Everyone's Talkin' Money

News out of Washington D.C. is not the cheeriest these days almost midway through 2018, so it’s refreshing when electronic-pop trio SHAED (pronounced “shade”) has become a ray of sunlight on the nation’s capital evolving music scene – a badge of honor this young band wears proudly. Following in the footsteps paved by other notable D.C. area legends as Bad Brains, Fugazi and hall of famer Marvin Ga...

It's time to tackle some more of your Ask Shannah questions. On this podcast episode, I'm going to be giving some tips and suggestions for making cross-country moves, starting over somewhere fresh without a job and what to do with extra cash when you get a big promotion. On This Podcast Episode: I'm chatting about three awesome questions in this podcast episode. Tune in to hear my suggestions to t...

You'd think when you arrive in the U.S. getting set up financially would be easy. Not so fast. When Warren Hogarth of Empower came to the U.S. from Austrailia in 2004 he quickly realized he was at a disadvantage with all things financial - getting credit and building your credit was no easy task. On This Podcast Episode: I had a candid conversation with Warren about his transition to the U.S. and...

The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is $33,391 according to Business Insider and from my experience, many of us spend money on items in our wedding that might not be the most beneficial to our bank account. I recently was a guest on Aleisha McCormak's Bridechilla podcast, so I figured it would great to have Aleisha share with you some of her favorite wedding do's and don'ts when it comes to...

Let’s face it, the cruise industry does even get what a traveler in their 40s wants to do, see, and explore and they certainly do not know what an experience is these days. Let alone an experienced millennial traveler in their 20s and 30s just like you. So when you're thinking about where to spend your travel dollars...if you're anything like me, you're looking for an experience. When we think of...

I'm dedicating today's podcast episode to an Ask Shannah question that came in a couple of weeks ago from Tabitha and Robert: "Hey Shannah, I'm reading a lot of articles that talk about the extreme side of personal finance and I find myself falling prey to the stereotypes that I'm not succeeding in my finances unless I'm 100% debt-free and that just seems impossible to me. I read all these article...

Now that we're well past tax-time, I wanted to reboot an episode that will help you give your 401(k) a little love. It's quite possible that fees may be eating your 401(k) returns and you aren't even aware of it. There is a lot of confusion out there about how 401(k)s even work, let alone that some funds may be costing you a bundle. Let's demystify some of that!   On This Podcast Episode: I'm rebo...

Ok, let's get real for a minute here. We're all familiar with the term prenup, whether you're a fan or not. However, did you know that there is a new marriage trend - the postnuptial agreement? Just as it sounds, it's a legal agreement that is formed after you're married for a myriad of reasons. Let's go straight to the source, Chicago-based attorney Jennifer Guimond-Quigley to demystify this new...

There are so many money apps and programs on the market that it's hard to know which one is the "best." Unfortunately, you usually have to try a few before you find the one that is going to be your money bff. Not to worry though, I've tried just about all of them and I'm giving you the down low on some of my favorites.  On This Podcast Episode: I'm breaking down some of the best of the best money...

We have such a broad audience on this podcast, which is something I’m proud of. We've got listeners of all ages looking for some money wisdom. One thing that is universal, no matter what decade you find yourself in, is the desire to make smart money moves along the way. Who's with me? On This Podcast Episode: Have you ever wondered what you should be doing with your money, or focusing on, now that...

Whether you believe in karma or a higher power or just good old juju coming from the universe, sometimes two roads can lead to one path in our lives. That’s exactly what happened with my husband Jeff and myself a few years back and that’s what happened with this week’s musical guests, the Young Fables. Laurel Wright and Wes Lunsford (the Young Fables) are a dynamic duo of singer-songwriters that s...

Saving money seems to be the Achilles heel for most of us. Either you can't seem to figure out how to get out of the endless paycheck-to-paycheck cycle or you are on the other end of the spectrum and saving so much that you're also not having a lot of fun in life. Saving money is one of the core personal finance principles but just like my guest, Jamila Souffrant, you have to figure out what you'r...

The Ask Shannah questions are piling up so today I'm tackling two questions that I feel will resonate with you.  On This Podcast Episode: Question #1 - How Much Should I Have Invested (and saved) At Certain Ages - while there are some common goals that are often suggested by personal finance experts, there isn't a hard-fast number for how much you should have invested and saved. Even if you haven'...

We've all heard of those people who launch online businesses and make a million dollars, and yet it all still seems a bit unbelievable. Almost on accident, Melyssa Griffin transformed her once website design job into a multi-million dollar online business teaching others how to transform their own business...but at the end of the day, she felt a bit purposeless. Something I think we all can relate...

Whatever career path or life choices we take with our lives may often time require a backup plan if something does not work out how we envision. But, what if we have one vision for our lives and no matter how long it takes or how much hard work comes with that dream this is exactly the direction we are headed and nothing will stop us or get in our way? Frontman of the power pop/rock band Jukebox t...

So how do you exactly build wealth? That is the trillion dollar question. While there isn't one way to answer that question, there are some steps that you can take to begin to build your own definition of wealth (and I'm not talking about having millions of dollars in your bank account). The art of building wealth starts with thinking about your money in a different way than you have in the past a...

Even though much of the U.S. has been blanketed with snow, rain and cold weather it’s actually spring right now – many are spring breaking as we listen to this episode. On This Podcast Episode: It is never too early or too late for that matter to start planning your epic summer vacation plans or maybe a fall/winter escape in the offseason. Whatever travel plans that may float your boat, we want yo...

It’s 2018, and if you ask me, it’s time to do things better and definitely more affordable. Thanks to technology, we’re seeing a lot of our money transactions transform before our eyes. Think about how we save money with apps like Acorns, invest online with companies like Betterment, and on this podcast episode we’re talking about redefining the banking and mortgage process with two companies (Ban...

You're at work, doing your job, day in and day out, and the struggle is real. You've got a crazy co-worker that you share a cubicle with who is always telling you stories of their latest adventures and a boss who is completely unapproachable. Or maybe you're just trying to figure out how in the heck to ask for a promotion. We're calling in Matt Ritter from the Safe For Work podcast to answer all y...

Sometimes the workplace can get crazy and messy, there's where the podcast Safe For Work comes in. Join the former head of marketing for Nike, NatGeo, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, Liz Dolan and recovering lawyer turned comedian and executive recruiter, Matt Ritter as they take your calls about the workplace and help you get through Monday to Friday with a little less stress, more confidence and...

Have you ever found yourself asking baffling questions like: How do I grab fear by the ears and snarl at it? What is my anxiety telling me? What are the pivotal plot points of my life? You and me both! We're going to get answers to some of those questions on this podcast episode and hopefully inspire you to continue being the best version of yourself. On This Podcast Episode: Paul Angone, the auth...

Recently we went to see one of our favorite Irish singers, Glen Hansard and he was telling about his first visit to Los Angeles. He had a quote about how to really get to know a place or culture, “If you want to learn about a place, read the history books. If you want to get to know a place, listen to their songs.” This is so true and we love exploring so many genres of music. These days it seems...

Saving up potentially a lot of money for the down payment to buy your home can seem like a very daunting process. I know when I bought my first home it felt like I was scraping money together in every direction just to find enough to "make it work." Unfortunately, in many cities, the cost of entry for buying your first home has only become more and more expensive - hello San Francisco, New York, L...

Today's country music has been transformed, as the influence of hip-hop, rap, pop, and even EDM have become the new mainstream of popular music around the globe. Now, a young Canadian band of actual brothers, Beyond the Sun are breaking down more barriers with their brand of “shuffle-mode” style of country music and a new generation of fans are taking notice of one of Nashville’s most innovative b...

There are a lot of taboos when it comes to investing. I must be rich to start investing, or I’ll lose all my money if I start investing, or I don’t have a clue where to start investing…so I’ll be fine if I never do. Those may seem silly, but we all have our own taboos when it comes to investing – the good and not-so-good ones. So, let’s dig in and see if we can’t demystify some of those common tab...