NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Protect yourself from sophisticated holiday shopping scams and explore the psychology behind changing your money mindset. 01:07 This Week in Your Money: Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss tactics for avoiding three common money scams, including social media ad scams, charity scams, and gift card scams. 10:08 Today’s Money Question: Sean and Sara answer a listener’s question about how to cha...

Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer real-world money questions. In this episode:  Nerds Sean Pyles and Kimberly Palmer speak with Farnoosh Torabi, author of the new book, “A Healthy State of Panic.” She explains how we can use our fears as a superpower to make better decisions when it comes to finances, career and life. Torabi is a personal finance expert and host of the “...

Uncover the true cost of making financial decisions (and financial indecision) and get tips for shopping for a new bank. 01:19 This Week in Your Money: Explore the concept of financial opportunity cost and the trade-offs we make with our money with hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner. They discuss the risks associated with sticking with the status quo, the importance of periodically reassessing your...

Learn which prices are slowing down—or even dropping—as a result of deflation, including your Thanksgiving feast. Before focusing on price deflation, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski explore recent financial updates, including the rising income among first-time homebuyers, the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) ratifying new contracts with the Big Three automakers, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday...

Do you really need money to be happy? Or is money the reason you’re unhappy? Either way, chances are your relationship to money and happiness is a little, well, messy.  To kick off this Nerdy deep dive into money and happiness, Sean talks with happiness experts Gretchen Rubin and Robert Puff to understand what happiness really means. Then Sean talks with Morgan Housel, author of “The Psychology of...

Learn tactics to make and manage a budget, understand credit scores, and manage debt to improve your financial health. 02:02 Budgeting Basics: Personal Finance Nerd Elizabeth Ayoola discusses how you can create and stick to a budget. She explains how to use the 50-30-20 method to allocate your income, gives tips on how to adjust your budget to fit your needs, and methods for budgeting and stretchi...

Delve into recent stock market developments. Plus, tax bracket adjustments. Before taking an in-depth look at what’s going on in the stock and bond markets, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski delve into the recent developments in personal finance news. They start by breaking down the latest inflation numbers. Then, they discuss the concerning increase in credit card delinquencies, shedding light o...

Craft your holiday shopping plan with Black Friday insights, then understand options for buying a home in today’s market. 01:24 This Week in Your Money: Unlock the secrets of savvy shopping by learning about the biggest sales events of the year. Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss the holiday shopping season with Personal Finance Nerd Tommy Tindall, who talks about the value of shopping on B...

Understand employer-provided benefits, from dental and vision coverage to more unique perks like legal assistance. In the third and final episode of our special series on open enrollment, hosts Sean Pyles and Liz Weston discuss the various benefits that employers offer during open enrollment season aside from health insurance. Liz speaks with Amber Clayton (Society for Human Resource Management) a...

Learn how recent headlines could impact your finances, including a federal real estate ruling and new employment figures. Hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski start by dissecting the latest monthly jobs report and its potential impact on the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies, then explain how a recent federal jury's decision on real estate agent commissions could reshape the way homes are bou...

Learn about two quick credit tips, 403b and 529 plans, delinquencies on old loans, and budgeting when you only get paid once a month. 01:11 This Week in Your Money: Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner provide two quick tips for improving credit scores. The first tip involves credit utilization, which is the amount of available credit that you're using. They also discuss the option of asking for an i...

Explore coverage options to protect your income in worst-case scenarios, such as life insurance and disability insurance. Hosts Sean Pyles and Liz Weston discuss the importance of insurance coverage, highlighting statistics around how many people are underinsured or lack adequate coverage. To dive deeper into different types of coverage, Liz welcomes Insurance Nerd Ryan Brady and John Ryan, founde...

Understand the costs of renting versus buying a home. Plus: the UAW strike, GDP growth, debit card fees, and AI policy. Before discussing housing affordability, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski review noteworthy financial headlines, including an update on the UAW strike against major US automakers, the latest Commerce Department numbers on GDP growth, debit card merchant fees, and the White Hous...

Hear Nerds’ “financial horror stories” and explore solutions for paying credit card debt, from 401k loans to bankruptcy. 01:20 This Week in Your Money: Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner share their personal “financial horror” stories, including Sean’s rejected credit card application and what happened to some of Sara’s retirement account funds. They’re cautionary tales that will help you make sure...

Expert Nerds talk through the complexities of open enrollment, starting with ways to assess healthcare plans and costs. This episode takes a deep dive into specific terminology and scenarios relevant to choosing health insurance coverage. Hosts Sean Pyles and Liz Weston start with an overview of open enrollment period timelines for November and December 2023 before welcoming guest Nerd Kate Ashfor...

Learn practical financial tips to save on rising commuting costs as workers increasingly return to the office. Before discussing the rising costs of commuting, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski review noteworthy financial headlines, including the Federal Reserve's influence on interest rates, the latest Commerce Department report on retail sales, the Mercer CFA Institute’s Global Pension Index ra...

Get budgeting tips for conventions and hobbies straight from New York Comic Con, then learn about money saving strategies for car and home insurance. 01:20 This Week in Your Money: Having just returned from New York Comic Con, host Sean Pyles discusses what he learned about budgeting for conventions, hobbies and cosplay outfits. He also shares an interview with Kayden Phoenix, a Los Angeles-based...

Understand the financial and legal challenges in LGBTQ+ health care, including HIV treatment and gender-affirming surgery. NerdWallet’s Sean Pyles and Sam Taube delve into the intricate financial and legal issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community regarding their health care. They start by exploring the struggle to prevent and treat HIV, focusing on the effectiveness and financial burden related to pre...

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Learn how to plan for the golden years with a deep dive into long-term care, Social Security, Medicare and estate planning. 3:23 Long-Term Care Insurance: Kate Ashford, a certified senior advisor specializing in Medicare and retirement topics, discusses the intricacies of long-term care insurance, including exactly what Medicare covers in terms of long-term care costs. Kate also discusses alternat...

Understand recent and upcoming changes in costs and access to reproductive care, as well as resources to manage them. This episode delves into the complex and ever-changing landscape of reproductive care costs. Hosts Sean Pyles and Sam Taube discuss the financial implications of recent high-profile court cases, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision, which...

Learn how removing medical debt from credit reports will protect consumers. Plus: rising interest rates and falling stock prices. Before discussing news from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that could reshape the way medical debt impacts your credit score, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski discuss the latest news around student loan forgiveness, rising auto and mortgage rates, and...

Learn why it’s a good time to check your credit card interest rates, and why to start planning your holiday travel now. 01:03 This Week in Your Money: NerdWallet’s Rosalie Murphy joins host Sean Pyles to discuss rising credit card interest rates and how they can impact debt repayment. They offer tips on adapting to higher interest rates and how you may be able to negotiate a lower rate or payment...

Understand how legal restrictions and policies are increasing health care costs, especially for marginalized communities. This episode explores rising health care prices at the intersection of law, policy and personal health decisions. Investing Nerd Sam Taube interviews Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan, a senior policy associate on the health care equity and reform team at the Century Foundation, about th...

Learn about federal student loan payments resuming, alongside an analysis of this week’s biggest financial stories. Before discussing this week’s resumption of federal student loan payments after a three-and-a-half-year pause due to the pandemic, hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski break down this week’s most relevant financial headlines. The discuss the recently averted government shutdown, the im...