edited by our co-producer Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

This week Sara and I pepper student-loan specialist Danika Waddell with questions about two different student loan programs: the Biden $10,000 debt relief program, which you've probably heard of, AND the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program, which you might not have heard about.The Public Student Loan Forgiveness waiver is a temporary rule change for a program that lets people who have worked in public service (in government, certain non-profits, school districts, public health, etc.) for ten years to apply for loan forgiveness. ***This is DIFFERENT than the $10,000 Biden student debt relief plan.*** Do you have student loans? Have you ever worked as a teacher at a public school? Have you worked as a social worker? Have you ever worked in an under-served health care setting? It doesn't matter that you haven't worked in a qualifying institution for ten years yet, you can still apply and have all of your additional years and payments start counting for future forgiveness. If there's any chance you might qualify, please investigate and APPLY NOW! The temporary waiver expires on October 31st, 2022.We also discuss the latest information about the Biden $10,000 program, and where to keep up-to-date.Here are the resources we talk about in the episode for learning more: - This NYTimes summary is fantastic. - Details on the actual Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). - Trying to determine who your loan servicer is? Student aid is the place to go. - You can sign up for notifications about your loan forgiveness here. - Tool for calculating the best repayment plan. - Free advice about student loans. - PSLF program announcement. - PSLF waiver explainer page with FAQs and explanations. - PSLF application with explainer tool. - Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program Support Facebook group.Many thanks to Danika Waddell, founder and president of Xena Financial Planning who answered all our student loan forgiveness questions with patience and humor, and provided this great list of resources.So get going and get applying! Remember, you don't need all of your forms and information right now, the most important thing is that you submit an application by October 31st, 2022.Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our Ask Us page! This episode was edited by Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

What do you do if you actually have money to invest in the stock market but the constantly sinking numbers are scaring the shit out of you? Are you really just supposed to pour perfectly good dollars into a sinking (market) ship?And what about that whole “buy low, sell high” thing?? Is now the low?? But can it go even lower??And, and what the fuck are iBonds and why is everyone talking about them?!Sara explains to Caitlin, again, what risk means when it comes to investing in the stock market, and how we get the reward for taking so much risk. Which is supposed to be the whole point. (Spoiler alert: In order to get the reward you have to stay on the (stock market) boat, even during the lows. Especially during the lows?) And there's more set it and forget it for the lazy, I mean wise, investors!Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our website! Full transcripts for all episodes on our website.This episode was edited by Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Are we really supposed to stay in the stock market even when it does a bunch of scary shit and our account balances are going down instead of up? Do we keep pouring more money into our retirement accounts when we're not sure we'll have rent money for the next six months?Can't our precious investment money just take a little drama-free holiday in a savings account until the shitstorm is over?Sara tells us how to adapt our financial goals and strategies to meet this moment, without throwing in the towel…and Caitlin tells her she should really come up with some new advice.Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions for Season 2 on our website!Transcripts for this and every episode are also available on our website. This episode was edited by Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

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 websiteThis 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.

It's so tempting to keep our money in things we can touch like cash or gold - we can use them in an emergency so they're safer, right? Sara says we need to think twice about what "safe" means and details the surprisingly complicated logistics of going all out for gold. Caitlin has to interrupt recording to manage a rental and Sara points out that an investment account never calls you on a Saturday to complain about a leaky faucet. We talk about how to make that leap of faith from investing in seemingly low risk but tangible things, to the much more abstract stock market, that can actually build our financial future. 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 involves very simple steps to get a handle on your financial portrait. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.com This episode was edited by Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

We're circling back to the basics: stocks, bonds, index funds and tuxedos. Watch out for a lot of grocery shopping metaphors because it turns out the stock market is an *actual* market with shares on the shelves instead of cereal boxes. We talk about the secret to not having to learn anything about individual stocks but still invest and how Monopoly isn't the *worst* way to learn a thing or two about bonds. Oh! And Sara explains the moneyed depths of the ultra secret bond market (who knew??). 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 involves looking in your money mirror and taking notes on what you see. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.com This episode was edited by Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

This investing for beginners party is more interesting than you thought, right? Well, just wait til Sara hits you with advice normal people can use from fancy-pants investing guy Warren Buffett. Also, Caitlin asks who the hell he is and why he's so famous anyway. And it wouldn't be a Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough party if we didn't circle back to shame, regret and embarrassment about our (Caitlin's) financial past! But if all of that doesn't entice you, there's a surprise ETHICAL NON-MONOGAMY plot twist in there when you least expect it! See? Finance is fun! 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 super easy and will make you feel very smart. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.com This episode was edited by Kim Shelton and Jes Rowe. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

The "Let's learn about finance and investing!" party is still going over here at Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough! This time, Caitlin and Sara talk about what the hell people are talking about when they tell us to "save" money, how starting small is totally awesome, as long as you're starting at all. Also, Sara gets out her (imaginary) megaphone to tell Women on the Verge that COMPOUNDING INTEREST is the MOST IMPORTANT concept you need to understand about building your financial future. You're welcome. Don't forget - at the end they share 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. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.comThis episode was edited by Kim Shelton and Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Talking about money can be awkward, fill us with shame, regret and even panic. So why do it? In this episode Sara and Caitlin talk about what it means to leave that baggage behind and focus on the future, no matter where you're at now. Also, Caitlin reveals the depths of her investing ignorance and Sara explains some basic terms and tells us how to survive a stock market storm at sea. (A metaphor that makes sense when you hear it. Maybe.) And again, get ready for 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. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.comThis episode was edited by Kim Shelton and Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.

Welcome to a party you probably don't want to come to! In the very first episode of Women on the Verge of a Financial Breakthrough, Caitlin and Sara talk about ways to make learning about finance and investing easier and (dare we say?) more fun. Spoiler alert: step by step, with a milkshake chaser. Get ready for 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. Ask us your dumb investing and finance questions on our website: womenontheverge.comThis episode was edited by Kim Shelton and Kelly West. Music by Bad Bad Hats and Devmo.