NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Learn how to plan and pay for a sabbatical, plus why cash advance apps may cost more than you think. How do you plan and pay for a sabbatical, even if your employer doesn't offer a paid one? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola are joined by Smart Money producer Tess Vigeland to answer a listener's question about setting up for extended time off work. They talk about how rare paid sabbaticals are, which companies offer them, and how to set goals for your time away. Tess shares the story of her three-year sabbatical in Asia, and the hosts compare the pros and cons of shorter breaks. They also get into building a sabbatical budget and sinking fund, why debt and emergency savings matter even more when your paycheck pauses, what happens to your health insurance, and what it can feel like to return to work. Plus, ways to get a real break when a sabbatical isn't in reach. Why might cash advance apps cost more than their marketing would lead you to believe? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski talks with Candice Wang, senior researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending, about new research on payday advance apps. They discuss how these apps differ from traditional payday lenders (and how they don’t), why users may not recognize them as high-cost loans, how an average 232% APR and frequent repeat borrowing can add up, why some state payday lending laws don't apply, and what you could consider before using one. Explore the Center for Responsible Lending's research on payday loan apps, plus NerdWallet's guides to sinking funds and COBRA coverage: The Cost of Payday Loan Apps in Your State: https://www.responsiblelending.org/research-publication/cost-payday-loan-apps-your-state Sinking Funds: The Secret to Stress-Free Expenses: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/nerdwallet-sinking-fund-savings COBRA Health Insurance Eligibility and Alternatives: https://www.nerdwallet.com/insurance/health/learn/cobra-health-insurance Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header 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! *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to rebuild credit while saving in sinking funds, and why 7 in 10 Americans struggle to afford the basics. How can you rebuild your credit and save for big goals at the same time? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP, and Elizabeth Ayoola are joined by NerdWallet senior credit expert Amanda Barroso to answer a listener's question about moving from repairing bad credit to building excellent credit. They discuss which habits have the biggest effect on your score and how to spot errors on your credit report. They also cover when a secured credit card could make sense, how rent reporting and credit limit increases might help, and what credit score you typically need for a travel rewards card. Finally, they talk about how to set up sinking funds so the pursuit of credit card rewards doesn't turn into overspending. Then, why are so many middle-class families struggling to afford the basics? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski talks with Lelaine Bigelow, executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, about their new Family Economic Well-Being Index. The index finds that 70% of Americans struggle to afford at least one basic need. They discuss why renters face heavier housing burdens than homeowners and why child care strains families even at higher incomes. They also get into why health care is the most widespread burden and how stacked costs can leave a family one surprise bill away from a crisis. Learn the strategies that can help you build your credit score faster: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/raise-credit-score-fast Find out how a secured card could help you rebuild credit: https://www.nerdwallet.com/credit-cards/learn/build-credit-with-secured-credit-card See how rent-reporting services could help renters get credit for on-time payments: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/rent-reporting-services Learn how sinking funds can help you pay cash for big expenses: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/nerdwallet-sinking-fund-savings Check your credit reports for free every week: https://www.annualcreditreport.com Explore the Family Economic Well-Being Index findings from the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality: https://www.georgetownpoverty.org/issues/new-family-index/ Please help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! Your responses directly impact what you hear on the show: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSettbeI0yDf8tLt_Q772StVJoWs_Gm-pWa-gSn2fdWEc0XcOw/viewform Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to turn your retirement savings into a steady retirement paycheck and how grocery stores may use your data to set prices. How do you turn decades of retirement savings into income you can count on for the rest of your life? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola talk with Jean Chatzky, host of the HerMoney podcast and author of “The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less, and Never Run Out of Money,” about why spending down your savings in retirement can be so hard, both in the math and in your head. They discuss where the 4% rule could fall short, the difference between buying a paycheck with an annuity and building one with investments, and when to start planning. They also answer listener questions about whether a pension means you can ease off on 403(b) contributions, what two years out of the workforce could cost a stay-at-home parent, and whether to consolidate old retirement accounts. Then, is your grocery store charging you more than the shopper next to you for the same items? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski talks with fellow Nerd Amanda Barroso about surveillance pricing, where retailers use data from loyalty programs, apps and even how fast you type to set prices based on what they think you’re willing to pay. They discuss how it differs from dynamic pricing, the signs it could be happening to you, what states and the FTC are doing about it, and how adding a little friction to your shopping could help. Please help us improve the show by taking our listener survey! Your responses directly impact what you hear on the show: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSettbeI0yDf8tLt_Q772StVJoWs_Gm-pWa-gSn2fdWEc0XcOw/viewform For more information on the topics discussed in this episode, check out these resources: Retirement Calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/investing/calculators/retirement-calculator HerMoney with Jean Chatzky:  https://www.youtube.com/hermoney The Forever Paycheck by Jean Chatzky: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/805286/the-forever-paycheck-by-jean-chatzky/ my Social Security: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ Why the Box of Cereal in My Cart Might Cost Less Than Yours: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/surveillance-pricing Federal Trade Commission’s Proposed Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Personalized Pricing: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/p034101-ftc-enforcement-policy-statement-re-personalized-pricing-proposed-for-public-comment.pdf Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/ Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to escape a timeshare contract, plus what kind of help exists if you want to buy a home. How do you get out of a timeshare you no longer want? Elizabeth Ayoola talks with travel Nerd Craig Joseph about a listener whose parents are paying yearly fees on an Orlando property they can barely use anymore. You'll hear why these timeshare contracts are so hard to unwind, what maintenance fees tend to run, and why there's often no cap on how fast they climb. Then, can you really get free money to buy a house? Sean Pyles, CFP®, Elizabeth Ayoola and senior news writer Anna Helhoski are joined by mortgage Nerds Abby Badach Doyle and Kate Wood to discuss how down payment and closing cost assistance works, and how to tell a good deal from an expensive one. They get into where the thousands of programs come from, how a grant differs from a forgivable loan or a second mortgage, and one place homebuying help is starting to appear that you might not expect. Want to get rid of your timeshare? Read this before you hire someone to help: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/11/want-get-rid-your-timeshare-read-you-hire-someone-help Links mentioned in this episode: How Timeshare Presentations Earn Me Cheap Travel: https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/how-timeshare-presentations-earn-me-cheap-travel Are Timeshares Worth It? Possibly, if You Buy Smart: https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/are-timeshares-worth-it Want to get rid of your timeshare? Read this before you hire someone to help: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/11/want-get-rid-your-timeshare-read-you-hire-someone-help Enter for a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card — and help us improve our show — by taking our listener survey! Find the survey and official sweepstakes rules here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSettbeI0yDf8tLt_Q772StVJoWs_Gm-pWa-gSn2fdWEc0XcOw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=102666646608198254961  Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a parent sends their retirement savings to someone they met online, learn how to help them recover – without letting it happen again. What do you do when a parent has spent most of their retirement savings on a romantic partner they’ve never met? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola help from a listener whose father, in his 70s, drained his retirement accounts and ran up massive credit card debt paying someone he met on OnlyFans. Sean shares what happened when his own father lost $150,000 to a crypto scheme while isolated during the pandemic, and Elizabeth talks about being scammed herself and her mother handing money to a stranger promising crypto returns. They get into the shame that keeps victims silent, the chat agencies that mean the person answering may not be the person in the photos, the red flags that show up before money moves, and why a parent who’s lonely is a target long before they’re a victim. Plus, we talk with an economics professor about the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to hike a key interest rate, and what it could mean for your loans and savings accounts.  If you’re worried a parent is being scammed, you can access free guidance at the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline.  Enter for a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card — and help us improve our show — by taking our listener survey! Find the survey and official sweepstakes rules here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSettbeI0yDf8tLt_Q772StVJoWs_Gm-pWa-gSn2fdWEc0XcOw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=102666646608198254961  Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to manage your finances before starting a business. Plus: what's next for the rapidly growing prediction markets. What should you have in place financially before leaving your job to start a business? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola bring on small business Nerd Rosalie Murphy to answer a question from listener Blake, who is 27 and on the verge of walking away from a steady paycheck to launch their own company. Together, they examine how much cash you really need before going months without income, what to do about existing high-interest debt before you launch, how to handle taxes when your employer is no longer withholding them for you, which retirement accounts could make sense when you're self-employed, and how separating your business and personal finances from day one could protect your personal assets if things go wrong. Then, what are prediction markets, and what happens when billions of dollars start trading on election outcomes? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski interviews Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution, about the booming prediction market industry. They discuss how platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket differ from both stock trading and gambling, whether the legal distinction between a "swap" and a "wager" actually matters for everyday users, how these platforms are navigating state gambling laws, and what it could mean when millions of dollars are wagered on whether a political party wins control of Congress. Resources discussed in this episode: Best Business Checking Accounts of August 2026 Best Business Credit Cards of August 2026 How to Open a Business Bank Account How to Incorporate a Business How to Get Business Insurance: What You Need, Where to Buy It Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how data centers could be raising your utility bills. Plus: how to use a sinking fund strategy to pay your bills. What does it actually cost your community when a hyperscale AI data center moves in nearby? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski joins host Sean Pyles, CFP®, to break down the growing national backlash against data centers. They discuss what costs communities are left to shoulder — from unexpected spikes in electricity bills to strained water supplies and persistent noise pollution — and why the economic benefits towns were promised may not measure up to what residents end up paying. Once your savings buckets are set up, how do you actually pay your bills without the whole system falling apart? Sean and his fellow host Elizabeth Ayoola tackle listener questions about the most overlooked piece of the sinking fund strategy: managing payments across multiple accounts. They dig into why putting everything on one credit card can become a bookkeeping headache, what it means if you keep pulling from one bucket to cover another, and how your rewards card strategy could actually be working against your savings goals. Read senior news writer Anna Helhoski's full investigation into the hidden costs of data centers: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/data-center-costs  Subscribe to our podcast’s free email newsletter for bonus content and more from our hosts at https://smartmoney-nerdwallet.beehiiv.com/  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header Smart Money’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nerdwalletsmartmoney 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. *The show notes were created with the assistance of AI. They have been reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices