HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Happy Friday HerMoney listeners! In our final Bonus Mailbag for this week, we answer your questions on tax brackets in retirement, credit cards for business expenses, balancing student loan repayments with retirement savings and getting the whole family on board for an estate planning discussion. Thank you for celebrating our 100th episode with us! Please keep the questions coming at JeanChatzky.com.

After all of the recent data breaches, do you question whether to hand over your Social Security number (and other personal information) when signing up for financial apps and services? Us, too. In today's Bonus Mailbag, we discuss when it's likely safe and when it's not. We also answer your questions on using trust money for student loans and managing finances as freelancers.

In today's Bonus Mailbag, we cover Roth IRA conversions, high-yield online savings accounts and loans for flight school.

Happy 100th episode, HerMoney! To celebrate, we're with Dan Harris, talking happiness, meditation and money. Dan is a longtime ABC News anchor, author of 10% Happier and Meditation For Fidgety Skeptics (which certainly speaks to me) and fellow podcaster. We tend to think happiness is dependent on external factors... but science says, "Happiness is a skill. You can train your mind just the way you can train your bicep in the gym." Dan certainly feels that way. He started his journey to meditation after an on-air panic attack in 2004. We talk about what to do with the negative voice inside our heads — especially where our finances are concerned. He even guides us through a meditation at the end. Kelly and I answer your questions on planning for retirement as a teenager (yes, you read that right) and exploring new ways to invest your money. P.S. We hope you're enjoying our full week of Bonus Mailbags! Send us your questions at JeanChatzky.com.

In today's Bonus Mailbag, we answer your questions on entertaining pyramid schemes, exploring retirement plans for small businesses, using savings bonds to repay student loans and buying gold as an investment.

In celebration of our 100th episode, we're doing a full week of Bonus Mailbags! In today's show, we answer your questions on financial planners, retirement specialists, HSAs for long-term care and when to pull your credit report in the home-buying process. Keep the questions coming at JeanChatzky.com — and please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. We love hearing from you. 

You probably knew this already: We're girl's girls (or if you prefer women's women). We love supporting, empowering and working with other women, which are just a few of the reasons we were so happy to grab time with Gianna Wurzl and Ashley Sumner, the founders of Quilt, the new female-only coworking start-up that enables women to work out of one another’s homes. We talk purpose, passion, productivity, matchmaking (you'll have to tune in to figure out how that came up) and why working with (or alongside) other women helps you achieve your personal and professional goals. Kelly and I answer your questions on credit cards in college and the cost of assisted living communities. Oh, and there's a new tax scam you'll want to know about before your refund gets swiped. P.S. Next week is our 100th episode! Can you believe it!? We passed on the Instagrammable balloons and opted for a full week of Bonus Mailbags instead. Starting Monday, you can expect a mini episode in your Apple Podcast app every morning. As always, you can send us your questions here: http://bit.ly/2aZ7rkI.

You've all heard the joke, right? You tack this phrase onto an otherwise innocuous comment, and you get a supposedly witty — most times dirty — joke. In the midst of the #MeToo movement, we're not laughing — and neither is Joanne Lipman, former editor-in-chief of USA Today and author of the new book by the same title. (Subtitle: What Men Need to Know (And What Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together.) She's got real, actionable solutions for closing the salary gap — by getting men on board. Learn how to enlighten the offenders in your life, stand up for yourself and inspire more men to do so for you. Then, Kelly and I tackle your questions on budgeting for healthcare and whether Roth IRAs can double as emergency funds. And wait 'til you hear what Kelly "bought" on Craigslist.

The markets have had us blasting Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" on repeat, which means a HerMoney Headline is in order. In this Friday special, we bring back my friend David Bach. He's a personal finance superstar and author of the bestseller "Smart Couples Finish Rich" (which he just released a new edition of). We answer all of your questions on how to handle volatile markets (and trying to time them). We also discuss whether to dip a toe into Bitcoin or one of the other cryptocurrencies (and what to tell your kids when they start asking about it). Email us your questions at JeanChatzky.com — and have a great weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Are you rolling your eyes? That's okay. We still want you to know we love you, and we’re happy to have you as a listener. And to celebrate our love for you, we invited positive psychology experts and wife-and-husband duo Suzann Pileggi Pawelski and James Pawelski to discuss their new book, Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts. The Pawelskis have clued into the fact that how we behave with money can make a big difference in the success or failure of our relationships. Whether you're single, dating, married, divorced or widowed, their wise words can help lead you in the right direction. Then, Kelly and I dive into HSAs, whether you're ever eligible for someone else's credit card debt and how to approach (or maybe even woo) sellers if you're in the market to buy a home this year. Consider this our Valentine to you — we would love to hear from you in the review section and/or at the brand-new JeanChatzky.com. Check it out! XO

Your elevator pitch is important, but so is the full story. This week we're talking power, purpose and legacy with Pattie Sellers, founder of Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women (MPW) franchise and SellersEaston Media. You'll learn the importance of knowing and sharing your story for personal and professional success. You'll hear the stories and advice from some of the world's most powerful women. You'll learn why we should kick away the idea of having a career ladder and how the "good girls" in us could be holding us back from making important jumps. Kelly and I answer your questions on extended warranties for new cars, repayment plans for medical bills and first-time investment moves for millennials. Then — cue the Beyoncé —we end with some fabulous news on how the number of women with seven-digit retirement account savings has doubled over the last 12 years. We'll share how they did it and how you can do the same. Take Our Financial Shades of Gray Quiz: https://www.thebalance.com/quiz-what-are-you-hiding-from-your-partner-4158556 Sites mentioned on the show: http://www.sellerseaston.com/ http://fortune.com/most-powerful-women/ http://fidelity.com/frontseat

The gender pay gap is infuriating, no question. But there's talking about it, and then there's taking action to close it — starting with knowing your value and communicating it effectively. That's Mika Brzezinski's mission. As co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and the force behind the “Know Your Value” movement, she shares proven how-to strategies that you can borrow and then pass along. Then, Kelly and I discuss personal loans, whether it's a good idea to prepay mortgages and — for all those overachievers out there — opening 529s for children who haven't even been conceived yet. Sites mentioned in the show: KnowYourValue365.com Fidelity.com/itstime SavingForCollege.com

No such thing as the perfect time? Think again. Daniel H. Pink, author of six provocative books, including his newest, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing," says timing is a science — not an art. Research shows we can make systematically better “when” decisions at work, at school, at home — and for our wallets. We cover short- and long-term financial decisions, including when you should get married (seriously) and how to identify your “chronotype" — the pattern of circadian rhythms that affect mood and performance — which will then tell you how to tackle your days (because productivity equals profitability). Late to the retirement savings game? Kelly and I discuss catch-up moves and when to take a severance package in Mailbag. And, if in addition to spending time with loved ones over the holidays, you spent a little too much on them (or yourself), then stick around for debt repayment strategies in Thrive.

HerMoney recently headed to Washington, D.C. to AARP's Family Caregiving 2018 summit — a day focused on what's new in family caregiving (politically, technologically, professionally, personally and, yes, financially). We had amazing conversations with bestselling author Lee Woodruff (who cared for her husband, ABC's Bob Woodruff, after he suffered a traumatic brain injury while reporting in Iraq), Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder, chairwoman and CEO of Care.com (who founded the site as a young working mother with two young children and ailing parents) and actress and activist Holly Robinson Peete (who at 19 years old was the caregiver for her father and, two decades later, for her son with autism). There are over 40 million family caregivers in America. If you know one, please share this episode. I got a lot out of it personally, and I think you will as well. Sites mentioned in the show: AARP: https://www.aarp.org/ Fidelity Caregiving Webcast: https://fidelity.com/lovedones/ Fidelity: https://fidelity.com/frontseat Bob Woodruff Foundation: https://bobwoodrufffoundation.org/ HollyRod Foundation: http://www.hollyrod.org The Elizabeth Dole Foundation: https://www.elizabethdolefoundation.org/ Care.com

When the worst headache of her life turned into a near-death experience, CNBC’s senior personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson was forced to stop, reevaluate and reinvent almost every facet of her life —including how she manages her family and career. The best news is that she's healthy, she's back and she's here to share how she navigated personally and financially. From emergency savings to having the proper insurances and estate-planning documents in place, her story will inspire you to take a closer look at your personal protection plan (or create one!). In Mailbag, Kelly and I discuss lifestyle inflation and how to control it when you receive raises or other windfalls. And then we close with more tricks and mind games for sticking to those New Year's resolutions that might be faltering already... no judgement here!