Rent vs Buy? Homes, IVF, MBAs and Other $$$ Choices

From Smart Girl Dumb Questions by Nayeema Raza

June 9, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

Nayeema Raza discusses various financial choices with guest Nicole Lapin, exploring topics like home ownership, student debt, and personal finance vulnerabilities.

Rent or buy? Student debt or skip the degree? Nayeema asks @MoneyRehab host Nicole Lapin the money questions we all have. They discuss if home ownership is still part of the American Dream, what money mistakes NOT to make, and why it feels SO vulnerable to talk about your personal finances. Turns out “shame is not a good money management system.” Also on the agenda: IVF, MBAs and what is worth going into debt for? How much is Nayeema’s Harvard and Stanford educated brain worth? Plus: lab grown diamonds, the avalanche method of debt recovery, stocks as gifts and why Nicole’s baby might be richer than all of us. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite accountant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Nayeema Raza

Guest: Nicole Lapin

Topics covered

personal finance
home ownership
student debt
IVF
MBAs
money mistakes
debt recovery

Keywords

rent vs buy
IVF
student debt
money mistakes
debt recovery
stocks as gifts
lab grown diamonds

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MoneyRehab, Harvard, Stanford