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Download Vivian’s financial companion app Ask Dolly HERE! Political ads are everywhere this time of year, but the people paying for them are a lot harder to spot. Running for office in America can cost anywhere from $1,000 to over $1 billion, and a growing share of that money is legally designed to stay hidden until after the votes are counted. Vivian breaks down elections like an economist would, as a market for attention, trust, and power, so you can figure out who’s bankrolling the people asking for your vote before you head to the polls this midterm season. In this episode, Vivian covers:  1. Following the money: What it really costs to run for office from school board to the White House, the four ways money reaches a candidate, how much you can legally donate in 2026, and how super PACs got so super. 2. Where the money hides: Pop-up super PACs that dodge disclosure until after Election Day, dark money routed through nonprofits, the Supreme Court ruling that just lifted limits on party coordinated spending, and a speed-run of campaign finance history from George Washington’s punch and cider to today. 3. What you can actually do: How to look up any candidate’s donors for free, whether it’s still worth donating if the system feels rigged, first financial steps for running for local office, how other countries handle campaign cash, and whether all that campaign spending is actually good for the economy. Look up candidates financials at https://www.fec.gov/data/ or on https://www.opensecrets.org/ (formerly followthemoney.org) Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Download Vivian’s financial companion app Ask Dolly ⁠HERE ! You can send out 300 applications and hear nothing back, unemployment is only down because people are giving up on the job hunt, and the folks who do have jobs feel like they have nowhere else to go. In this episode, Vivian sits down with Workhap CEO, and Get Hired, Get Paid, Get Happy author Sho Dewan to talk about how to land a job in a bad market, get paid what you’re worth, and maybe even like your job again. Vivian and Sho discuss: 1. Getting hired: The state of the job market today, the most common resume mistakes and how to fix them, applying in the age of AI resume reviews, interview strategies for the socially anxious, and how to get taken seriously for a role in a brand-new industry. 2. Getting paid: How to negotiate a raise when your company swears there’s no budget, telling a bad season apart from a sign it’s time to leave, and whether the highest-paying jobs really have to be in major cities. 3. Building your own opportunities: What actually counts as networking, making connections without being a nepo baby, when to ask for a favor and how to word the outreach message, and Sho’s translations of corporate-speak like “we’re like family” and “unlimited PTO.” Get Sho’s book Get Hired, Get Paid, Get Happy HERE! Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our president launched a memecoin, Congressional representatives pulled in over $635 million in stock gains last year, and political candidates are placing bets on their own races. In this episode, Vivian breaks down the not-so-secret ways public officials are cashing in on their positions, why it's a problem on both sides of the aisle, and what you can actually do about it. 1. Trump's $2.2 billion year: Crypto 101, how blockchain works, why memecoins are so volatile, how $TRUMP and World Liberty Financial made up about $1.5 billion of his income, and why he profits whether the coin goes up or down. 2. Congress and the stock market: Nancy Pelosi's portfolio outpacing the S&P 500, the 2025 top earners Richard Blumenthal and Michael McCaul, what the STOCK Act already bans, and the new Stop Insider Trading Act.  3. Prediction markets and politics: The Polymarket bet on the Venezuela raid, suspicious wagers on military operations, George Santos and Kalshi, the Senate's new ban, and what the K-shaped economy means for everyone not trading on inside info. Download Vivian’s financial companion app Ask Dolly HERE and let us know what you think! Learn more about the Nancy Pelosi stock tracker at https://pelositracker.app/portfolios/nancy-pelosi See which members of Congress traded the most in 2025 at https://www.commoncause.org/articles/congress-made-over-635-million-in-stock-trades-while-americans-struggled-see-who-traded-the-most/ Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why does an $8 latte suddenly come with a 20% tip prompt? In this episode, Vivian dives into how tipping in America got so out of hand, who you absolutely have to tip, and when it's totally okay to skip the tip when the iPad swings your way. Plus, what the new "no tax on tips" policy really means for service industry workers. 1. How tipping took over America: European roots, post-Civil War racism, Pullman railcars and hotels, the 1966 tip credit, the $2.13 sub-minimum wage frozen since 1996. 2. Who to tip and how much: 15-25% for sit-down service, a few bucks per service for valets and housekeeping, counter orders and salaried professionals, wedding vendor tipping, tipping etiquette abroad. 3. What's next for tipped workers: budgeting on an unpredictable income, the pros and cons of no tax on tips, bias in tipping, the shift toward service charges and banning the sub-minimum wage. Download Vivian’s financial companion app Ask Dolly) HERE and let us know what you think! Check out Prof G Markets at https://www.youtube.com/@ProfGMarkets Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IPOs are having a major moment; SpaceX just had the biggest IPO in history, Anthropic and OpenAI are lining up next, and suddenly everyone's throwing this term around like they know what it means. Vivian breaks down what actually happens when a company goes public, whether the hype is ever worth it, and what SpaceX's rollercoaster can teach us about IPO investing. 1. What an IPO actually is: the process of a company going from private to public, why companies choose to do it (cashing out early investors, raising capital for growth, and the marketing splash), and what happens behind the scenes with underwriters, lock-up agreements, and IOIs before shares ever hit the market. 2. Why IPOs have been a losing bet since 2019: peak valuations from the 2020-2021 boom, the Fed's interest rate hikes squeezing growth stocks, and lower-quality companies going public and getting measured against mega-cap winners. 3. Should you actually buy one: how to think about risk (keep it to 2-5% of your portfolio), alternatives like IPO ETFs, and a look at other 2025 IPO stories — Bending Spoons, Shein's years-long path to going public, and the direct listing, SPAC, and reverse merger routes companies take instead. Download Vivian’s financial companion app, Ask Dolly, HERE ! Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Download Ask Dolly in the Apple App Store HERE!  Besties, Vivian has been sitting on a secret and today she's finally spilling it: Ask Dolly, her brand-new app, is officially live in the Apple App Store! Built to treat your money like your annual physical, Ask Dolly diagnoses your financial strengths and weaknesses, answers your toughest money questions, and connects you to real, human Certified Financial Planners. No jargon, no judgment, and no minimum bank balance required. In this episode, Vivian covers: 1. What Ask Dolly does: tracks your money, savings, and investing progress in one place, delivers personalized investing guidance, and breaks down confusing economic news into something you can actually use. 2. Why Vivian built it: bootstrapped with her own money, no outside investors, born from thousands of BFF DMs asking for real financial guidance she couldn't keep up with one by one. 3. Real BFF questions, answered: estate planning on a budget, Backdoor Roth strategies, navigating a divorce settlement, helping aging parents catch up on retirement, and what actually belongs in a prenup. Download Ask Dolly today in the Apple App Store (Android coming soon) HERE and let us know what you think! Plus, keep up with Ask Dolly on Instagram! Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivian is breaking down the real cost of hustle culture and why working harder doesn’t always mean making more money. From the DoorDash orders and Ubers that come with an overpacked schedule to burnout, income volatility, and missed career opportunities, this episode explores how the grind can quietly start costing you more than it’s making you. In this episode, Vivian covers: 1. The hidden financial costs of hustle culture, why juggling multiple side gigs can sometimes hurt your long-term earning potential, and how to tell when working more is no longer worth it 2. Why Gen Z is rejecting the traditional grind through trends like quiet quitting and the “soft life,” and what they might actually be getting right about productivity, ambition, and burnout 3. How to build wealth without sacrificing your entire life, from negotiating for more money at your current job to putting your savings, investments, and retirement accounts to work so your money can grow without adding more hours to your schedule Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Think sales isn't your thing? Think again! Whether you're negotiating a raise, pitching investors, or just trying to land your dream job, you're selling something every single day. This week, Vivian sits down with Shelby Sapp, the internet's Sales Queen, who's teaching over 1.6 million followers how to pitch, close, and get paid like a pro.  In this episode, Vivian and Shelby cover: 1. The sales fundamentals: the hardest things to sell, the real difference between door-to-door and high-ticket sales, and how to walk into any room and command respect from the jump 2. Selling yourself: how to pitch yourself at work, network without sounding desperate, handle common pushback, and avoid the mistakes that tank most pitches 3. The closer mindset: busting the biggest sales myths, her rapid-fire money advice on negotiation, financial decisions, and building wealth on your own terms Check out more from Shelby on IG HERE! And on her website: https://shelbysapp.com/ Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your credit score can make or break your ability to buy a house, rent an apartment, or even land a job, but do you actually know how that three-digit number gets calculated? Vivian breaks down the wild, biased history of credit scoring and gives you the real playbook for building, or rebuilding, a great score.  In this episode, Vivian covers: 1. The history of credit scores, from Mesopotamian debt tablets, to the 1841 Mercantile Agency, to the birth of FICO in 1956, to the anti-discrimination laws that (kind of) fixed things 2. How to actually build credit, secured credit cards, credit-builder loans, rent and utility reporting, becoming an authorized user, and the five factors FICO uses to calculate your score 3. The system's blind spots, and what to do if your score takes an unexpected hit Interested in checking your credit score? Head to https://www.annualcreditreport.com Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should saving money on back-to-school shopping actually be this complicated? This week, Vivian breaks down exactly how to shop smarter this fall, and why the "back-to-school haul" mentality might be quietly draining your bank account. In this episode, Vivian covers: 1. Why tech is the biggest back-to-school money trap, how trade-in programs and refurbished gadgets can save you hundreds, and the student discounts most people forget even exist. 2. The real cost of college essentials, why paying full price for textbooks is basically a scam, the "wait until you get there" rule for dorm shopping, and how 529 accounts and ESAs can make thousands of dollars in expenses tax-free. 3. What's actually changing with federal student loans in 2026, why timing your FAFSA and your borrowing matters more than people think, and the parent-tested hacks, from bulk-buying supplies to secondhand clothes, that cut costs without cutting corners. Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should you rent or buy? Turns out the "adult" thing to do isn't always the smart financial move. This week, Vivian sits down with Amanda Pendleton, Home Trends Expert at Zillow, to break down why the old rules of real estate don't apply anymore, and what actually makes sense for your life instead of your parents' life. In this episode, Vivian and Amanda cover: 1. Why the "buying means you've made it" mindset is so hard to shake, whether Gen-Z's fears about never owning a home are actually justified, and the cities right now where renters come out ahead financially, even over 30 years. 2. The real questions to ask before you ever open a mortgage calculator, whether "throwing money away on rent" is actually true, and the hidden costs, taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA fees, that blow up most people's math. 3.What to do if you don't have 20% saved, the down payment assistance programs most first-time buyers don't know exist, and the one piece of conventional real estate wisdom Amanda thinks you should ignore. Keep up with Amanda at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-pendleton-b0b98056/.  Learn more about Zillow’s BuyAbility calculator https://www.zillow.com/homeloans/buyability/ and try out the rent vs buy calculator https://www.zillow.com/rent-vs-buy-calculator.  Find the Zillow Plan tab https://www.zillow.com/plan.  Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health insurance denials are out of control, and insurance companies are banking on you just accepting it and paying the bill. This week, Vivian sits down with Zach Veigulis, co-founder and Chief AI Officer at Claimable, to break down the villain origin story of health insurance and exactly how to fight back when your claim gets denied. In this episode, Vivian and Zach cover: 1. Why claims get denied in the first place, which types of claims get denied at disproportionately high rates, and why you should never just accept a denial and pay the bill. 2. The exact steps to take to appeal a denial (and how fast you need to move), the magic words to use in an appeal letter, how to tell a real coverage denial from a bogus billing error, and what "medically necessary" really means. 3. What to do if you can't afford the bill while your appeal is pending, and the nuclear options, think state insurance commissioners and patient advocates, if you're denied at every level. Check out Claimable at https://www.getclaimable.com/. Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivian gets brutally honest about her own biggest financial mistakes; the ones she made before she was Your Rich BFF, when she was just a broke twenty-something figuring out money the hard way. From a credit card mishap that tanked her score by 60 points to the retirement account she funded but never actually invested, this episode is a tour through every money misstep so you don't have to make them yourself. In this episode, Vivian covers: 1. Why closing your oldest credit card can quietly wreck your score, the difference between "cheap now" and "cheap long term" and why buying stuff to impress people you don't even like never actually pays off. 2. The most common retirement mistake almost everyone makes and how to avoid it. Plus how to track down security deposits (and interest!) landlords conveniently "forget" to return. 3. Why comparing your finances to your friends' is a losing game, how unsupportive friendships can cost you more than money, and why your parents' financial advice might be stuck in an economy that no longer exists. Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivian dives into the "thinness economy" and the surprising ways weight bias can affect your finances, career, and earning potential. From GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to workplace discrimination, social media beauty standards, and the booming weight loss industry, this episode explores the uncomfortable intersection of money, health, and appearance. In this episode, you'll learn: 1. How weight bias impacts hiring, salaries, promotions, and long-term wealth, why obesity is a disease rather than a moral failure, and the hidden economic costs of discrimination. 2. The real financial tradeoffs of GLP-1 medications, including who can actually afford them, what insurance does and doesn't cover, and whether these drugs are a financial investment or simply another expensive response to societal pressure. 3. How the "thinness economy" is reshaping entire industries… from grocery stores and restaurants to airlines, fashion, and healthcare, and what these shifts mean for your wallet and the future of consumer spending. Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivian is sitting down with Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® Michelle M. Smith and breaking down how to protect your money before, during, and after a divorce. From the assets people fight over most, to the red flags that signal financial danger in a relationship, this episode is your guide to navigating a split without losing your shirt (or your sanity). In this episode, you'll learn: 1. What a divorce financial specialist actually does, including what a typical session looks like and how "high-net-worth" is defined when it comes to dividing assets. 2. The most contested assets and common mistakes people make in divorce, plus the red flags that indicate someone may be in financial danger in their relationship, and misconceptions about why women are more often the ones filing. 3. How to protect yourself financially in a relationship, including what to do before you say "I do," Michelle's honest take on the tradwife and stay-at-home girlfriend trend, and the one piece of divorce advice she thinks is total garbage. Learn more about Michelle and her work at https://savantwealth.com/ Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTok! Got a financial question you want answered in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices