HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

A new study shows Americans expect to delay retirement by four years as the cost of living rises…and 4 in 10 aren't confident they'll have enough money to last. If that sent you into a spiral, this episode is your permission to exhale. Historian, real estate investor, and early retiree Joseph S. Moore, PhD, spent years stress-testing three centuries of American financial advice, and what he found will reframe the way you think about retirement. His new book, How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (and Didn't), makes the case that retirement anxiety is nothing new, and that every generation that's felt it has ended up being fine. Then, Jean sits down with Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow, an award-winning platform that connects women with vetted fiduciary financial advisors who actually understand their lives. Jean and Lacy get refreshingly honest about the money moves they wish they'd made sooner: investing earlier, finding an advisor before they felt "ready," keeping an emergency fund, and having the money conversations they'd been putting off. Find a fiduciary advisor through Willow: hermoney.com/findanadvisor 📚 Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've been feeling financially anxious lately, the numbers back you up. A record 55% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse, and 67% say they're more afraid of running out of money than dying. This week, Jean sits down with Carrie Joy Grimes, author of the new book The Joy of Money, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about financial anxiety, behavioral science, and exactly what wealthy people are doing with their money right now. In this episode, we cover: What wealthy people do differently with their money during volatile markets The Life Happens Fund: why a basic emergency fund isn't enough and how to build a real financial cushion The three-step self-compassion practice backed by behavioral science that helps you stop shame-spiraling over money mistakes The "Good Enough Retirement Vision" exercise that will help you stop feeling paralyzed about the future And if today's conversation got you thinking about your financial future, don't miss Jean's brand new book, The Forever Paycheck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are people who change the way you think about money. And then there are people who change the way you think about life, and do it through the lens of money. Jonathan Clements was one of those people. The beloved personal finance columnist and Wall Street Journal veteran passed away in September 2025, leaving behind a remarkable legacy and one final book: Money and Me: How to Make Your Finances Work Harder for You and Your Family. This week, Jean sits down with Jason Zweig, Jonathan's dear friend and fellow Wall Street Journal columnist, to honor that legacy and dig into the lessons Jonathan left behind for all of us. They cover: The investing philosophy he championed for nearly 40 years, and why it's still the best advice out there The three dimensions of money and happiness: freedom from worry, spending on experiences, and using money to create meaning Why the shift from saving to spending in retirement is one of the hardest psychological transitions we face, and how to make it easier Jonathan's take on how much money to leave your kids Why spending small is actually the smartest spending strategy of all And if today's conversation got you thinking about your own relationship with money, Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is the perfect next read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve heard of the gender pay gap – but there’s a quieter crisis unfolding for millions of women: the retirement gender gap. Whether you’ve taken time out of the workforce to care for a loved one, are a Gen X’er racing toward retirement with less saved than you’d like, or recently lost a spouse and are suddenly in charge of finances you’ve never managed alone, this episode is for you. In it, two experts from LIMRA, Chief Marketing Officer Tina Beckwith and Retirement Income Institute Fellow Suzanne Norman, break down: Why women face a steeper climb to retirement security Who’s most at risk The concrete steps you can start taking today to close the gap Learn more: Women – and especially widows – often want a trusted partner to help navigate retirement decisions. Here are 7 key tips they can keep in mind when looking for a financial professional. Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck — your guide to building a secure, steady income stream for the retirement you've worked so hard for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If financial uncertainty is keeping you awake at night, this episode is for you. Author and journalist Simone Stolzoff joins Jean to talk about his new book, How To Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World That Demands Answers, and why learning to sit with the unknown might be the most powerful financial skill you can develop right now. And in this week's Mailbag, Jean is joined by Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow, to help three listeners navigate inflection points in their lives: how to start dividing shared assets before a divorce is filed, what to do with your 401(k) after a layoff, and how to think about a lump-sum inheritance without letting fear or emotion drive the decision. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff Hanna Horvath, Your Brain on Money on Substack The Forever Paycheck by Jean Chatzky — available for pre-order now Subscribe to the HerMoney newsletter Ready to connect with a fiduciary advisor who's the right fit for you? Find one at hermoney.com/findanadvisor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a real week of spending look like for a busy working mom who also happens to be a landlord? This week on A Week In Her Wallet, we're heading to Annapolis, Maryland, to follow Larisa, a 48-year-old HR Director with a combined household income of $375,000, two kids in competitive sports, a dog, and a rental condo she's owned since her twenties. We talk through it all: how she keeps a separate checking account just for rental income and expenses, why she almost always orders ahead for pickups at Sam's Club, and how she thinks about the guilt that still creeps in when she spends money on herself. Plus… Bucky's. If you've never stopped at Bucky's on a road trip down I-95, Larisa will make you want to. In this episode, we cover: The good, the bad, and the ugly of owning a rental property, and how she budgets for the unpredictable How she handles big annual bills (like a $1,200 water assessment) without breaking a sweat How she uses a dependent care spending account to offset summer camp costs How splitting costs with her sister makes family vacations feel easy and fun Want to be featured in A Week In Her Wallet? Every woman has a money story worth telling, and we want to hear yours. Fill out this form to be considered. We’d love to hear from you. Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, out September 9! Every pre-order helps get this book into more readers' hands — thank you for supporting the show and the book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices