rich & REGULAR with Kiersten and Julien Saunders

We spent a week talking to hundreds of high school seniors about money, and they gave us more hope than we expected. Underneath the stereotypes about “kids these days,” we found a generation that already understands more than adults give them credit for, while still being dangerously underprepared for some of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. So this week, we’re talking about what stood out after speaking to 400+ students across 5 high schools in the Chicago area and what parent...

Most money advice for students is either condescending or delusional, and this episode is neither. This one is for the students…and for the parents, aunties, mentors, and big cousins trying to help without lecturing. Today I’m joined by Dr. Paris Woods, bestselling author of The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom and the new Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom. We talk about what she saw growing up in St. Louis, the “education is the ticket” promise, and why getting out of poverty...

There are two sentences that can ruin a perfectly normal evening – “We need to talk”, and its evil twin, “We need to talk about money.” Even if your relationship is good, that phrasing makes it feel like somebody’s about to get graded. Even when things are fine, nobody wants to be the person who turns a decent Tuesday night into a full relationship audit. So this week, we’re introducing a better way: small doors. These are quick, low-stakes, real-life openings that normalize money talk ...

Life is life-ing. Prices are up, surprise expenses are regular, and your “simple” money goal keeps turning into a weekly argument with yourself (or your partner). In this episode, we talk about why so many people are either going full finance drill sergeant in 2026, or avoiding goals completely. We break down what financial discipline actually looks like when your life changes mid-month, and how to build goals that bend instead of break so you can keep moving forward without the mental ...

When life feels loud, getting rid of stuff can feel like relief. But if the stuff keeps coming back, the real issue is usually what the purchases were trying to solve in the first place. ​​So this is an episode about what to ask yourself before you fill the donation bags. We’re talking about materialism as a pattern and what happens when your things stop just being “things”. Kiersten gets personal about why decluttering has always worked for her and why she finally realized it was only ...

This is our annual “what to expect in the new year” episode, and our hot take is “affordability” is about to be the most overused, and least understood, word of 2026. You’re going to hear it everywhere, and this week, we’re explaining why that should make you a little nervous. We break down why affordability is becoming the new catch-all word for economic stress, how it’s being used to sell certainty in an unstable system, and why more people are about to find themselves saying, “I thou...

In a year full of work drama and career pivots, our most eye-opening lessons came from the places no one talks about on LinkedIn. Somewhere between the PTA meetings, school drop-offs, HOA group texts, and community events, we kept bumping into reminders that real work doesn’t always pay. And that’s kind of the point. This week, we’re unpacking what happened when we leaned all the way into volunteering and brought our professional skills to the party. Because chances are, you’re more needed th...

We’re 30+ days into a government shutdown, SNAP benefits are disappearing, layoffs are ongoing, and a catastrophic storm just hit Jamaica. But beyond the headlines, people are privately struggling with job loss, evictions, food insecurity, and the mental toll of trying to “stay positive” when everything feels urgent. In this week’s episode, we talk about how to be resourceful in the real, messy, "make-it-through-the-week" kind of way. Whether you're giving help or in need of it, this episode ...

We recently teamed up with Consumer Reports on an eye-opening project that made us rethink how we evaluate, purchase, and engage with our homeowners insurance policy. This week’s episode is about what we learned. Here’s what we unpack: Why homeowners insurance is way more confusing and critical than we thoughtWhat’s driving double-digit rate hikes (even if you’ve never filed a claim)How your dog, HOA, or even local crime rates affect your premiumsOne of the most overlooked parts of your polic...

If talking about credit makes you anxious, confused, or just flat-out annoyed… you're not alone. In this episode, we break down the truth about credit scores and reports: what they are, how they work, the most common myths people believe, and why it’s time we stop treating credit like a moral compass. Whether you’re building credit for the first time, trying to bounce back from a rough patch, or just wondering why your score dipped after doing the “right” thing - we got you. We cover: The big...

If budgets are supposed to keep us on track, why do so many of them make us feel stuck instead? In this episode, we talk about why the most common advice fails and what actually works when life keeps changing. The problem with budgets isn’t discipline, it’s design. Most advice assumes your income, expenses, and goals stay the same forever. Ours doesn’t, and neither should yours. We get into: Why the “stick to your budget no matter what” mantra sets you up to failHow to spot seasonal spending ...

This week we’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary by sharing some lessons about money, partnership, and staying excited about the long game. 10 years of marriage isn’t just a milestone, it’s a record of every choice you made together, from buying a house to splitting a check to deciding who’s unloading the dishwasher. Some of those choices aged well. Others? Let’s just say they came with late fees. In this episode, we get into: What to do when “my idea” needs “our money,” and how to bring a...