I Fell for a Ponzi Scheme in My 20s. Here’s What It Taught Me About Investing. (Laura Adams)

I Fell for a Ponzi Scheme in My 20s. Here’s What It Taught Me About Investing. (Laura Adams)

From Money Unplugged with Chris Hill by Chris Hill

March 13, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Laura Adams shares her experience with a Ponzi scheme in her 20s and the lessons it taught her about investing.

Getting burned on a bad investment early in life can do one of two things: swear you off investing forever, or teach you exactly what kind of investor you want to become. For Laura Adams, it did the latter. Host of the Money Girl podcast — one of the longest-running personal finance podcasts in the world, with more than 1,000 episodes — Adams grew up in Charleston, SC, in a household where money was never discussed. That silence may be exactly why she became obsessed with it. Her earlie...

People in this episode

Host: Chris Hill

Guest: Laura Adams

Topics covered

  • investing
  • Ponzi scheme
  • personal finance
  • financial education
  • money management

Keywords

  • Ponzi scheme
  • investing lessons
  • personal finance podcast
  • financial literacy
  • money management

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Money Girl

Places: Charleston, SC

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