How To Have a Better Relationship With Money and Maximize Every Dollar

Apr 14, 2025

Shannah Game, host of Everyone's Talkin' Money and author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money, joins the discussion on transforming your money mindset. She emphasizes the impact of childhood beliefs on current financial habits and introduces the concept of weekly "money dates". The conversation then shifts to practical strategies for those navigating tight budgets, like building an emergency fund and investing small amounts. Listeners gain insights into leveraging budgeting tools and retirement accounts, ensuring a balanced approach to savings and longer-term goals.

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INSIGHT

Money Is Emotional and Learned

Money is not just math; it's deeply tied to emotions, behaviors, and upbringing.
Childhood experiences by age seven heavily influence our money habits and beliefs.

ADVICE

Listen to Your Body's Money Signals

Pay attention to how your body reacts during money conversations or decisions.
Use physical cues like racing heart or sweaty palms to identify financial stress or fears.

ADVICE

Address Money Fears With Action

Acknowledge your money fears without judgment and explore their origins.
Pair acknowledgment with action, like setting up an emergency fund or contributing to retirement, to overcome them.

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Learn how to explore your money beliefs and take real steps toward saving and investing, even on a tight income.

What’s really behind your money habits? How can you build savings and invest if you’re not earning much? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss how your relationship with money shapes your financial behaviors and what you can do to change that narrative. Joined by Shannah Game, host of Everyone’s Talkin’ Money and author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money, they begin with a discussion of how money beliefs form in childhood, how your body gives clues about financial stress, and how weekly “money dates” can help shift your mindset, spending, and long-term financial outcomes.

Then, Katie, a listener navigating a career change and major life transition, joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss budgeting on a lower income and how to make progress on both emergency savings and retirement. They discuss how to build an emergency fund with irregular income, when and how to roll over 403(b) accounts into an IRA, and how to invest small amounts without feeling discouraged. The conversation also covers tools like the 50/30/20 budget and NerdWallet’s retirement calculator to help Katie — and listeners like her — build a path forward, even if they feel like they're starting late.

Are you on track to save enough for retirement? Use NerdWallet’s free retirement calculator to check your progress, see how much retirement income you'll have and estimate how much more you should save: https://www.nerdwallet.com/calculator/retirement-calculator

NerdWallet’s roundup of the best IRA accounts: https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/investing/ira-accounts

In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: how to fix your relationship with money, money beliefs, financial trauma, budgeting on low income, how to start saving money, emotional spending, how to invest with little money, financial self-awareness, weekly money date, how much to save for emergencies, what is a 403b, 403b rollover to IRA, Roth IRA vs traditional IRA, how to track spending, how to set money goals, compound interest explained, how to save for retirement in your 30s, moving in with a partner finances, financial independence, personal finance for late starters, how to handle a career pivot financially, how to build an emergency fund, aligning spending with goals, how to start investing in your 30s, best IRAs for beginners, saving vs investing priorities, high-yield savings account, budgeting tools for beginners, financial planning on hourly wages, financial literacy basics, how to track expenses, how to make money habits stick, celebrating financial wins, how childhood affects money habits, somatic responses to money, financial therapy, how to stop money anxiety, 50/30/20 budget rule, NerdWallet retirement calculator.

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com.

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