HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Latest Episodes:

The Cost of People-Pleasing: Sari Botton on Money, Reinvention, and Finding Yourself Later in Life Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever looked up and realized you've been living someone else's version of your life? Sari Botton, editor and writer behind Oldster Magazine and author of And You May Find Yourself: Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen X Weirdo, knows that feeling intimately. And she's turned it into a body of work that has resonated with hundreds of thousands of people.

In this episode:

The financial cost of people-pleasing and deferring to others on money
How women in the Oldster community have reinvented themselves professionally in their 50s, 60s, and beyond
Why we put off wills and end-of-life planning, and what it actually costs us
The "compare and despair" trap around money milestones

Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck. It's the guide to building the retirement income you need, so you can stop lying awake wondering if you'll have enough and actually start living.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 534: The Aging and Money Mistakes We Swear We Won't Make (And Then Make Anyway) Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

We all have a list… things we watched our parents do as they got older and swore we'd never do ourselves. We'd stay active. We'd embrace technology. We'd get the hearing aid. And then life happens. Washington Post columnist and author Steven Petrow has been thinking about this for nearly 20 years, and he joins Jean today to talk about the aging and money mistakes we make despite our very best intentions, and how to find your way back to joy even in the darkest chapters.

Steven is the author of Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old and his latest book, The Joy You Make, and he brings his signature honesty and humor to conversations about aging, money, loss, and starting over.

In this episode, we cover:

Why we all turn into our parents in the end, and why that's not entirely a bad thing
How Steven found joy after losing both parents, going through a divorce, and watching his sister Julie battle Stage 4 ovarian cancer, all in the same year
Why joy isn't the fireworks, and the small, everyday moments that actually sustain us

Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is your guide to building a secure, steady income stream so you can age on your own terms and actually enjoy the retirement you've worked so hard for.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I'm 62 with $1M saved. Should my husband and I get a divorce to protect our retirement?" Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Nobody wants to think about the possibility of losing their spouse to Alzheimer's. But what if planning ahead meant considering something as unexpected as divorce? That's exactly the question Susan is grappling with today.

Susan is 62, still working, and earning around $100K a year. Her husband is 65 and already retired. Together they've built a solid financial foundation — over $778K in investments, $181K in savings, and more than $762K in assets, all with no debt. By most measures, they're in great shape. But the potential cost of memory care and assisted living has them worried that everything they've worked for could be wiped out.

In this episode, Jean and Susan cover:

What a "Medicaid divorce" actually is, and whether it's a legitimate financial strategy
How Medicaid spend-down rules work and what they mean for married couples
What asset protection strategies exist beyond divorce

How to think through the emotional and financial costs of planning for a spouse's cognitive decline

If today's conversation made you think about how to protect your retirement, Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is the perfect next step.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 533: Living Off Your Acorns: How to Plan for All 4 Phases of Retirement Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

What if the most important phase of retirement is the one nobody talks about? This week, Jean sits down with Dana Anspach, CFP, to walk through the four phases of retirement outlined in her new book, Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement, including the phase she argues matters most of all: the Pre-Go years.

Dana breaks down what to expect at every stage — from building your foundation before you retire, to navigating the emotional and financial shifts that come after — and shares the real stories of clients who had to course-correct, pivot, and reimagine what retirement could look like for them.

In this episode, Jean and Dana cover:

What the Pre-Go phase is, why it matters, and when it typically begins
Why so many high achievers struggle to envision retirement
What a $1 million retirement savings goal actually buys you in 2026
How to course-correct if you're behind on savings in your 50s and 60s

If today's conversation made you think about saving enough for your retirement, Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is the perfect next step.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Economic Freeze: What's Really Happening With Jobs, Housing, and Your Paycheck Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

The economy added 172,000 jobs in May, nearly double what economists expected. So why did consumer sentiment just hit a record low? Why does everything still feel so hard?

In this episode, Jean sits down with Sarah Foster, Personal Finance Reporter at Bloomberg, to break down what's really going on beneath the surface of those headline numbers, and what it means for your job, your home, and your retirement savings.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why keeping your money in a traditional savings account right now means you're slowly losing ground
What the lock-in effect really means for women who want to downsize before retirement
How to think about home equity as a retirement tool
The one financial move Sarah says everyone should make right now

Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is available for pre-order now. It's your guide to building a secure, steady income stream that actually lets you enjoy the retirement you've worked so hard for.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 532: The Truth About Annuities: Busting Myths and Answering Your Biggest Questions Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

Annuities might be one of the most misunderstood financial products out there – and they come with plenty of opinions…as well as questions. Are the fees really that high? Do advisors just push them for the commission? Could an annuity actually be the missing piece of your retirement plan?

On this episode of the HerMoney Podcast, we’re cutting through the noise with two leading experts: Michael Finke and Tamiko Toland of LIMRA’s Retirement Income Institute. They’re busting the biggest annuity myths, answering questions straight from our HerMoney Community and helping you figure out whether this type of protected income deserves a spot in your financial future.

Listen in to hear them cover:

A jargon-free explanation of annuity types and terms to be aware of
What to know if you’re buying an annuity – including how fees work
Whether there’s a “right” age to purchase an annuity
The next steps to take if an annuity sounds right for you

Learn more: Most people want protected income for life. Few realize that’s what annuities provide. This resource from LIMRA covers everything you need to know.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reinventing Your Career in the Age of AI? Jodi Kantor Says YES Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

For white-collar workers, the recent headlines about AI are more than a little bit fear-inducing. AI could automate millions of white-collar jobs within 18 months. College graduates are booing commencement speakers who bring it up. And women — whose jobs are three times more likely to be automated — are falling behind on AI adoption. So what do you actually do?

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor has answers. Her new book, How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work, grew out of a question her Columbia University students asked her that she couldn't shake: how, in this environment, are we supposed to find our life's work? The answer, it turns out, applies just as much to a woman reinventing herself at 52 as it does to a 22-year-old just starting out.

In this episode, Jean and Jodi get into:

The two things every successful, happy person has: craft and need
Why your messy, nonlinear résumé might be your biggest asset right now
How to get a real human being to respond to your job outreach in the age of AI screening
Jodi's three tips for cold outreach that actually work

And if you're thinking about what your financial future looks like through all of this change, pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck — your guide to building income that lasts as long as you do.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 531: The Secret to Retiring With Enough (That Americans Have Used for 300 Years) Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

A new study shows Americans expect to delay retirement by four years as the cost of living rises…and 4 in 10 aren't confident they'll have enough money to last. If that sent you into a spiral, this episode is your permission to exhale.

Historian, real estate investor, and early retiree Joseph S. Moore, PhD, spent years stress-testing three centuries of American financial advice, and what he found will reframe the way you think about retirement. His new book, How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (and Didn't), makes the case that retirement anxiety is nothing new, and that every generation that's felt it has ended up being fine.

Then, Jean sits down with Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow, an award-winning platform that connects women with vetted fiduciary financial advisors who actually understand their lives. Jean and Lacy get refreshingly honest about the money moves they wish they'd made sooner: investing earlier, finding an advisor before they felt "ready," keeping an emergency fund, and having the money conversations they'd been putting off.

Find a fiduciary advisor through Willow: hermoney.com/findanadvisor

📚 Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Lie of Girlboss Feminism: What's Really Holding Women Back Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

We've been told to lean in, speak up, ask for the raise, and take up space. But what happens when doing everything right still isn't enough?

Journalist and financial expert Stefanie O'Connell joins Jean to talk about her deeply researched new book, The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women to Step Up — and Then Pushes Them Down.

In this conversation, Jean and Stefanie dig into why the girlboss era failed us, why women are penalized not for a lack of ambition but because of it, and what we can actually do about it.

They cover:

Why being fluent in the language of empowerment is not the same as actually being empowered
How the ambition penalty follows women outside the workplace
Why you can't outwork inequality, but you can outorganize it
What it really takes to build a life where your ambition is championed, not penalized

And if you loved today's conversation, don't miss Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck — your guide to building a secure, steady income stream that lets you actually enjoy the retirement you've worked so hard for.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep 530: How to Think Like a Millionaire When the Economy Feels Out of Control Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

If you've been feeling financially anxious lately, the numbers back you up. A record 55% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse, and 67% say they're more afraid of running out of money than dying.

This week, Jean sits down with Carrie Joy Grimes, author of the new book The Joy of Money, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about financial anxiety, behavioral science, and exactly what wealthy people are doing with their money right now.

In this episode, we cover:

What wealthy people do differently with their money during volatile markets
The Life Happens Fund: why a basic emergency fund isn't enough and how to build a real financial cushion
The three-step self-compassion practice backed by behavioral science that helps you stop shame-spiraling over money mistakes
The "Good Enough Retirement Vision" exercise that will help you stop feeling paralyzed about the future

And if today's conversation got you thinking about your financial future, don't miss Jean's brand new book, The Forever Paycheck.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected