Money Unplugged with Chris Hill

An award-winning journalist and longtime Marketplace Radio veteran, Tess Vigeland faced two very different career paths when she was thinking about college. But for someone who earned acclaim for hosting a show about money, it turns out the topic was less compelling to her than finding the best way to tell stories about money. From her home in Portland, Oregon, Tess shares: - Growing up in a home...

Before he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, before he was the author of bestselling books like The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection , Charles Duhigg learned about money at the dinner table with his nine siblings. In this conversation he shares: - The creative ways his father, an attorney, would impart lessons about valuation - Why he belie...

When he was in grade school, Malcolm Ethridge created a business with great economics: Buy a box of Fruit Roll-Ups for $5 and sell them individually to his classmates for $2 apiece. While the school’s administrators disapproved, it turned out to be an early sign of the work ethic he would carry throughout his life. Now a certified financial planner, founder of the Capital Area Planning Group, and...

We’re celebrating July 4th with three of our favorite stories from guests about financial freedom and independence, including:  - Clark Howard on how smart financial habits can “create freedom in your life” - Linda Rottenberg on setting up bank accounts with your significant other - David Brancaccio on what he wished he’d known earlier in life about money Opening clip - “Heist” Got a favorite stor...

“I submitted a fraudulent birth certificate to McDonald's so I could work there.” Just because Robert Brokamp was studying to become a priest doesn’t mean he didn’t bend the occasional rule when he was younger. Now recognized as one of the top personal finance experts in America, he’s written or co-authored thousands of articles and several books on the topic of money. In this conversation Ro...

“Talking about money was analogous to talking about religion. You just didn't do it.” Growing up in Ireland, Emmet Savage learned about investing from his father. While he would go on to become the co-founder and Chief Investor at MyWallSt, and co-creator of the investment conference Investicon, his early career was in a completely different industry. In this candid conversation Emmet shares:...

”It's great to save, it's great to be putting things aside. But make sure that so long as you're hitting those savings goals that you're treating yourself at some point.” For as far back as he can remember, Joe Magyer was interested in investing. Encouraged and taught by his grandfather, he studied business and finance before stepping into a career in the investing world. Takin...

“The original plan was always for me to go to school and live that typical life. But it didn't work out, so I had to make my own plan.” Before the age of 20, Greg Haygood spent a number of years in what he calls “survival mode”. How did he go from living on his own as a teenager in a homeless shelter to a successful career as a finance executive? Perseverance. From his office in Washington, D...

With more than 30 years of experience as a professional investor, Ron Gross has seen it all. Through bull markets and notable downturns (like the Dot-com Bubble of the early 2000s), he has learned a few of his lessons the hard way too. In a wide-ranging conversation Ron shares: - The best & worst parts of running a hedge fund - A creative way his father celebrated his annual bonus - His experi...

“I wanted to either be a U.S. Marshal and catch fugitives or start a garden center.”   Dreaming of two very different career paths led James Early to pursue a college degree in finance. From there he has made his career as an investment analyst and entrepreneur. And despite amassing a remarkable track record in picking stocks, he confesses he’s actually not as good with money as he probably should...

All of unhappiness in life is unmet expectations. Apply that to money and something clicks — most financial stress isn't about what you have. It's about the gap between what you expected and what arrived. Bill Barker spent seven years as a lawyer, a stint tracking terrorist assets for the U.S. Treasury Department, and eventually built a career as a senior analyst at The Motley Fool — a p...

“The best stuff is not just sitting out available. The best stuff is behind a door, down a hallway, up a hill.” How does someone succeed in an industry where the majority of businesses close within five years? It helps to have the right mindset. Dan Simons, co-founder of the Founding Farmers, fell in love with restaurants when he started working at one while he was in college. The more he learned...

“We'd be having dinner and running low on ketchup. My mom would go over to the sink, fill up the bottle with water, give it a shake, and guess what? We had more ketchup!” The grandchild of Italian immigrants, Tobin Anthony grew up in a home where his parents knew how to stretch a dollar. It was also a home that inspired him to reach for the stars, literally. Long before he earned his PhD in a...

“One of my first real experiences was recognizing the fact that there is a huge difference between good management and bad management.” As the Chief Investment Strategist at Motley Fool Asset Management, Bill Mann keeps an eye on investment opportunities around the world.  But his education in business analysis started when he was growing up in North Carolina and working at one of the best-known f...

“Having patience in life, especially in investing, is such a valuable quality.”    Where does someone learn the value of patience? For Jason Moser it was a lesson reinforced throughout his life in different places (including the golf course). Jason shares:   - What he learned in his first job   - The college degree he almost got   - Effective ways to teach kids about money and investing   - Why he...

Clark Howard has spent decades helping people make smarter decisions with their money—and avoid costly mistakes along the way. In this episode, the longtime consumer advocate and personal finance expert joins Chris Hill to share timeless advice on saving, spending, and investing. Clark explains why small decisions matter more than flashy strategies, and how a long-term mindset can lead to better f...

“I didn't feel fear. I just saw that prices were down much more than where they had been. So I just put a little money in without thinking about it too much.” When Jeff Fischer was 17 years old he bought his first stock right after the infamous Black Monday crash of 1987. From his home in Washington, DC, he shares:   - The money lesson he learned from “The Price Is Right”   - How his investin...

How does a person become an expert in two COMPLETELY different professions? As an attorney, Nell Minow has publicly fought for the rights of individual shareholders as one of America’s foremost experts in corporate governance. But for the past 30 years she’s also been an award-winning film critic.  From her home in Virginia, Nell shares:   - The investing lesson she wishes she’d learned earlier  ...

Becky Quick grew up saving nickels in a peanut butter jar, washing cars for five dollars a pop, and babysitting from age 12 to save up for an $80 denim skirt — which her younger brothers promptly ripped the first time she wore it. Money was never abstract in her household. Her father was a geologist who followed the oil market from state to state, and when oil crashed in the eighties, the family f...

“What I like the most about personal finance is actually not the money moving around. It’s what you can learn about people.” As a longtime host and senior editor at Marketplace, David Brancaccio has covered some of the most important financial stories of the past four decades. An award-winning journalism career that has spanned TV, documentary filmmaking, and books began when he took his first job...

“Have a plan B, but if you don't try for the plan A? You will live to regret it.”  What does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur?  As the co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg has spent her career helping entrepreneurs around the world answer that question. In the process she has earned numerous accolades, including being named one of Time Magazine’s “Innovators For The 21st Cent...

“Don’t yell at the stock market.” After decades of reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, CNBC’s Bob Pisani has learned that lesson—and many others—the hard way. His stories and insights are captured in his terrific book, Shut Up and Keep Talking: Lessons on Life and Investing from the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange . In a conversation recorded just off the NYSE floor, Bob...

The youngest of six children, Christine Benz grew up in Chicago earning money as a babysitter and working at a local hardware shop. When her post-college plans to work in international affairs didn’t quite work out, she found a home with another local business: Morningstar. Currently the company’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, Christine discusses:  - How retirement planning...

Growing up in Ohio, money issues in Dan Pink’s home were like a cloud that caused “an endless drizzle” over him and his family. Even today, despite having written five New York Times bestsellers, his earliest encounters with finance play a role in his conservative mindset when it comes to money.  The author of “The Power Of Regret” and “Drive” sits down for a revealing conversation and discusses:...

Morgan Housel believes the biggest investing mistakes have very little to do with intelligence—and everything to do with behavior. In this conversation, the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money joins Chris Hill to talk about how people really make decisions about investing, risk, and wealth over time. Morgan shares why long-term success in the stock market depends more on temperament than...