Jill On Money With Jill Schlesinger

While it’s always fun talking to authors, CEOs and you on the Better Off podcast, I also enjoy chatting with fellow financial industry journalism colleagues. Doing so allows me to get their take on the state of the industry and to talk about what they’ve been covering, what has them jazzed and what they see coming in the weeks and months ahead. Our guest this week, Liz Weston, is a total financial nerd, so I guess it’s fitting that Liz works as a columnist for NerdWallet, a personal finance website that offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options when making financial decisions.  Liz is also a CFP® and has been covering the industry for many years. She started her career on the politics beat but that got old quickly. She transitioned into personal finance and has been writing full-time since 1994.  Even though Liz knows her stuff, it was very interesting to hear her talk about how she has used an insurance agent, a tax pro, an estate planner and even has her own financial plan

We love starting them young on Better Off, and that's certainly the case with Kevin from Maryland, our latest BONUS call. Kevin, just 23 years old, want's to make sure he has all his finances in order before starting medical school later this summer. His main question is what he should do with an old 401(k) plan. What criteria should he consider before rolling it over? Can he do it on his own or does he need a financial planner? All very good and common questions that will likely apply to some of you listening. Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/  https://twitter.com/jillonm

Imagine a world without companies like Apple, or media outlets such as CBS or NBC, without all of the cars and trucks crisscrossing the country, without food provided by the farmer...that’s what would happen if Wall Street did not exist...it would all go away, according to this week’s Better Off guest, writer William “Bill” Cohan. If you’ve read some of his previous books, like "House of Cards," or “Money and Power”, you know Bill is usually not one to shy away from going after Wall Street and its shortcomings. But in an interesting twist, Bill’s recent book, "Why Wall Street Matters," is a defense of the industry that he has pilloried. In our interview, Bill describes a poor decision by Elizabeth Warren as the catalyst that propelled him to write this latest book. He tells us what Wall Street has done well, like providing the necessary capital to companies, which in turn allows them to invest, expand and hire, thus propelling overall economic growth. Don’t be mistaken: Bill knows that Wall Street and t

This week we have one of the more interesting BONUS calls that we've taken on Better Off. You know, life isn't always as we plan it...it's not always a simple, straight line. Things come up, especially health related items that can make it difficult when doing a financial plan. Mike from Tennessee falls into this category. Given some recent poor test scores, and the fact that his father died of a heart attack at 59, Mike, currently 49, wants to retire early. The good news is that Mike and his wife have a nest egg of about $2.5 million. Given that Mike is asymptomatic, we hope he lives a long life and is able to reap the rewards in retirement. Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a

It seems everyday there’s a story in the news that involves hacking. Whether it’s a big box retailer, the IRS or Russians hacking the DNC, cyber warfare has become one of the biggest threats in the 21st century and we are all vulnerable. To help you understand the current environment and to learn some of the simple steps we should take to prevent ourselves from becoming a victim, we had to find an expert...a professional hacker. I’m not talking about some random hack...I’m talking about the hacker of all hackers, Kevin Mitnick. This guy is the real deal. So real that after a well publicized pursuit back in the 1990s, he was arrested by the FBI and spent five years in prison, including eight months in solitary confinement. Now a free man, he does consulting work for Fortune 500 companies and the government. Though I should point out that for business cards he uses metal lock pick sets with his name and number on them. Really. In his latest book, The Art of Invisibility, Kevin uses true-life stories to s

Summer is just about upon us which means all those hardworking teachers out there will get a well deserved break. That includes our BONUS caller this week, James from Illinois. What's different about James is that he doesn't necessarily want to take the whole summer off...he actually wants to find a side gig to make some extra cash. Because he lives in a rural area he's not quite sure how to make it happen so he decided to call us for some advice. Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instag

Sometimes a host has to do what a host has to do to land the interview. You could say that was the case with the one and only Michael Lewis, our guest this week on Better Off. It was a few months back that I ran into Michael in the CBS This Morning Green Room and immediately started working my mojo to get him on the podcast. Although it took weeks and weeks of emails to finally make it happen, it was worth the wait. Lewis is such a prolific writer that you’ve probably picked up at least one of his books, including Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short or Flash Boys. In this interview, we discuss his latest work, The Undoing Project. The Undoing Project explores the roots of behavioral economics, a topic that has always fascinated me. I love trying to understand why people make the decisions they do. Trying to figure out how the human mind works. And that’s what this book is all about. It’s starts with the partnership between Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Forty

This week on the BONUS call we’re talking to Chris from Florida who recently inherited 30k from his grandmother. By the way, can I just say what a nice lady his grandma was! Okay, back to Chris…his first move was a smart one as he paid off the remainder of his student loans, about 12k. So now he has 18k and isn’t quite sure what his next move should be. Here’s a hint…he badly needs a car… Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonmoney/ https://www.youtube.com/c/JillSchlesinge

By now you may have seen or heard an interview with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg discussing her recently released new book, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. Although she is the headliner, Sandberg had a co-author on the project -- the incredible Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, professor and accomplished author in his own right. We were lucky enough to land Adam as this week’s Better Off guest. Adam, named Wharton’s top-rated professor for five straight years, has already authored two New York Times bestselling books. Originals explores how individuals champion new ideas and leaders fight groupthink and Give and Take examines why helping others drives our success. His latest project with Sandberg focuses on resilience and how to use it in everyday life to become better off, a core theme of our podcast. Life isn’t always a smooth ride and inevitably you’re going to have to deal with some bumps in the road. Whether it’s the loss of a lo

This week on the BONUS call we're going to the Pacific Northwest where we found Chris from Spokane, Washington. Chris, who is only 40 years old, is maxing out his 401(k) and his Roth IRA and also has an emergency reserve. On top of all that, he has an extra 2k each month and isn't sure what to do with it. Should he keep saving for retirement or can he ease up a bit and do something else with the extra cash? Nice problem to have, huh? Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonm

Bernie Madoff is perhaps the most notorious name in the history of Wall Street. By now we all know the story. Madoff conducted a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest in U.S. history. Over the course of decades, Madoff stole billions of dollars from his clients and finally, amid the financial crisis of 2008, the crime came to a screeching halt. How on earth was he able to pull it off for so long, when there were plenty of warning signs and whistleblowers who tried to alert regulators that something was amiss? One of the journalists covering the scandal was Diana Henriques, then a staff reporter at The New York Times, who specialized in investigative reporting on white-collar crime, market regulation and corporate governance. Diana used her countless hours of work as the lead reporter on the story as a catalyst to write the bestselleing book, The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust. Diana had incredible access, including the first interview with an imprisoned Madoff. I was

Nowadays it's a common occurrence to change jobs every few years, if not every few months. That means at some point you're going to have at least one, likely more, retirement accounts from past jobs. What should you do with them? Should you consolidate? That's what Andrew from Chicago was calling about on the latest BONUS call. He has about 100k in an old retirement account and was wondering if he should roll it into something new or just leave it where it is. The answer may surprise you... Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.f

It’s officially that time of year when college grads throw their caps high into the air and prepare to enter the real world. Just a few short years ago, these graduates were among the four million students who began their journeys at the nation’s colleges and universities. While those four years are supposed to be the best years of your life, for many, they turn out to be the most stressful they’ll experience. They can be so stressful that, by the end of freshman year, 30% of students drop out. That’s where today’s guests enter the picture. Dan Lerner and Alan Schlechter team-teach a course at New York University called The Science of Happiness. From this wildly successful class, they recently released the book, “U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life).” Let me stress that last part of the title…”and life.” This is not a book just for students—it’s for everyone. Using fascinating science and real-life stories, Dan and Alan bring a similar focus to the Better Off podcast: They try to help you bet

Today on the BONUS call we're chatting with Doug in Miami who initially called to ask about an old 401(k) plan and what he should do with it. As you'll hear, the call quickly turned into Doug, 35 years old, wanting to retire at 50. Can he do it? Does he have enough saved? Is it a smart move? Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonmoney/ https://www.youtube.com/c/JillSchlesinger https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillonmoney/ https://soundcloud.com/jill-schlesinger http://www.

Technology has made our financial lives better and simpler. From banking and investing to shopping and planning a vacation, many of our daily necessities are just a click away. Thanks to Haven Life, you can now add life insurance to the mix. If you’ve ever applied for life insurance coverage, you know that it can be painful. From the multi-page applications to medical exams and records, it used to take weeks, if you were lucky. Founded by our guest, Yaron Ben-Zvi, Haven Life is leveraging technology in order to disrupt the life insurance process and experience. Mark, our producer here at “Better Off,” recently became a customer and couldn’t believe how easy and painless the process was: “I just calculated how much coverage I needed and was covered in about 20 minutes. No joke!” Yaron says that the company's goal is to provide an easier, faster, just plain better way to provide coverage of up to $1 million, by offering: -Simple online application process -No medical exam for qualified, healthy applicants

On the BONUS call this week we talked to John from Houston who had some questions about reducing his tax liability once retirement rolls around. John and his wife are in great shape...these guys are serious savers which has allowed them to sock away $700k in retirement savings with many years left to add to the pot. It was a success as we were able to open John's eyes about the benefits of using his Roth 401(k) plan at work. Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonmoney/ https:

I never take it for granted how fortunate I am to have my job. Let’s be honest, it’s not really a job when you’re doing what you love. And that’s what I get to do as a journalist covering personal finance and economics. With the “job” comes the opportunity to meet many smart, interesting and influential people, some of whom are legit heavyweights within their specific industries and in the world at large. Today’s Better Off guest, the esteemed Dr. Mohamed El-Erian, falls into that category. Of all of the economists and financial services executives that I have been privileged to interview, Mohamed is one of the few who can distill and communicate complicated ideas in a way that all of us can understand. That’s why we’re keeping him around for two episodes...there’s just too much knowledge in his brain to squeeze into one show. While you may have seen or read Dr. El-Erian before—as a guest on CNBC, a LinkedIn Influencer, a columnist for “Bloomberg View,” a contributing editor to the “Financial Times,”

You're getting ready to buy a new home and have the cash to purchase it outright...should you? Or should you take on a mortgage? That's what Dwayne from Illinois was wondering and we answered his question on the latest BONUS call of the week. Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com and we'll arrange to get you on. Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating or review in iTunes. Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonmoney/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4j5YsSRTE6PuY0ZNhBFcQ/videos https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillonmoney/ https://soundcloud.com/jill-schlesinger http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jill-on-money http:/

I never take it for granted how fortunate I am to have my job. Let’s be honest, it’s not really a job when you’re doing what you love. And that’s what I get to do as a journalist covering personal finance and economics. With the “job” comes the opportunity to meet many smart, interesting and influential people, some of whom are legit heavyweights within their specific industries and in the world at large. Today’s Better Off guest, the esteemed Dr. Mohamed El-Erian, falls into that category. Of all of the economists and financial services executives that I have been privileged to interview, Mohamed is one of the few who can distill and communicate complicated ideas in a way that all of us can understand. That’s why we’re keeping him around for two episodes...there’s just too much knowledge in his brain to squeeze into one show. While you may have seen or read Dr. El-Erian before—as a guest on CNBC, a LinkedIn Influencer, a columnist for “Bloomberg View,” a contributing editor to the “Financial Times,”

This week on the BONUS call we once again chatted student loans with Andrea from New York City...but this time it wasn't about how to pay them off. After many years Andrea is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and will soon be throwing a party to celebrate. FYI, Mark and I are still waiting for our invite. Anyway, now that the loan will soon be gone, Andrea is wondering what she should do next. I love talking to young people who are interested in bettering their financial lives! Don't forget, a brand new episode of the Better Off podcast comes out Thursday so stay tuned for more listener questions plus an informative interview. Better Off is sponsored by Betterment. Please let us know what you think by leaving a rating in iTunes. Have a question? Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices