065. Mastering Mortgages

Britny Lawhorn joins The 411k to teach us how to make informed decisions throughout the home-buying process. Buying a home is often the biggest financial decision that a person makes and so it’s important to understand as much as you can about the factors that impact that purchase. In this episode, we are talking specifically about what a first-time buyer should know about mortgages.

063. First-Time Home Buyers

Rodney Sinclair, the owner and operator of Sinclair Real Estate Group, joins The 411k to share advice for first-time home buyers. We are seeing a turbocharged housing market right now with prices surging and home on the market selling quickly and far above the listing price. Rodney joins us to share real examples of what he’s seeing in the market right now and how first-time home buyers are staying competitive.

062. Start Here with Melody Wright

Melody Wright understands that a financial plan isn’t one size fits all! In this live episode with Ithaca College’s Women in Finance and POC in Finance groups, she talks about her new book, Start Here, a personal finance guide to move past living paycheck to paycheck. When faced with $212K of debt that didn’t include their mortgage, Melody used the analytical skills learned from her time in science to develop a framework that helped her family pay off over $100,000 in debt in less than three years. Now she’s living her version of a Rich Life! Through bold conversations, coaching, and the creation of strategic money management systems, she has helped thousands of people stop being Aimlessly Broke and transform their mindset, behaviors, and practices related to money.

061. Each One, Teach One with Naseema McElroy

Naseema McElroy is the founder of Financially Intentional, a platform about personal finance and living life intentionally, as well as the host of the podcast, Nurses on FIRE. Naseema joins to share her personal money story. Like many health professionals, Naseema found herself with a lot of student loans and even though she got a great job, she was still living paycheck to paycheck. In this episode, she shares how she break the cycle, paid off over $1 million in debt, and grew a six-figure net worth in just 3 years without living in deprivation.

060. Healthy Credit Habits with Gerri Detweiler

With over 20 years of experience guiding individuals and small businesses through the confusing world of credit, Gerri Detweiler joins us to debunk some credit myths and teach us some best practices for credit cards.

059. The Rocket Years with Elizabeth Segran

Elizabeth Segran, author of The Rocket Years, joined us to talk about the chaos that comes with a person’s twenties. Some call it “the defining decade.” There is pressure in your twenties to launch your life and it is a period when there are a lot of big decisions – careers, hobbies, marriage, fitness, family, friends, politics, faith, etc. It’s a lot of pressure to make the right choices but Elizabeth says the most important part is learning who you are and what you value. Understanding yourself will help inform all those other decisions. This live episode was recorded for a virtual audience from Bentley Women’s Network.

058. Financial Abuse with Kim Pentico

Kim Pentico has been working with and on behalf of survivors of sexual and domestic violence since 1990. She first spent over seven years working for a local domestic violence program in Kansas and another seven years at the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. She has also worked for the S.T.O.P. Technical Assistance Project in Washington, D.C. Kim is currently the Director of the Economic Justice Program for the Nation Network to End Domestic Violence, working to further assist survivors in moving from short-term safety to long-term security.

In this episode, we talk about domestic violence, and specifically financial abuse, which is a difficult topic, however, it affects millions of men and women of every race, religion, culture, and status. Parts of this conversation may be triggering for people, so please be aware of this before listening to this episode. We hope that having more conversations like this can inspire change and help anyone impacted by domestic violence.

If you have questions about what is available in your community, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, at 800-799-7233. You have a state domestic violence coalition and you can Google your state plus “domestic violence coalition” to find out what is available to you.

057. Good with Money

Our financial girlfriend, Tiffany Aliche, joins us to talk about her money story, the successful passing of “The Budgetnista” law, and her new book Get Good with Money. Tiffany is an award-winning teacher of financial education and proves that if preschoolers can do it, we can do it too.

056. Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell

In this episode, Bobbi Rebell, a Certified Financial Planner and host of the Financial Grownup podcast, joined us to talk about what it means to be “a financial grownup.” Bobbi shares her money story and the money mistakes that made her financially fragile in her 20s. Now, she is talking money and helping others achieve financial freedom. We recorded this episode with a virtual audience, the BC Women Innovators Network.

055. How Men Can Be Allies

W. Brad Johnson and David Smith are co-authors of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace. Too many gender inclusion initiatives focus exclusively on changing women, leaving men out of the equation. The 411k invited Brad and David to share their research on men as allies and mentors for women and discuss how men can join the movement for inclusion and equity in the workplace.

054. Women at the Top with Jamila Abston

Jamila Abston is a Partner in the EY Financial Services Consulting practice in New York. She rejoined EY from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she served as the Assistant Regional Director for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. Jamila is on the Board of Directors of Sanctuary for Families, New York’s leading service provider for domestic violence survivors – and an active member of the AICPA, the NABA, and the ACFE. We invite Jamila to share the story of her path to Partner and the lessons she learned along the way.

053. Money in Relationships with Meredith Goldstein (2019)

VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL! We are bringing back this 2019 episode to highlight one of our favorite conversations about money and relationships. We talk with Meredith Goldstein, author and advice columnist for the Boston Globe’s Love Letters. Our conversation with Meredith is the genesis for one of our favorite fun questions – “brand name vs generic” which is a fun game you can play with your partner this weekend. This episode was one of our original episodes so please forgive the fact that we are all sitting in Katie’s living room recording this episode without fancy microphones or sound editing.

052. Career Power Moves

Lauren McGoodwin, founder of Career Contessa, joins us to discuss her book Power Moves: How Women Can Pivot, Reboot and Build a Career of Purpose. Through her work at Career Contessa, Lauren shares development resources for women who might be job searching, soul searching, leading and managing, or trying to find new ways to advance their careers. In this episode, we talk about how to set expectations in your job and how a career with purpose is different than a “dream job.”

051. Mastering Money

Sarah Li-Cain is a finance writer and host of Beyond The Dollar, where she and her guests have deep and honest conversations about how money affects your well-being. In this episode, Sarah joins The 411k to talk about practical tips and mindset strategies so that those trying to change their financial life can forgive their mistakes and start to trust themselves with money.

050. Your Boldest Twenties

We are joined by Tamara Belair, founder of Boldest, a community to connect, inspire and inform women in consulting. We talk about what we learned from women leaders in consulting and what advice we would offer young women starting out in consulting. Despite different backgrounds, expertise, ages and levels, we all agree on a couple key pieces of advice.

049. An Abundance Mindset with Leisa Peterson

We are so grateful to have Leisa Peterson join us to talk about scarcity and abundance. No matter how much money we end up earning, saving or investing, deep inside we can still hold on to a sense of lack and deficiency about who we think we are. Leisa Peterson shares some insight into her 7 Step Prosperity Ladder to help us develop an abundance mindset. Check out this episode as well as her book, The Mindful Millionaire, to learn more!

048. Her Two Cents with Charlotte Cowles

Charlotte Cowles writes My Two Cents, a weekly column about money, for New York Magazine’s The Cut. She joins us to talk about her transition from a stable job with benefits and a salary to working for herself as a freelance writer. Tune in to learn more about how she is offering comfort and advice to those who write to her during the pandemic and it’s constant instability.

047. Be a Budget Boss

Scarlett McKnight is the founder of ThirtyEight Investing, a blog where she shares her financial journey. She is paying off over $50,000 in graduate student debt and working toward building passive income to achieve financial freedom by the age of 38. Tune in to learn more about the budgeting principles that have helped her along her money adventure.

046. Failing Forward with Hanneke Antonelli

We invited Hanneke Antonelli on to talk to us about the importance of a money mindset for entrepreneurs. She is an award-winning and certified life coach. An entrepreneur herself, she built two award-winning businesses in less than 5 years. Tune in to learn more about how our money stories impact the way we run our businesses and how we can start to shift our mindset around money.

Hanneke’s new book, The Up Level Project, will be out in March 2021 but for now she is offering a free chapter for our audience to preview. Visit downloadchapter11.com to learn more about authentic leadership!

045. This Girl is on FIRE

Catie is a single graphic designer hustling to retire early by 35. She runs Millennial Money Honey where she shares her adventure to financial independence inspiring others to start their own journey. Catie joins us to talk about FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early. She’s sharing tips and tricks that she is using to save money for a work-optional future.

044. Have Money & Use It Too

Bola Sokunbi is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, finance expert, bestselling author, speaker, and founder of Clever Girl Finance, a financial education platform and community for women empowering them to achieve financial wellness and live life on their own terms. In this episode, we talk about her journey navigating the American financial system as a first generation immigrant and how she will pass on these money lessons to the next generation.

043. Retirement 101 with Akilah Watts

According to TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, less than 70% of U.S. women are investing money for retirement, compared to 81% of men. Of those who are investing, the median household retirement savings for women is just $23,000 compared to $76,000 among men. On average, women live longer than men and that means they must provide for more years in retirement than their male counterparts. In this episode, we focus on the basics of the most popular retirement options – 401ks and IRAs.

042. Financial Feminists with Amelia Hruby

Money is an issue for women. We have to overcome hurdles like the pay gap, the investing gap, and the pink tax. So why do financial matters tend to be more of a slow burn for feminists? Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, educator and podcaster here to talk with us about what it means to be a financial feminist.

041. Talking Benefits with Emily Kaufmann

Corporate benefits can tell you a lot about a company’s culture. They can also be confusing! Human Resource generalist, Emily Kaufmann, joins The 411k to talk about all things benefits – negotiating them, making selections, and working with HR professionals to make the most the benefits your company subscribes to.

040. Sponsorship with Joyce Johnson

83% of women report having at least one mentor in their careers, compared to 76% of men. In fact, 21% of women report having four or more mentors, whereas just 15% of men report having that many. HOWEVER men are 46% more likely than women to have a sponsor. WHY IS THAT? In this episode, we explore sponsorship with Joyce Johnson, a speaker, business consultant, sales champion, and 6x author. According to Joyce, it’s all about the PIE – Performance, Image and Exposure.

039. Poor Little Rich Girl Money Missteps

AJ Wolbrum was always the poor little rich girl growing up in Manhattan. In this episode, she shares the missteps and triumphs in her money journey. AJ traveled the world but couldn’t hide from her debts. Now, as a Financial Freedom Coach and the founder of Beyond The Green Coaching. AJ uses a unique method of personal development and strategic financial planning to help clients understand their finances and change their relationship with money.

038. C-Suite Decisions with Kelsey Habich

In this episode, we talk about the tough decisions made in the C-Suite including furloughs, promotions, change management and more. Kelsey Habich is the Chief People Officer managing talent acquisition, human resources, talent management, employee branding, employee programs & initiatives & executive leadership for a technology company in the commercial & government sector.

037. Healthy Financials and Healthy Births

GUEST: OLIVIA FRIEL

Olivia Friel is a mama, birth and postpartum doula, and a holistic pregnancy consultant. She is the founder of Healthy Balanced Birth, a platform for expectant mothers, partners, new parents, and birth professionals. She provides her clients with information about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenthood that is specifically catered to their individual needs. She is also the voice behind the Healthy Balanced Birth and Beyond Podcast – a safe space dedicated to sharing stories and resources about everything within the birth space, specifically topics that are not talked about enough. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Note: These numbers are averages as of August 2020 and vary by state and hospital.

Having a baby in Massachusetts on averages costs:

Vaginal birth with insurance: $7,741.64
Vaginal birth without insurance: $14,549.03

C-section with insurance: $11,012.54
C-section without insurance: $19,879.60

Hospitals generally charge more! On average, hospitals charge $15,000 for vaginal delivery and $30,000 for a c-section!

Home births range from $1,500 to $3,000 paid directly to the midwife.

On average, other expenses including supplies, labs and doula can add on an additional $2,000. An epidural costs on average $2,100.

Prenatal Testing such as ultasounds cost on average $280. CVS testing for abnormalities and chorionic villus sampling can cost $1,300 to $4,800. For high risk pregnancies, amniocentesis can cost $1,000 to $7,200.

Be Our Guest!

We are looking forward to our discussion! You should have received some of the guiding questions that we plan to discuss via email. Below includes notes on what to expect for the recording.

Logistics Guide:

We plan to record for about an hour and then we will edit the recording down to the best 20-30 minutes. Once complete we will send an edited version of the episode to you to review along with the publishing schedule and cross promotional information.

Recording Guide:

To ensure best audio quality, we ask that you record your side of the conversation and send us the file afterward (please see guidance below for Mac/PC/smartphone). We will be recording via Zoom and we ask that you please use headphones to limit the background noise.

Choose your most cluttered and softly-furnished room to record in (a closet is actually an option!) and try to keep the recording space as noise free as possible. Close windows, add pillows around your mic, put the baby gates up, whatever you can do to limit the background noise.

If you have an external microphone, please use a pop filter if you have one. If you don’t, speak into the mic at a slight angle (turn it about 45 degrees) to avoid loud pops/plosives. Place external mics a consistent distance from your mouth (5-8 inches).

Instructions for Recording: 

Mac – Use either the Voice Memos app or the QuickTime Player – you can find both using the Finder/Launchpad or download free on the App Store. 

Ensure you’re capturing audio with your external mic by opening ‘System Preferences’ on your Mac, and in ‘Sound’ select your microphone under the ‘Input’ tab. 

In Voice Memos – before recording, open app preferences and change ‘Audio Quality’ to ‘Lossless’.

After the conversation, please save the file and send it to us via email. 

PC – download Audacity and install it on your computer. Open it and you’ll see a blank project. Simply select your external mic from the input drop-down menu in the lower part of the main toolbar and press the record button. You should see a waveform being created as you speak.

After the conversation, go to File > Export and select ‘Export as WAV’. Save the file and send to us via email, or if larger than 10MB (quite likely) please use WeTransfer to send it to us.

Smartphone

It’s best to use your smartphone to record your audio if you don’t have an external mic. Raise your phone to mouth-level on something in front of you (e.g. a box or stack of books) so that the microphone (ie. the bottom of the device) points directly at your mouth and is no more than a few inches away throughout the conversation.

iPhone

Use the Voice Memos app on your iPhone. First, open your iPhone’s settings and scroll down to Voice Memos. Change ‘Audio Quality’ to ‘Lossless’ (for best quality audio). To record, open the Voice Memos app and hit record. 

After the conversation, please send us that file through the ‘Share’ button. If it’s too big for email, hit ‘Share’ and put it in iCloud or Dropbox, then send us the link to that file in the cloud.

Android

On your phone, download the Voice Recorder app. In ‘Settings’, select ‘Recording quality’ and choose the highest value available. Then simply hit the red record button before our conversation. 

After the conversation, please send us the file through the ‘Share’ function within the app, or from your phone’s file system.

Thank you again for joining us for this conversation and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.