95: No Spend Challenges

This week’s episode is about decision-making and how to know what’s actually worth it when you work for yourself.We recorded this right after speaking at a conference in Jamaica where we walked through some of our own real-life crossroads as business owners with a group of entrepreneurs. The talk resonated so deeply, the only feedback we got was: “Can you just put this all on one page?”This is our answer to that.We’re talking about those high-stakes, low-certainty moments every entrepreneur, side hustler, or freelancer has to face eventually like what to sell, when to say yes, how to price your work, when to hire help, whether to spend or play it safe. And, maybe most importantly, how to move when the pressure’s on and the money feels tight (or even when it’s flowing).We get into:Why emotional decisions are so expensiveWhat Annie Duke’s poker strategy has to do with entrepreneurshipThe $500 mistake we made early on that cost us doubleHow to protect yourself from thinking too small without blowing your budgetAnd the biggest difference between people who survive in business and people who burn out earlyWhether you’re self-employed, freelancing, or bootstrapping something new, your decision-making process should match the size of what you’re trying to build. If you’ve ever felt like your goals were too big or your fears were too loud… this one’s for you. Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

It's the last Monday of Financial Literacy Month 2025, and unless you’ve been living under a rock or blissfully disconnected, you’ve probably heard the noise about tariffs lately. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports are climbing as high as 145%, with threats to go even higher. And while it’s tempting to think that’s a political issue, the truth is tariffs effect your wallet and budget. In this episode, we’re breaking down what tariffs actually are, how they distort prices, and why understanding how prices are shaped has never been more important. Because if you don't understand how prices are set, you don’t really understand how money moves, and in a world where price tags lie, shrink, surge, and shapeshift every few months, that's not just an economic problem. That's a literacy problem.We cover:Why it’s so hard to  just "make everything in America", even if you want toHow companies quietly pass tariff costs onto you and how to spot itReal-world tools to build price literacy and become a sharper consumer and investorWhat it means to see yourself as part of the global exchange, and why that gives you more financial power, not less.Links: Kim Lewis reel on luxury prices (bonus: watch our interview with Kim here) CamelCamelCamel - Amazon Price TrackerGoogle Chrome Price Tracker  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

This week, we’re breaking down bankruptcy in the way it should’ve been explained all along: without shame, without legal jargon, and without the “womp womp” energy we’ve all been taught to bring to it.You’ve probably heard of Chapter 7. Maybe even Chapter 13. But unless you’ve filed for bankruptcy, or know someone who has, you’ve likely never learned what it actually means.We kick things off with the viral rise of the “debt strike” trend on TikTok and Instagram, where people are publicly declaring they’re done paying back debt and explore what it says about our cultural relationship to money, morality, and relief.Then we get into:What Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 11 actually areWho qualifies and howWhat a “means test” is and how it worksWhat happens to your credit score and your sanityThe real costs (financial, emotional, and social) of filingAnd why bankruptcy might more of a mental health intervention than we give credit for Along the way, we myth-bust the stereotypes and unpack why bankruptcy, like divorce, might just be a legal reset that deserves more empathy and way less side-eye.Links: Episode 174: A spike in bankruptcy (Topic #2)  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

What if we told you there are cities in the U.S. that will pay you to live there?In this episode, we're following up on our popular expat conversation with a deep dive into domestic relocation incentives. We’re talking cash grants, down payment assistance, tax breaks, bikes, and even golf memberships offered by places you may have never considered calling home. Think Jackson, Michigan. Pawnee City, Nebraska. Topeka, Kansas. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Yes, they’re real places, and they’re putting real money on the table.If you’ve ever felt stuck in an expensive city, or fantasized about starting fresh but didn’t know where to start, or if you’re just tired of stretching every dollar, this episode is for you. But before you start packing, let’s talk fine print.We break down:Why the U.S. is basically 50 mini countries in a trench coat (and no, that’s not us being dramatic, it’s federalism)How states differ more than you think, from taxes and politics to culture and cost of livingWhy moving two states over might require just as much mindset work as moving abroadWhat the actual catches are in these incentive programs (spoiler alert: it’s not free money, and yes, some of y’all might have to check in like you’re on parole)How to research a city’s vibe without getting on a plane, from Facebook groups to Yelp reviews to Google Maps street view Links: Episode 205 - Expat Life: how to test the waters and decide if you should dive inMakeMyMove.com – Find relocation incentive programsReddit subs: r/relocating, r/digitalnomadZillow, CNET, NY Post listicles (search “cities that will pay you to move 2025”) Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

Most people aren’t neutral about the idea of living in a car, and that’s exactly why we needed to talk about it.This week, we dig into the stigma, structure, and stories behind van life. It’s not a guide on how to gut a Sprinter or stealth-camp in a Target parking lot, it’s a deeper exploration of what it means to live differently and why that still freaks people out.From the viral story of Dawn Robinson of En Vogue (yes, *that* Dawn) who shared that she’s been living in her car by choice for the past three years, to our personal stories of barbers, truckers, and friends navigating life on the margins of “traditional” housing, we cover the full terrain of what it means to opt out of the norm. Spoiler alert: it’s complicated.We cover:Why alternative housing is still treated as “failure” unless it’s influencer-approvedThe invisible infrastructure that makes van life even possible and why it’s not always fully “off-the-grid”Why HUD, housing policy, and language matter more than you thinkThe difference between choosing van life vs. surviving itHow Black culture relates to nontraditional housing, and why we don’t often see ourselves in the #vanlife aestheticThe emotional, financial, and logistical costs of so-called “freedom”This is one of those “sit with it” episodes. It’s not about romanticizing struggle or glamorizing minimalism, it’s about challenging the way we define dignity, shelter, success, and the American dream.Because let’s be honest: if someone chooses to live in a van and finds peace, why does it make the rest of us so uncomfortable?Listen in. Challenge your definitions. And maybe, just maybe, reconsider what home really means. Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

This week, we’re sharing 3 of our best tips on how to live on a single income. It's a topic that might feel distant, perhaps even undesirable, but for many, it's becoming an increasingly relevant concern.We've lived the single-income life by choice and by circumstance. It's not always pretty, but it can be done. And sometimes, being forced to tighten your belt is the exact kick in the pants you need to get your financial house in order.Whether you choose to live on one income as some kind of FIRE-adjacent power move, or you’re forced into it by circumstances beyond your control, the real challenge isn’t just the spreadsheet gymnastics. It's the people part.So this episode gets into the conversations, the compromises, and the potential points of friction that can arise in a partnership when resources become more constrained.We discuss: Addressing the emotional landscape: Living on one income throws all sorts of messy emotions into the mix. Who gets to spend? Who’s giving up more? Is this forever, or just until something changes? These aren't spreadsheet questions, they’re relationship questions..How to make negotiation your new love language: We break down how to negotiate fairly as you create a budget when the stakes feel high and everyone's nerves are shotGetting more comfortable saying No: Living on one income means saying "no"... a lot. To your partner, to your kids, to your friends, and maybe most importantly, to yourself. We unpack the guilt that inevitably comes with that, especially when you feel like you're letting people down.Strategic decluttering and selling your stuff with intention: The process of selling personal items for cash can be more emotionally involved than it appears. We talk about the surprisingly emotional process of selling your belongings and how to actually make it work, practically and emotionally.Links: Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away by Julien and Kiersten Saunders The Two-Income Trap by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi Episode 155: The FinTech Toolkit Episode 149: Buying used vs. new Episode 130: How to sell your stuff online  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

Links: Watch the 90-second trailer of Taste the Impact Watch the full-length "Taste the Impact" mini-doc nowRegister for the Shifting Wealth, Shaping Futures info session on March 26th Become a member of Invest for Better (it’s free!)This week’s episode is about something personal, political, and, up until recently, way too overlooked: food.We spend a lot of time talking about food, but not nearly enough time talking about how it shows up in our kitchens, grocery carts, or dinner tables. So today, we’re changing that.We’re introducing our latest creative project, Taste the Impact, which a short film (or op-doc, if you’re feeling fancy) that explores the relationship between investing and the food system. Not just what we choose to buy, but what we’re being sold. Because behind every recall, rising price tag, and empty produce shelf, there’s a money trail worth following.This is an episode that sits squarely at the intersection of life and money. It’s about challenging the status quo, asking uncomfortable questions, and recognizing that our financial choices have real-world consequences. In this episode, we get into:Why we made Taste the Impact now and and why storytelling is a financial tool just as much as spreadsheets areWhat visual media can do that numbers alone can’t (and how historical social movements have always known this)Why “values-aligned investing” only gets real when you zoom into something specific, like foodHow systemic failures are driving the wave of food recallsWhat’s behind the rising cost of food, and why it's not just inflation Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

This week, we dive headfirst into the very timely topic of expating. Is it just a fantasy fueled by tough times or is there something deeper driving this urge to GTFO? In this episode, we're exploring the layers of this question. We break down the different flavors of expating, from slow travel hacks that let you vibe abroad for a few months with zero paperwork (hello, Schengen Zone!) to the allure of Digital Nomad Visas for those of us who can work from anywhere with Wi-Fi and a decent latte. We even get into the semi-permanent options and, for the truly committed, buying your way into citizenship.Ultimately, this episode isn't about escapism. It's about options, feasibility, and the very real trade-offs you need to consider when contemplating a life lived beyond your current borders. We discuss:The rise of "Plan B" thinking in the FIRE community and beyondTourist stays and slow travel: Easy ways to get your feet wet abroadDigital Nomad Visas (DNVs): Working remotely from paradise (with a minimum income requirement, naturally)Extended visas and residency pathways: Semi-permanent solutions for a longer stayNaturalization and citizenship: The full commitment, from marriage to ancestry to buying your way inThe "Split Life" Model: Six months here, six months there (the best of both worlds?)The real costs and considerations: Taxes, paperwork, culture shock, currency risks, and that annoying "ideological accent" you didn't even know you had.Our rule of thumb for financial feasibility: Is it really worth it?And if you know someone who's made the leap (or is seriously contemplating it), drop us a comment below! We're always looking for folks to interview for future episodes, especially if they have interesting stories or maybe even went back home after a few years.  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

Join a Shifting Wealth, Shaping Futures Circle today: https://investforbetter.org/swsf/ Not quite ready for a circle? Sign up for a free membership with Invest for Better: https://investforbetter.org/membership/Get your ticket to the Northeast FI Camp Women's Weekend: https://khbfinancial.com/northeastficamps/For information about future, co-ed events, sign up for their email list: https://eastcoastfi.kit.com/adab4cc93cFor most of history, women weren’t just left out of wealth-building, we weren’t even in the conversation. Fast forward to today: Women are investing more than ever, making up a record percentage of stock market participants, growing businesses, and holding more financial power than at any point in history. That’s the win.But here’s the fight: We’re still paid less, still have less wealth, and the traditional financial playbook assumes everyone earns, invests, and retires like a man. This means even when we do everything right, we’re often playing catch-up.So this Women’s History Month, we’re asking: What happens when we go from participating to leading?We discuss: Why the wealth gap still exists even as women invest more than everHow to rewrite the financial playbook so it actually works for usRedefining financial confidence and owning it  The investing strengths women already have and how to use them to winUsing community as a secret weapon and connecting with other women like “rich aunties” who’ve been through it and have the wisdom to share.  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

Are you scratching your head trying to understand Gen Z's approach to…life? You're not alone! This week, we’re exploring the fascinating and sometimes frustrating world of Gen Z finances, why traditional financial advice often misses the mark with this generation, and what actually resonates with them.Every generation thinks they had it hard. And to be fair, most of them did. But Gen Z? They’re becoming adults in a world that looks nothing like the one we grew up in. Between AI disrupting entire industries, the attention economy turning regular people into millionaires overnight, and inflation making rent feel like a luxury item, it's no wonder their financial expectations (and anxieties) are sky-high.In this episode, we break down:Why traditional financial advice isn’t built for Gen Z’s realityThe real reason they think they need $600K a year to be successfulBudgeting vs. Earning: We debate whether traditional budgeting advice is still relevant in today's economy, or if Gen Z's focus on increasing income is the smarter approach.How careers, income, and investing have changed foreverThe biggest mistakes Millennials and Boomers make when advising themHow this approach is different from hustle culture And most importantly, we share what actually works: learning how to earn, invest, and live in a world where stability is no longer the default setting.Whether you’re Gen Z trying to figure it all out, or just someone trying to understand them better, this episode is for you. Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow