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 to
• How companies quietly pass tariff costs onto you and how to spot it
• Real-world tools to build price literacy and become a sharper consumer and investor
• What 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 Tracker
• Google 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 Forbes

If 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 are
• Who qualifies and how
• What a “means test” is and how it works
• What happens to your credit score and your sanity
• The real costs (financial, emotional, and social) of filing
• And 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 Forbes

If 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 living
• Why moving two states over might require just as much mindset work as moving abroad
• What 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 in
• MakeMyMove.com – Find relocation incentive programs
• Reddit subs: r/relocating, r/digitalnomad
• Zillow, 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 Forbes

If you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow