HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

What does a week of grocery shopping actually look like for real women right now? Jean Chatzky teams up with Yasmeen Khan, writer of Consumer Reports' Bread and Butter newsletter, for a special edition of A Week in Her Wallet, focused entirely on the grocery store.

First, Jean and Yasmeen sit down with Lori, a mom of two boys in Massachusetts, who spent the week bouncing between Trader Joe's, Costco, and Stop & Shop. Then, Jean and Yasmeen dig into the bigger picture: what three women's grocery weeks revealed about how savvy shoppers have become, why store brands deserve a second look, and Consumer Reports' best tips for cutting costs at the checkout line right now.

Links mentioned:

Subscribe to Bread and Butter by Consumer Reports

Yasmeen's recent newsletter on saving on groceries


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You’ve heard of the gender pay gap – but there’s a quieter crisis unfolding for millions of women: the retirement gender gap. Whether you’ve taken time out of the workforce to care for a loved one, are a Gen X’er racing toward retirement with less saved than you’d like, or recently lost a spouse and are suddenly in charge of finances you’ve never managed alone, this episode is for you. 

In it, two experts from LIMRA, Chief Marketing Officer Tina Beckwith and Retirement Income Institute Fellow Suzanne Norman, break down:

Why women face a steeper climb to retirement security

Who’s most at risk

The concrete steps you can start taking today to close the gap

Learn more: Women – and especially widows – often want a trusted partner to help navigate retirement decisions. Here are 7 key tips they can keep in mind when looking for a financial professional. 

Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck — your guide to building a secure, steady income stream for the retirement you've worked so hard for.
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Nicole is 56, single, and living in Raleigh, North Carolina, and she has a spreadsheet for everything. After her divorce left her saddled with debt, she spent two decades building a budget system so airtight she hasn't carried a credit card balance since. Now she's earning over $100k a year, paying off every card in full, and chipping away at a student loan she could settle tomorrow if she wanted to.

But when Nicole spent a week tracking every dollar for A Week in Her Wallet, she made a surprising discovery: she has far more money left over each month than she ever realized, and she’s ready to put it to work.

In this episode, Jean and Nicole cover:

The medical billing maze that's costing Nicole more than it should

The three-debit-card system Nicole built 

Why a diagnosis changed how she thinks about spending on her own wellbeing

The student loan she's been carrying strategically 

What Nicole's retirement dream actually looks like

Pre-order Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck — your guide to building a secure, steady income stream for the retirement you've worked so hard for.
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If financial uncertainty is keeping you awake at night, this episode is for you. Author and journalist Simone Stolzoff joins Jean to talk about his new book, How To Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World That Demands Answers, and why learning to sit with the unknown might be the most powerful financial skill you can develop right now.

And in this week's Mailbag, Jean is joined by Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow, to help three listeners navigate inflection points in their lives: how to start dividing shared assets before a divorce is filed, what to do with your 401(k) after a layoff, and how to think about a lump-sum inheritance without letting fear or emotion drive the decision. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:


The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff

Hanna Horvath, Your Brain on Money on Substack


The Forever Paycheck by Jean Chatzky — available for pre-order now

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Ready to connect with a fiduciary advisor who's the right fit for you? Find one at hermoney.com/findanadvisor.

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This week, Jean sits down with Louise, 56, a high-tech executive who's burned out, stretched thin, and seriously asking herself whether it's time to walk away from her career.

Louise has done everything right: she and her husband have $3.2M in retirement accounts, over $400k in vested stock, a home worth almost $2 million, and 529s for the kids. But with a family of six to cover, and healthcare costs that could rival a mortgage, the math is murkier than it looks. Jean helps her think through what early retirement would actually cost, where the real risks are, and what she needs to figure out before she makes any moves.

In this episode:

The Rule of 55 — what it is, how it works, and whether it's the right move

Why the 4% rule may not be enough when you're only 56

Healthcare on the open market: what it really costs for a family of six post-subsidy

How unvested stock grants could completely change Louise's retirement picture

Why your home equity belongs in your net worth calculation

The case for finding a middle path between burnout and full retirement

What to ask a financial advisor before making any early retirement decisions

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