You might have learned that not spending money on things you don’t really need is the best (and, quite possibly, the only) way to save money in the long run. But, what if I told you that buying things that you want can lead to saving some extra money? In this week’s episode, I’ll share with you four purchases that improved my life (and added some extra joy!).

If you got most of your financial education from old-school financial advisors, you might be all too familiar with the most important “spending” rule ever: don’t waste your money buying things that you don’t need. This includes stuff like clothing, fancy trips, expensive gadgets, a second car, and, in general, anything that is not an essential need (think food and shelter).

While there’s nothing wrong with this advice, the harsh truth is that, in real life, Needs and Wants are rarely two well-defined and distinct categories. In fact, both are quite subjective: your Needs and Wants will vary depending on your circumstances, the place where you live, your cultural context and the season of life you’re currently moving through (among other things).

So, how can you learn to distinguish between them?

In this episode, I’ll share with you four purchases that ended up improving my life in so many ways. My goal is to give you some food for thought and inspire you to consider your spending habits with a new perspective.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why well-intentioned advice, such as “just splurge less”, often falls flat.
• The reason why “Needs” and “Wants” are not set in stone.
• Four purchases that initially felt like splurges, but ended up giving me joy (and saving me some money!)

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/397

The post, Four Purchases That Improved My Life | HDM 397 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

If you want to achieve financial success, building solid money habits is a non-negotiable. Intellectually, almost everyone knows and agrees with that statement. But, how do you choose which habits to build? That’s the million-dollar question. In this week’s episode, I’ll share with you the four money habits that can have the biggest impact on your money confidence journey.

Every self-help book or personal development coach seems to agree on one thing: if you are trying to transform one area of your life, the first thing you gotta do is build good habits. But, what is exactly a good habit? And who decides which ones fall into this category? That is the quintessential question.

When it comes to improving your finances, habits such as saving consistently and spending less will almost always pop up in any finance-related conversation. However, how can you know if building these will help you move the needle of your plan forward? Because let’s be honest: there is such a thing as picking the wrong habit (#gasp). And since building these behavioral patterns is not that easy (plot twist: gaining real momentum usually takes more than 21 days), you want to be sure the time and energy you’ll be investing in acquiring a new habit will eventually pay off.

In this episode, I’ll share with you some insights on the importance of picking (and building!) money habits that bring in a genuine bang.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why so many financial habits are not worth your energy and time and what you can do instead.
• Two habits that seem crucial to have, but actually can be automated.
• Four key money habits that will bring you more bang for your time.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/396

The post, Are Your Money Habits Keeping You Stuck? | HDM 396 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

Did you know that, despite the challenges of the current housing market, most Americans still consider homeownership an essential part of the American Dream? And yet sometimes a quick run of your numbers can reveal that owning property may not be as financially advantageous as you initially thought. In this episode, we’ll talk about the real cost of owning a home.

According to a survey conducted by the online platform Lending Tree in July 2023, 94% of respondents still see homeownership as an essential part of the American Dream. However, as the days and months pass by, the realities of the current housing market, with its ever-changing ups and downs, have created a sense of hopelessness in so many people, particularly the younger crowd: no matter what they do, it’s unlikely they will ever be able to afford a house.

But, what if this sense of hopelessness was simply a by-product of believing that owning a house is better than renting because it’s cheaper? What if this belief were simply not true? While no one can deny that owning the house you live in can be a rewarding, and even fulfilling experience, the numbers don’t lie: there are so many scenarios where owning property can cost you more (way, way more, in fact) than renting out.

In this episode, I’ll share with you my story (and insights) on things you have to consider before buying a home and the importance of running your numbers before committing to homeownership.

In this episode you will learn:

• Some of the things to consider when buying a home
• The numbers you need to compare for calculating the true cost of owning vs renting a home
• Why my family is choosing not to buy a home and what we are doing instead.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/395

The post, NOT owning a home does have its benefits | HDM 395 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

If someone approached you at a family party and asked you to share your biggest money mistake, what would you say? To be completely honest, I’d probably freeze on the spot. Not because I don’t know how to answer, but because a voice in my head tells me that, as a financial counselor, I should know better. Well, that’s not exactly true. And in this week’s episode, I’m going to walk you through the details of my biggest money mistake ever: buying a timeshare.

If you’ve ever vacationed in a resort, you’ve probably heard about timeshares. The concept is very straightforward: in exchange for a fee, you “purchase” the right to use a resort room for one week of a given year. The “advantage” of this system is that your contract allows you to enjoy the resort room at the same fixed price, which over time amounts to considerable savings on vacation costs.

While on paper the idea sounds interesting enough, in my case reality didn’t really live up to the expectations. And yet, acknowledging this in real-time was almost impossible –a fact that made the whole experience very painful.

Today I’m sharing this experience hoping that it can inspire you to better understand why sometimes is hard to see big money mistakes coming.

In this episode you will learn:

• The reason why investing in this didn’t feel like a mistake (at first).
• Some annoying realizations that added up to the pain of this experience.
• How we managed to get rid of it and why it was the best decision.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/394

The post, Storytime: My Biggest Money Mistake Ever | HDM 394 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

When it comes to money talk, do you know what your family is expecting from you? While there’s nothing wrong with freely offering financial help to your loved ones when things get tough, doing so at the expense of your financial well-being is a recipe for future problems. So, how do you navigate financial expectations with your family? How do you get ready to have these potentially triggering conversations? This is exactly what Gigi González, author of the bestselling book, Cultura and Cash, will be talking about in today’s episode.

Have you ever been in a situation where a loved one expects you to contribute financially to something just because you have a close relationship? It can either be an emergency expense (think sudden hospital bills or the cost of a specific medication) or a common, everyday expense (the cost of a meal, gas, or even a plane ticket).

If you have, you know there’s nothing more complicated than navigating such a scenario because, let’s face it, it seems there’s no real way to win. You either say no and get a disappointed (and potentially shocked) response, or you say yes and end up resenting the person who asked. Either way, someone will always end up upset.

So, here comes the million-dollar question: is there a way around this? Is there a way to navigate these tricky conversations without ending up feeling the full spectrum of negative emotions?

These are some questions that our (returning!) guest for this week’s episode, Giovanna “Gigi” González will be speaking about.

Gigi is a TikTok influencer, financial educator, and author of Cultura and Cash. During The Great Resignation, she quit her 10-year corporate career to pursue her true passion: teaching financial literacy to young adults. She teaches personal finance and career navigation for First Gen at various organizations and on her TikTok account @thefirstgenmentor.

In this episode you will learn:

• Insights on what it means to be a bicultural first-gen Latina (and why it matters).
• A walkthrough of Gigi’s First Gen Five Framework.
• A simple two-step framework for setting up money boundaries as a first-gen Latina.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/393

The post, Living in a Cultural Clash? How to Navigate Financial Expectations With Your Family | HDM 393 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

Living paycheck to paycheck is not as uncommon as we think: 60% of the US population depends on their bi-monthly deposits to make ends meet. If you are living in this situation, I bet you’ve probably scratched your head more than twice trying to figure out where all your paycheck money went. In this episode, I’ll share with you a savvy paycheck routine that will allow you to understand what’s going on with your hard-earned dollars.

Picture your regular payday. Your money has just landed in your account and now is the time to pay those bills. You make all the necessary payments and for a couple of days, everything looks okay… until you suddenly realize that:

1. Your account is again in the lows.
2. There’s still a week (or more) to go until the next payday.
3. You have NO CLUE as to where your remaining money went.

Did you spend more on this week’s grocery shopping? Did you make the wrong transfer? You just don't know. And that can be a huge issue.

The truth is that, while not ideal, living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t always have to be a nerve-wracking experience. There are ways to minimize the stress and anxiety that usually arise when money hits our accounts.

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing with you a simple, no-shame paycheck routine that will allow you to take back control of your income flows from day one.

In this episode you will learn:

• What is a budget bottom line and why not knowing yours is a recipe for future (and unnecessary) stress.
• What is a zero base budget and why you should be assigning a purpose to every dollar in your accounts.
• A simplified 5-step paycheck routine that will allow you to manage your income without stressing out.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/392

The post, Living Paycheck to Paycheck? A #NoShame Routine to Avoid the Frenzy | HDM 392 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

If you still have days when getting a hold of your finances seems impossible, rest assured: you’re not alone! You might not know it, but between you and money confidence stands an invisible, ever-eluding barrier that you gotta tackle first: your money story. In this episode, Pam Covarubias explains how Calladita Culture™️ has disempowered women financially and what can you do to uncover your money story.

We all carry money stories, hiding in plain sight and influencing the way we think, act around, and spend our money. Although there are money stories of all kinds, both good and bad, in my experience, an overwhelming amount of Latina women navigate through life carrying around disempowering and restrictive money stories. These stories not only are a breeding ground for financial stress –they also keep us enmeshed in Calladita Culture™️, a set of limiting beliefs that push women to act in a self-effacing way.

In today’s episode, Pam Covarrubias, host of the beloved Café con Pam podcast, will share with us some tools to help you reclaim your voice and finally start to uncover that hidden money story that is keeping you small.

Pam is a Coach, Speaker, Podcaster, and Recovering Procrastinator. Grounded in liberation principles, she employs trauma-informed practices that nurture her clients' nervous systems. Rejecting the damages of Calladita Culture™️, Pam embraces her voice to eradicate its impact by advocating against silencing and submission in first-generation women and femmes in the US.

In this episode you will learn:

• What is calladita culture and how it affects women?
• The pesky ways in which this culture impacts your finances.
• How to use tapping to regulate your nervous system

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/391

The post, Tapping into Money? The Secret Tool to Uncover Your Money Story | HDM 391 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a redirection? Recently, my life took an unexpected (and good!) turn, and even though I am ready to take on this new challenge, the changes impact not only me and my family but also my business. In this episode, I’ll share what exactly is this change and how I plan to navigate this transition.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing a MAJOR life update: After 21 years of solo work, I’m officially back in the world of full-time employment! Since this new life episode is the dictionary definition of unexpected, in the past few weeks I had to make a few adjustments to the way I face both life and work.

Today, I am sharing what those changes are all about.

In this episode you will learn:

• Everything about my new job: Why this position? Why now?
• Things that will change in my business (aka, changes to the Her Dinero Matters Podcast!)
• An honest conversation about what these life changes mean, financially speaking (after all, we are a personal finance podcast!).

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/390

The post, The Unexpected can Also be GOOD!: Life Updates and New Decisions | HDM 390 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.

Have you ever felt like you needed an MBA just to get started investing? There are terms, like compound interest, loaded funds, and on and on that feel complex. Therefore, it feels scary to start investing without having ALL the knowledge. Today we are going to squash all of that so you can invest with confidence.

Did you know that about 42% of Americans don't own stock? That's according to a Motley Fool study. The number of Latinos is likely much lower than that. Of course the reason? Fear of investing. Today I bring you a woman who will help you lose your fear of investing.

Tess Waresmith is a financial coach and the founder of Money Confident, a financial education program aimed at women in their 30s and 40s. After losing $80k in bad investments in her twenties, Tess educated herself on wealth building and increased her net worth from 0 to 1 million by the age of 35. Now, she helps women learn simple investing strategies to grow their money, even if they're short on time or new to investing.

In this episode you will learn:

• The costly mistake she made when starting to invest.
• One thing you can do starting now when investing feels to overwhelming and complicated.
• A practical rule of thumb to figure out if you need a financial advisor right now.

For a quick recap of this episode go to https://www.jenhemphill.com/389

The post, Investing for Beginners- Steps You Can Start Taking Now | HDM 389 appeared first on the Her Dinero Matters Podcast.