rich & REGULAR with Kiersten and Julien Saunders

Holiday shopping has a way of making even a reasonable budget feel inadequate. Between gifts, gatherings, school events, and all the little things that pop up between now and December, there's almost always something you forgot to account for. And while there's no shortage of advice about how to spend less during the holidays, we're interested in something a little different – how t...

Isn’t it funny how we’ll side-eye Netflix over a $2 price increase, but somehow let a credit card quietly charge us $500, $700, even $895 a year without asking nearly as many questions? This episode is about why we give those increases so much more grace, and whether we should. Once you’ve convinced yourself you’re the kind of person who knows how to “maximize the benefits,” the annual fee can sta...

Groceries are expensive, eating out is expensive, and somehow the advice for spending less on food is still “make a list.” Meanwhile, feeding yourself has gotten weirdly strategic these days. Between higher prices, smaller packages, busy schedules, food waste, and recalls, the smartest grocery strategy is simply getting better at buying for the life you actually live. So in this episode, we’re sha...

Part 1 was Julien’s version of what happened, this is the part where I get to talk lol. Because apparently, one of the side effects of a family emergency is finding out exactly what you disagree about when everybody’s tired, somebody’s in pain, and your normal division of labor has completely fallen apart. The injury may have been his, but the emergency affected all 3 of us, which meant we all had...

We’re back! We’ve been gone for months, and a lot of you have asked where we’ve been. The answer starts with a freak accident at Beau’s baseball practice, but that’s only the beginning.  What followed was surgery, months without being able to walk, a crash course in pain management, caregiving, muscle loss, mental health, and learning the limits of “for better or worse.”  Julien starts with his si...

This week, we’re talking about what’s really going on in the AI layoff era, and why the way you interpret that moment matters almost as much as the layoff itself.  If all you hear is “a robot replaced me,” it’s easy to spiral, panic pivot, and start solving the wrong problem. But if you know how to read the room, you can make smarter decisions about your career, your money, and where to go from he...

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 st...

There’s a casino in everybody’s pocket now, and it’s wearing a jersey. This week’s episode is about sports gambling, why it’s exploding right now, and the data that should make you pause before you normalize it in your house, your group chat, or your relationship. We promise this isn’t an anti-fun sermon, it’s a reality check. If you’re someone who sports bets but has real limits in place…tell us...

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 g...

This week, we’re joined by Brenton Harrison, founder of New Money New Problems. Brenton is a financial advisor who works with first- and second-generation high earners. We’re talking about how to tell the difference between quality financial advice and misinformation/scammy advice, making sense of what you hear online, and why not all “good advice” is good for YOU.  And because we live in the real...

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...

This week we’re talking to Rahkim Sabree, author, financial trauma educator, and the person who basically put “financial trauma” on the map for a lot of the internet. His work connects money behaviors to nervous system responses, family systems, and broader cultural and structural realities. His book, Overcoming Financial Trauma, and his whole approach are research-heavy, emotionally honest, and b...

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...

There’s nothing like a surprise utility bill to humble your whole household. If you’ve ever stared at a bill wondering ‘how?!’ well, let’s talk about it.  This week on the rich & REGULAR podcast, we're breaking down emotional manipulation, confusing rate plans, and overlooked hacks that are costing you real money on your gas, electric, and water bills. This isn’t about living in the dark...

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 persona...

Today’s episode is brought to you by Nutre Meals , a practical solution for eating better at home when you don’t have time, energy, or interest in cooking every night. The meals come fully prepared, fresh, and ready to heat in minutes. We tried them and were honestly impressed by the flavor, portions, and how easy it was to work them into a real week. If dinner feels like one more thing on your li...

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 certa...

Kiersten here. This week’s episode is a solo one, and it’s inspired by a book I just finished called The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel.  If you’re familiar with The Psychology of Money , you already know Morgan’s style: short chapters, clean sentences, and big ideas. This new book is about spending but not the kind most people are struggling with. In this episode, I unpack: Who this book...

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 voluntee...

Kiersten here. It’s just me this week. It’s been two years since my ADHD diagnosis, and in that time I’ve learned a lot. In this episode, I’m sitting down solo to unpack what this label actually changed, what it didn’t, and what I’ve had to unlearn about focus, money, and identity along the way. I’m revisiting the journey to speak directly to anyone navigating their own diagnosis (or the suspicion...

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, &...

It’s that time again…open enrollment season. And while we know this topic doesn’t get anyone out of bed in the morning, it SHOULD . Because buried in that HR email you ignored is a decision that could cost or save you thousands. This week, we’re breaking down why so many people just auto-renew last year’s health plan, what rising premiums in 2026 actually mean for your wallet, and how AI can help...

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 thought What’s driving double-digit rate hikes (even if you’ve never filed a claim) How your dog...

Food prices are up (again), takeout is 4x more expensive than eating at home, and yet somehow..dinner still ends up on your doorstep. That’s exactly why we created Eat Better , a new video series that makes home cooking feel doable, even if you're not “a cooking person.” In this episode, we're breaking down why so many people aren’t cooking at home, and what it really takes to change tha...

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,...