Advertise on podcast: Money Unplugged with Chris Hill

Cassie Holmes has spent her career studying how we spend our time and why it may matter more to our happiness than money. But her own relationship with money started with an argument she overheard as a kid. Cassie is a professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and the author of the bestselling book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. She talks with Chris Hill about how that early unease shaped her approach to work, spending, and time, as well as: - A summer job that taught her something her Ivy League education hadn't - Why her business school colleagues rolled their eyes at studying happiness (and what changed their minds) - The one thing she spends money on that lines up perfectly with her research - Her biggest money regret, and why it isn't something she bought Every Money Unplugged interview is on our YouTube channel, PLUS animated clips of favorite moments from the show! Want to instantly improve your cooking? Go to dizzypigbbq.com and use the promo code “MONEY” to get 10% off your 1st order.  Opening clip – “Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster”

Worth roughly $200 trillion, the bond market is bigger than the stock market, and  even bigger than the entire banking system. Despite that, most investors barely think about it. Robin Wigglesworth, global finance correspondent and editor of FT Alphaville at the Financial Times, explains why it's the most important financial market of them all. He talks with Chris Hill about: - How a car wash taught him to read the fine print - The market jitters in April 2025 that changed President Trump's mind - A generational stock investment he almost made as a student - Career advice you won't believe until you learn it the hard way Check out Robin’s new book, A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World. Discover Mar Mar, the chili garlic flavor that goes on everything! Go to ilovemarmar.com and use the promo code “MONEY” for 10% off. Opening clip – “Heist”

Ian Cassel invests where almost no one else will: companies too small and too illiquid for Wall Street to touch. The founder of MicroCapClub sits down with Chris Hill to share what that world actually looks like from the inside, and why he believes it offers individual investors an edge, as well as: - The fake identity he invented at 20 to talk his way into a one-on-one meeting with a public company CEO - What he looks for beyond the financial statements when he meets with a company’s management - A purchase he made in the depths of the 2009 crash that he still thinks about - His dad's simple rule about charitable giving that took him a decade to understand Check out Ian’s new book Stock Picker: How to develop the mindset, temperament, and strategy to outperform Wall Street. Fuel your workouts with Hammer Nutrition! Get 25% off your first order plus $30 in free samples when you use the promo code “MONEY”. Opening clip – “Glengarry Glen Ross”

Scott Phillips is the Chief Investment Officer of Motley Fool Australia, host of the podcast Motley Fool Money, and author of the new book The One-Page Investing Plan. He talks with Chris Hill about how his childhood money habits were shaped by his dad's labeled tobacco tins, and a financial decision in his 20s that still stings, as well as: - The pay cut he took to become a professional investor - A decision he and his wife made to prioritize financial peace of mind over maximizing their wealth - Why the fear of a market crash doesn't get easier with experience - How the movie Wall Street still holds up after nearly 40 years Want to invest like the pros? Try TIKR for free at tikr.com/unplugged. Opening clip – “Wall Street”

When Heather Boneparth was eight years old, her grandfather screamed at her for wanting to give money to a homeless man on the side of the road. Years later, on his deathbed, his parting words to her were "all that matters in this world is your blood and your money." In a rerun of this fan-favorite episode, Heather (attorney and director of business & legal affairs at Bone Fide Wealth) opens up to Chris Hill about the money lessons she’s spent her adult life trying to unlearn, as well as: - The importance of sticking your neck out for people - An event that made her feel back in control of her financial life - Why interviewing relationship experts for her book felt like "two hours of free therapy" - The best TV series about money Check out Heather's book Money Together. Opening clip – “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze”

Kristina O'Neill spent more than a decade at The Wall Street Journal as the editor-in-chief of WSJ. Magazine. Then, in 2023, she got fired. The financial implications were immediate: a severance cushion, but no guarantee of what would come next in a media industry with few opportunities at her level. Instead, she and Laura Brown turned the experience into the bestselling book All the Cool Girls Get Fired, and a podcast built on the same premise. Kristina talks with Chris Hill about:  - A childhood shopping trip that still shapes how she spends money as an adult  - The “unicorn” college she couldn’t resist - Why she decided to stop hiding the fact that she got fired  - The money lesson she learned from covering the luxury industry Email [email protected] with questions, suggestions, etc. Opening clip – “Sex and the City”

What happens when you have so much money that you stop thinking about the dollars—and start thinking about the zeros? Adam Katz spent two decades in financial services, then went through a major wealth-creation event of his own. Now he helps people rethink their relationship with money, using ideas including what he calls the "Three-Digit Rule." Adam talks with Chris Hill about: - A surprising way his childhood shaped his relationship with money - What he learned on his way to winning a state arm-wrestling championship - What the movie Brewster’s Millions can teach us about the surprising challenge of spending  - The benefits of practicing "random acts of daily financial kindness" Tell us about a thing you bought that makes you happy! Email [email protected] Opening clip – “Chinatown”

Spencer Ela had a steady job at a bank and a clear path to management. Then he quit — with no job lined up — to try to make it in Hollywood, an industry where (despite growing up in LA) he knew almost no one. Today, he's a senior vice president at Miramax — the studio behind Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, and No Country for Old Men. Spencer talks with Chris Hill about that leap, what his parents thought, and the surprisingly strange economics of moviemaking once you're on the inside. - Why a $100 million movie might actually cost a studio only $50 million  - How a movie can keep making money for decades after it leaves theaters  - The BMW leases that Spencer now wishes he'd traded for NVIDIA stock Opening clip – “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Some of the best money lessons don't come from a textbook. They come from watching an institution fall apart—or making an expensive mistake of your own. Dan Messeca, CFP, is the co-founder of Craftwork Capital and co-host of the podcast Check Your Balances. He talks with Chris Hill about watching the Wells Fargo–Wachovia merger from the inside and co-founding Crooked Crab Brewing with two friends. They also discuss: - An unusual first job he had as a teenager - Starting his finance career as the 2008 financial crisis was reshaping the industry - The five-figure mistakes he and his partners made while building a brewery - His father’s unforgettable advice in four simple words Got a question for the show? Email [email protected] Opening clip – “Ray”

Couples rarely argue about dollars and cents. More often, they're arguing about security, freedom, priorities, and the future they want to build together. Ross Anderson, CFP, is the co-founder of Craftwork Capital and co-host of the podcast Check Your Balances. He talks with Chris Hill about growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, what it’s like sitting across from couples who are miles apart on money, and how digging himself out of debt changed the way he thinks about money. They also discuss: - Why he couldn’t wait to get his first job at 14 - Entering the financial industry at exactly the wrong time - The innocent budgeting question that raises a red flag - How Together We Bake is changing lives—one cookie at a time Got a question for the show? Email [email protected] Opening clip – “Boiler Room”

We think about wealth as a finish line — hit your number and the anxiety stops. Blair duQuesnay, a financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, says it's almost never that simple. Her clients (ultra-high-net-worth families) aren't worried about running out of money. They're worried about screwing it up. Blair talks with Chris Hill about growing up in a Southern family where money was never really discussed, transferring colleges to study finance (after starting as a dance major), and writing The Belle Curve, her newsletter on money, markets, and wealth, as well as: - Having a front-row seat to the 2008 financial crisis while working in an office right next to Lehman Brothers - Starting her own RIA and having to wait tables to make ends meet - What she wishes she had understood about risk earlier in her career - The $400 phone call she would like to take back Discover Mar Mar, the chili garlic flavor that goes on everything. Go to ilovemarmar.com and use the promo code “MONEY” for 10% off. Opening clip – “Margin Call”

Jesse Cramer had two engineering degrees and a stable, well-paying career designing hardware for an aerospace company. Then one day, about six months into his first job out of college, he looked at his 401(k) statement and saw $11,000 sitting there. That single moment sparked an interest in investing and compound interest that eventually pulled him out of engineering altogether and into a career managing other people's money. Jesse talks with Chris Hill about: - Why he kept a full-time engineering career for years after that moment - Starting a finance blog after colleagues kept asking him 401(k) questions at work - What surprised him most about managing real money for clients versus just writing about it - The hot tub purchase he still regrets and what it taught him Why do YOU listen to Money Unplugged? Tell us at [email protected]. Want to invest like the pros? Try TIKR for free at tikr.com/unplugged. Opening clip – “Moneyball”

Alison Kosik spent years reporting live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for CNN—and for most of that time, she wasn't investing a dollar of her own money. She could explain the market to millions of viewers, but couldn't bring herself to trust herself with her own finances. Alison talks with Chris Hill about: - How her parents' fights about money affected her financial confidence as an adult - Taking a $13,000-a-year TV job in Corpus Christi and sleeping on a piece of foam to pursue her journalism career - The divorce that finally pushed her to start investing with confidence - Why she didn't truly believe in the power of compounding until recently Check out Alison's book, What's Up With Women and Money? How to Do All the Financial Stuff You've Been Avoiding, wherever books are sold. Discover Mar Mar, the chili garlic flavor that goes on everything. Go to ilovemarmar.com and use the promo code “MONEY” for 10% off. Opening clip – “Wall Street”

We all outsource some part of our financial life — taxes, investments, retirement contributions, etc. But it turns out you can outsource the small stuff too! Even if that means leaning on the person sitting next to you at a blackjack table.  In this holiday weekend solo episode, Chris Hill covers: - A favor to ask of you — why do you listen to Money Unplugged, and what do you get out of it? (Email: [email protected]) - One thing every guest on this show, every Marvel superhero, and even America itself have in common - What two very experienced friends taught him about knowing when to ask for help Opening clip – “The Color of Money”

Paula Pant grew up watching her mother spend six hours going between four different grocery stores, coupons sorted by location, all to save a few dollars on milk and bread. Frugality wasn't a choice in the Pant household — it was the operating system. It took years for her to realize that nobody had ever asked what all that time was actually worth. Host of the popular podcast Afford Anything, Paula talks with Chris Hill about that early lesson and how she unlearned it, as well as: - How getting rejected by Taco Bell at 15 led to a career in journalism (eventually) - Why frugality can be its own trap - What freelancing taught her about the real relationship between time and money - Her framework for building wealth, and why mindset comes before tactics Got a question for the show? Email [email protected]. Want to instantly improve your cooking? Go to dizzypigbbq.com and use the promo code “MONEY” to get 10% off your 1st order.  Opening clip – “Sex and the City”