The Myth of “Money Mindset”

Are you ready for a cute, heartwarming, and thought-provoking interview this week? I hope so, because after a month of American health care on this show, I’m ready for an uplifting story. John Schneider and David Auten …

We have two listener questions this week for health care month: Anna wants to know how to fix an accidental over-contribution to her HSA without getting a penalty (time stamp 01:34), and Allison wants to figure out how …

Just in time for halloween, we have an episode about some of the spookiest health insurance plans of all – “junk” health insurance plans, or “short-term” health insurance plans. The  President must’ve heard that we’re …

Teeth can be expensive! Lillian breaks down some unexpected ways you can save on dental – from taking a trip to Hungary to opening a FSA account, and …

Today we look at how to choose a health insurance plan – should you get a PPO, an HMO, or a HDHP? What is an HSA? And what do those acronyms mean …

Even if you have poor or no credit, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck living in your parent’s basement forever. Here are some strategies for finding housing  when you have poor credit, and also some strategies for …

In a short episode recorded from a Hilton hotel closet in Orlando, Lillian shares some of her tips for traveling to conferences on the cheap – from flights, alternative accommodation, to using Instacart to get food …

Does financial uncertainty make you more creative or does it break your creative muscles? Lillian and Will reflect on their plethora of jobs, and …

Kelly realized that she is doing “real investing” (picking individual stocks) and want to move into index funds instead (which is still investing!) But she’s not sure exactly how to do it. So we walk through how to …

Did you wake up one day and realize you’re accidentally a business owner? When you are a freelancer, you are the business. Danny Schuman accidentally ended up being an entrepreneur, and he figured out how to sustain …

Maddie asks how to pick a bank from all the different options: credit union, online bank, local bank, multi-national – how do you choose?!

Choosing a …

Lillian and Will walk through the basics of the home office deduction – and how things have changed under the new tax plan for 2018! You don’t need to have an LLC or own your home to take the home office deduction, but …

Jessica asks if she should buy a house or keep renting in her cheap apartment longer, and more listeners share their experiences with homeownership.

…

Lillian & Will share their own post-graduation money mistakes and give some tips for new college graduates on dealing with student loans, …

Variable Income. We’ve mentioned it a lot on this show because the more variable your income, the less traditional finance advice helps you. Today we talk about how to handle variable income when you’re anxious or …

Will and Lillian dive into a meta-episode about Oh My Dollar! at Outlet PDX for the launch of the Get Your Money Together book in front of a live …

Listener Eva asks a question about picking investments in her 401K – should she stick with just a stock index fund or also a bond index fund?

Here’s …

This bonus episode is probably one of my favorite dense episodes that’s a departure from our normal topic: Malcolm and Simone Collins are a married …

Author and illustrator Jason Porath, of the Rejected Princesses series, joins us to talk about some financially savvy women in history we might not know about, and talks about his experience making a living as a creator …

Lillian walks through a lot of the misconceptions about homeownership – including the idea that you haven’t “adulted” until you’ve insta-bragged …

A free form episode where Will & Lily talk about the Get Your Money Together book, when the right time is to follow up on an unpaid invoice, how …

Many people wonder how to figure out how to find a financial advisor without getting screwed over. Michael Dinich helps us untangle all different types of financial professionals out there.

You can find out more about …

Money mistakes. We’ve all made them. Those blunders or miscalculations that end up costing you money – and maybe upset a financial stability you’ve …

One of the wonderful things about modern society is that when I have have a material need, if I have some money, I can usually exchange money to help …

We answer two listener questions: How to figure out if you should be a non-profit, LLC, or become a corporation?  and L asks how to set their patreon …

Allison writes in to ask about what to do with a “medium” inheritance, and Lillian helps explain how PHD students might not qualify to save in a Roth IRA.

Don’t forget, you can pre-order Get Your Money Together workbook …

Inspired by Jesse Horn at the Bond conference, Lillian and Will talk about why you shouldn’t feel bad about acquiring money, just because capitalism …

Eric Brotman from Brotman Financial Group joins us to talk about how to have the hard conversations about money with your parents, and help them plan for their own retirement.

Check out Eric’s book on lowering your …

We bring back a new spin on an old topic from the archives: how to make a budget based in your own values – and how to talk about money with your …

We answer a potpourri of listener questions:

• Where do you keep an emergency fund? A money market? (1:21 timestamp)
• What is a CD ladder? (5:58 …

When you’re depressed, it can be hard to get off the couch, let alone worry about your budget. Lillian shares some tips for handling your personal …

Eva asks if she really has to adult-up and get disability insurance (yes!)

Rebecca wants to know if whole life insurance makes sense if someone can’t …

Early Retirement? I always thought that sounds like something only for silent velcro millionaires or tech bros – but it can be achievable without a windfall. We talk about the keys of starting with your values, …

We share tactics to curb impulse purchases and regrettable spending. Also, we learn that Will owns every Animorphs book and is a sucker for odd …

Lillian and Will talk about how to set non-boring money goals that won’t set you up for new year’s resolution failure. Save more money! Spend less …

Listener Eva asks how she can maximize her retirement savings and minimize her taxes as a self-employed person; Lillian talks her through SEP IRAs …

Lauren asks how to build a realistic budget with “little wins” and Lillian asks her to figure out what her wins and necessities are. Sara asks how she deducts the cost of her health insurance as a self-employed person. …

Listener health insurance questions answered: Are Health Savings Accounts an evil republican tax loophole for rich people or actually useful? How do …

There’s so many confusing terms when you’re looking for health insurance: OOP, HMO, deductible, co-insurance, co-pays – how do you untangle them? How do you not go broke buying health insurance? Jack Hopper of Take …

We answer rapid fire questions: Should Alice liquidate a 401K to avoid credit card debt? Can Charlotte use her spouse’s income on a credit card …

We answer listener questions about budgeting. Tamás asks how to reduce his budget when he can’t figure out what’s too high, and Sara asks how to recognize emotional spending & help curb it.

(We’re back on a Monday …

Oregon is trying to start a retirement planning revolution- every single business in Oregon will be required to offer a retirement plan of some sort …

Listener Riah asks how much she should save up to have kids, and special guest Kim Dubois Harrison, discusses parenting choices about money, …

Journalist Alden Wicker, author of “Multilevel-marketing companies like LuLaRoe are forcing people into debt and psychological crisis” for Quartz.com …

We have a special guest Katie Bovitz from the Portland Housing Center to talk about considerations for buying & financing your first home. (Let …

A short episode just to say hello after Fall Break to give an update on Lillian’s travels. Oh My Dollar! is launching a cat-themed purr-sonal finance …

We’re back from our week break with an episode on Social Security featuring economist Jon Rork. Will it be around in 25 years? How does it work? …

Lillian walks through the three things you can do to improve a bad (or nonexistent) credit score, and why it might not matter.

We talk about what to when you unexpectedly come into “extra” money – how to allocate it, and listener stories about how they used their windfalls.

A live show from the Oh My Dollar! and XRAY in the morning crew, Lillian answers two listener questions: Alan wants to know how much to keep in his …

We discuss some great splurge ideas, and how to plan for them, include Lillian’s big trip from Dublin > Shanghai by train, and Will’s fantasy of …

It’s totally possible to get to retirement money early! Lillian walks you through the legal ways to get money without paying crazy penalties. Plus – …

What should you do about health care when you leave your job? Why does COBRA cost so much and why does it sound so scary? And how to figure out …

We talk about life insurance policies – and what the difference between term and whole life insurance policies are. And what being “self-insured” …

If you’re in your 20’s or 30’s, you’re might be getting invited to weddings. Possibly lots of them. Just attending a wedding, let alone standing up in one, costs money! How do you make a budget for that?

Lillian walks you through two types of insurance most folks should have, but no one wants to think about: life and disability insurance! We also …

Will and Lillian break down a bunch of different insurance terms and tell you about what kind of insurance you need to get – and how it might actually help you out (did you know renter’s insurance might cover your …

Professional cage fighter, personal trainer, batch-cooking enthusiast and all-around badass Emily Corso joins us to discuss ways to make cooking …

Nicole Dieker from the wonderful website The Billfold joins us to talk about the most awesome way to reduce your stress and lower your grocery budget …

We dive into the legal differences between independent contractor + W2 (regular) employee – and how it affects your finances and your legal …

We give some tips on dealing with peer pressure from coworkers and friends about spending money when you’re on a budget – and how to figure out where to trim your budget (the fact is that you probably already know what …

Lillian goes on an educational rant about the concepts of “good debt and bad debt” and she answers the perplexing question of how you actually get money into a pre-tax IRA.

How American expats can avoid paying US taxes (it’s not easy); what sort of benefits you should look for in a job offer;
And Kelsey calls in to …

Listener questions: What’s a Roth 401K and who should use it?… What should I financially prepare for if I want to go freelance?… When does it make …

You’ve got a tax refund! Now what should you do with it? Lillian & Will also cover strategies for reducing your taxes when your income comes in …

A water cooler episode where we discuss some tips on raising your credit score (if you need/want to) and how much money Lillian has saved by quitting …

Listener Lola asks about how to plan for her future when she has six figures of college debt she’ll never be able to pay off. Lillian asks her to …

Lillian compares compound interest to bunnies, explains how she saved for retirement even when making $800/month – and the wonders of the Saver’s Credit – which gives you money back to save for retirement!

If you’d like …

From the radio vaults, we bring you a short episode about the #1 most important thing in your budget: your values. You can’t avoid looking at your …

Budgeting- many people think budget is a scary word – that it implies extreme frugality, being broke, or some sort of deprivation. But most folks …

Sometimes the most frustrating part of money is that building wealth is a marathon, not a sprint. We talk about the “hard middle” of working towards a big goal- where you’re making progress but it seems slow, and the …

Many people think that if they’ve achieved a great credit score, they’re done, they have it all figured out and they’re financially well. That’s simply not true – a credit score is not a measure of financial well being. …

Special guest John Vergin joins us for an episode of what a 40-year career of hustle as a working performing artist looks like without getting …

Everything you need to know about saving for retirement in your 20’s and 30’s

Lillian answers all the questions you’ve been too scared or too lazy to ask about investing for retirement. She covers 401ks & IRAs, …

You know those nagging little financial tasks? The ones you procrastinate on? We talk about conquering those tasks that cost you money (including Lillian’s current procrastination on her money) – and hear a bunch of …

A top money concern for many under the new administration is health insurance. Our special guest Ben Mcewan, helps answer your questions about health insurance in the Age of Trump: will the marketplace plans go away? …

Lillian talks about some New Year’s resolutions to set for your money, and how to make them easier PLUS she discusses how to choose a rewards credit …

Today we talk about those things that might be emergencies – but are expected emergencies – and how to prepare for them. And how you can avoid using your emergency fund (if you have one yet!) on things you can …

In our first episode of Oh My Dollar! Lillian talks about living off last month’s income and answers questions from from Lucy (Portland, OR) a comic …