Eat the Avocado Toast w/ Justin & Haley Brown-Woods #1040

11 snips

Sep 24, 2025

Justin and Haley Brown-Woods, financial counselors and co-hosts of the Price of Avocado Toast podcast, share their inspiring journey of paying off six-figure debt on teacher salaries. They discuss the emotional toll of financial shame and the importance of behavioral change in debt management. Listeners learn why tracking expenses is crucial for financial clarity, and how lifestyle inflation can lead to overwhelming debt. The couple also reveals how transformative experiences can strengthen relationships, proving that managing money involves both strategy and emotional insight.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Enjoying Life While Money Lasted

They used the inheritance to buy a house, Roth IRAs, travel, and lifestyle upgrades.
The couple enjoyed that season and admit it felt great until the money was gone.

ANECDOTE

Lottery-Sized Windfall Turned Debt Crisis

Justin inherited $600,000 from a wrongful-death settlement and spent it within a few years.
He and Haley then accumulated over $220,000 in debt after lifestyle inflation.

ADVICE

Side Hustle For A Season, Not Forever

Use extra work or side gigs for a season if it helps reach a clear financial goal.
Avoid indefinite hustling and ensure root causes of debt are addressed to prevent relapse.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The supposed luxury of avocado toast, along with the latte, has become an “ok boomer” personal finance tip. “Stop frivolously spending your money and you’d be rich!”... we don’t actually believe that here at HTM and even if there’s a modicum of truth to that statement, it presents other challenges like: how long do you sacrifice in the short-term in order to achieve long-term financial success? Which is why we’re pumped to have financial counselors Justin & Haley Browns-Wood join the podcast today because these are the types of questions they guide their clients through on the reg.

Justin & Haley share their story which includes paying off six figures in debt – all on teacher’s salaries, despite burning through a $600,000 settlement. The couple behind Price of Avocado Toast discusses how lifestyle inflation led to their out of control debt, why debt consolidation is risky without behavioral change, examples of how tracking expenses are essential for gaining financial clarity, how shame around debt can be a common barrier to financial progress, but then we also talk about OkCupid and the intersection of intimacy and Dave Ramsey – it turns out that transformative experiences can strengthen relationships!

Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:

Head to PriceOfAvocadoToast.com to learn about everything Justin & Haley, including their financial coacking.
Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here.
Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group!
Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile.

And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.