December 16, 2024
Another year arrives. And with it, you’re further removed from your college days. (Sorry!)
But good news: your income has started to grow, along with your savings. You think you probably should invest more. But how? Where? In which accounts? That’s where the best finance podcasts for Millennials may come in.
You need access to clear, simple information. At some point, you may want to work with a financial advisor. But first, perhaps you want to boost your financial education.
Personal finance doesn’t need to be as complicated as you may think. To be clear, that’s not the same as easy. We all face financial tradeoffs, and that makes our choices stressful and time-consuming.
But practical information from a good money podcast can eliminate unnecessary self-doubt.
I’ve removed the Real Personal Finance podcast, which concluded its initial run in March 2023. Instead, I’ve added the Heir Necessities podcast, which covers Millennial inheritances, to the list this year.
Happy listening!
We have an overwhelming number of options for personal finance information. Should you ask your parents? Your colleagues? What about a blog? Or social media? Let’s assume for a moment that you’re not yet ready to work with a financial advisor for Millennials. In that case, a thoughtful personal finance podcast is one of my favorite alternative resources.
What do my “best finance podcasts for Millennials” selections have in common? During my research, I looked for the following three criteria:
With that in mind, here are what I consider to be the 5 best finance podcast for Millennials in 2025:
“Katie Gatti Tassin is the personality behind the blog, podcast, and newsletter brand, Money with Katie. She started writing about money in 2020 after a few years of independent personal finance consulting and consuming all the personal finance content she could get her hands on. Since then, Money with Katie has grown to a community near-100,000 strong, and she focuses on teaching #RichGirls how to make their money work for them.” (From her appearance on the So Money podcast)
“Finance bros are out, #RichGirls are in. Join Money with Katie and her guests as they talk spending habits, smart investing, and tax strategies – without putting you to sleep. Listen weekly on Wednesdays to learn how to turn your Rich Girl mindset into money.”
Gatti Tassin really gets the challenges that Millennials face. And her understanding shines through in each episode. She covers a wide range of financial topics, all of which are relevant in some way to her audience. From budgeting to investing, and debt management to building wealth — she’s got you covered.
I love how Gatti Tassin breaks down complex financial concepts into easy-to-understand language. She explains financial concepts in relatable and accessible ways. And as a result, her listeners have an easier time applying the wisdom to their own lives. Unlike many people in personal finance, she closes the gap between financial jargon and everyday language. The result for the listener is an engaging and educational experience.
“For example, if you’re someone who’s been at this for awhile and you’ve got, say, $250,000 invested, 20 years at a 6% real rate of return is as good as $800,000 in your pocket, and that’s $800,000 of purchasing power in today’s dollars, without adding another dollar. In this type of situation, you may already be in a position where you can safely downshift and make life adjustments without meaningfully threatening your future security.
To put an even finer point on this, you may already have enough saved and invested for future use needs that any stress you are currently experiencing about sticking around in a highly paid field that isn’t right for you might be unfounded.
Because we don’t know what the individually funded and personally responsible retirement is going to look like at large, it’s worth interrogating whether or not the traditional model for retirement still makes sense for today’s generation of young people. Instead, you can determine what a life you don’t need a break from looks like, and set your financial goals accordingly with a range based on your spending. Depending on your age and how much you’ve already saved and invested, you may be closer to safety than you think. And having a general command of financial frameworks, like the 4% rule and compounding, can help contextualize your choices if you want or need to downshift or simply change course.”
You can listen to the Money With Katie podcast here!
Katherine Fox, CFP®, is the founder of Sunnybranch Wealth. She’s also the creator and host of the Heir Necessities podcast.
This podcast “is your insider’s guide to the complex world of inheritance. Join Katherine… for bi-weekly, 15-minute episodes that demystify the inheritance process. Katherine breaks down everything from awkward family money talks to ethical investing.
She’s your personal ‘old white man translator,’ turning stuffy financial jargon into advice you’ll actually use. Whether you’re dealing with a trust fund, a surprise windfall, or are anticipating an inheritance, Heir Necessities has straight talk and smart strategies to help you navigate your newfound wealth.
Tune in for insights and honest conversations to help you write your own financial story – because there’s more to inheriting wealth than just the money.”
Inheritances are a complex, emotionally-charged topic.
But the Heir Necessities podcast makes the rules and strategies relatable and accessible. Katherine excels at explaining confusing legal jargon surrounding inheritances. For example, in a matter of minutes, she can teach you about differences between wills and trusts. Her episodes also explore common mistakes, including around taxation and family communication.
Millennials are increasingly inheriting money from older generations. Katherine’s practical advice is essential for anyone who is in this situation.
On November 20, 2024, Katherine discussed the rules associated with inherited IRAs. Included in her advice to Millennials, she said:
“The reason that these pre-tax inherited retirement accounts are different than other accounts is because there is a whole set of rules placed on them because of the tax advantages they have during someone’s lifetime. Basically what the government has said is, okay, we’re gonna give you all these tax advantages of these pre-tax retirement accounts during your lifetime, but we don’t wanna give the same tax advantages to your heirs because we want to get paid the taxes that are owed to us to the government on this money.
And so in 2019, there was passage of something called the Secure Act, and it radically changed what happens to beneficiaries when they inherit an IRA account. So if you’re listening to this, maybe one of your parents died and you inherited an IRA six or seven years ago. If you think another IRA might be coming to you in the future, then it’s actually going to look very different than what happened to you when you inherited that first account.
And let’s talk about how it looks like now. So the first thing you need to know about inheriting an IRA is that there are two different types of beneficiaries. There are what’s called eligible beneficiaries and non eligible beneficiaries. And the rules about what you have to do with an inherited IRA are different depending on which camp you fall into.”
You can listen to the Heir Necessities podcast here!
Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. He’s also the author of The Psychology of Money, which has sold over three million copies worldwide. Housel released his second book, Same as Ever, in the fall of 2023.
The podcast is about “timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness.” But, he adds, “I have no idea where it’s going, how many I’ll do, how often I’ll do it, etc.” (So enjoy it while it’s here!)
Morgan Housel is one of the best and most popular financial writers of our generation. His ability to tie different stories and life lessons to personal finance is unparalleled. And his professional experiences writing about different aspects of finance make his podcast a valuable resource for every Millennial.
One of the most unique aspects of the Morgan Housel Podcast is its focus on behavioral finance. Housel regularly explores the psychological aspects of investing. He also commonly points outs the behavioral biases that can impact our investment decisions.
More than most other money podcasts, the Morgan Housel Podcast is incredibly thought-provoking. Housel’s personal interest in exploring a wide range of topics and ideas can feel like a departure from what we expect from this genre of podcast. But the examples and lessons always tie back to our money, often in unique and novel ways.
“The highest forms of wealth are measured differently. A few stick out:
1. Controlling your time and the ability to wake up and say, ‘I can do whatever I want today.’
Five-year-old Franklin Roosevelt complained that his life was dictated by rules. So his mother gave him a day free of structure – he could do whatever he pleased. Sara Roosevelt wrote in her diary that day: ‘Quite of his own accord, he went contently back to his routine.’
There’s a difference between working hard because you want to and working hard because someone else told you you had to, and how to do it, and when to do it. Even if you’re doing the same work, the independence of doing it on your own terms changes everything in the same way that sleeping in a tent is fun when you’re camping but miserable when you’re homeless.
To me, the highest form of wealth is controlling your time.
Wealth can lead to time independence, but it’s never assured. It can be the opposite, as whatever created the wealth – whether a company or an inheritance – creates a claim on your time in equal proportion to its financial reward. A great number of CEOs fall into this category: They have an abundance of wealth and not a moment of free time or scheduling control even when it’s desired, which is its own form of poverty.
Charlie Munger summed it up: ‘I did not intend to get rich. I just wanted to get independent.’ It’s a wonderful goal, and harder to measure than net worth.”
You can listen to The Morgan Housel Podcast here!
Peter Lazaroff is the Chief Investment Officer of Plancorp. He’s also the author of Making Money Simple.
“Long-term investing made simple. Most people enter the markets without understanding how to grow their wealth over the long term or clearly hit their financial goals. The Long Term Investor shows you how to proactively minimize taxes, hedge against rising inflation, and ride the waves of volatility with confidence. …Lazaroff shares practical advice on how to make smart investment decisions your future self with thank you for.”
The Long Term Investor podcast is perfect for young professionals who want to nerd out over personal finance details. Peter provides sharp insights about key investment concepts, such as costs, portfolio diversification, and risk management. Along the way, you’re sure to learn how to build wealth for the future.
And most importantly, Peter doesn’t overwhelm the listener with opaque terminology. Instead, he emphasizes education and transparency. He breaks down complex investment concepts into digestible explanations. So even listeners who are new to investing can learn how to invest prudently. This approach helps his audience build knowledge, while avoiding common mistakes.
Lastly, the Long Term Investor podcast shines due to its research-driven format and narrative. Peter doesn’t promote specific products or speculate recklessly about the future. Instead, he prioritizes objective analysis and insights. His commitment is particularly valuable for listeners who, as I mentioned earlier, seek reliable and trustworthy information.
“A solid understanding of how to measure return on your bond portfolio and how bond prices change when interest rates change gives a lot more context to the misconceptions about the use of individual bonds versus bond funds in a portfolio.
The most common misconception among investors holding individual bonds is that they often believe price fluctuations don’t impact their holdings if they hold the bond to maturity.
While it’s true that holding an individual bond to maturity will result in the return of principal if the bond issuer doesn’t default, those nominal dollars will be worth less with inflation and during periods of higher interest rates.
Plus the lack of price volatility in individual bonds is an illusion. Individual bond prices fluctuate every day, even if held to maturity, but you may not notice if the bond isn’t re-priced every day.
The other common concern I hear from investors owning individual bonds is that most bond funds do not mature — but most individual bonds are part of a bond portfolio that never mature either. Investors usually reinvest the proceeds of maturing bonds into new bonds.
…Bonds play an important role in reducing your portfolio’s volatility, but today’s higher interest rates make the disadvantages of individual bonds versus bond funds even more prevalent. Investors using individual bonds for their fixed income allocation would be well served to reconsider their outdated strategy.”
You can listen to The Long Term Investor podcast here!
I’m the founder & CEO of Illumint, a Washington, DC-based company that specializes in financial planning for Millennials. I focus on helping my peers navigate the new financial decisions that arise during our 30s and early 40s as we try to repay student loans, buy a house, save for college, and invest for the future.
“On this finance podcast for Millennials, Kevin Mahoney, CFP® connects recent personal finance news to specific steps you can take toward greater financial wellness. Are you among the many Millennials ready for more financial clarity and confidence?”
I want to acknowledge my obvious bias here. But I do want to share why I record my podcast:
I’ve modeled some of my writing and podcast episodes after Morgan Housel’s approach to personal finance. We all have such easy access to information about IRAs and college savings accounts. So I value trying to do something different. And for me, like Morgan, I want to try to help you think about money in different ways. I will always try to give you a fact or tip about money management that you may not know. But that should be easy for a Certified Financial Planner like me.
The Financially Well podcast should help you to take that information one step further. How can you think more clearly about the personal tradeoffs that a certain tip might require? That’s what separates the best finance podcasts for Millennials from other sources of information. You should gain confidence to take financial rules and options that are available widely, and apply them specifically to your own life.
“In his book, Breath, James Nestor describes how no one ever taught us how to breathe properly.
Centuries ago, our ancestors breathed easily. They had enormous forward-facing jaws, expansive sinus cavities, broad mouths. They even had straight teeth, with no orthodontist bills in sight.
Nestor writes that this “ability to breathe so efficiently in a wide variety of ways – consciously and unconsciously; fast, slow, and not at all – allowed our mammal ancestors to catch prey, escape predators, and adapt to different environments.”
Our efficient, expansive breath powered human evolution.
But as our brains developed, taking up more space, our airways became narrower. Our approach to breathing became flawed. And rarely did anyone have the awareness to teach us differently.
Narrowness now plagues our experience with HSAs.
Many people (understandably) confuse HSAs with FSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts. FSAs provide value, but only in the current year. You get an income tax break during the year you contribute to the account.
FSAs function like a short-term savings account. You must spend those dollars on qualifying purchases during that same year. When you don’t, you lose the funds. This isn’t true for HSAs.
Yet almost no one teaches us this.”
You can listen to the Financially Well podcast here!
A valuable money podcast doesn’t focus exclusively on tactics. Learning new tactics certainly can be useful. But you also need to financial wisdom to make choices that reflect what you want from your money.
You can easily learn from an internet search or AI the answer to questions such as, “What is the maximum 401(k) contribution this year?” But the best finance podcasts for Millennials teach you what to do with that information. And such podcasts do so in a way that helps you evaluate challenging tradeoffs.
Ultimately, the best Millennial money podcasts empower you to use money to create the life that you envision for you and your family.
What personal finance podcasts have you found helpful? I’d love for you to send me an e-mail at kevin@illumintfc.com with ideas for the next edition of the “Best Finance Podcasts for Millennials” list. And, of course, please subscribe to my Millennial finance podcast to gain another guide on your financial journey.
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Hi, I’m Kevin. I’m a financial advisor in Washington, DC. I’m also the founder of Illumint, an independent financial planning company in the District that specializes in financial planning for Millennials like you. I empower our generation with the confidence to invest an inheritance, financial gift, or extra savings. If you’re new to Financially Well, welcome – you now have access to the leading finance podcast for Millennials. I encourage you to read, watch, or listen to the ideas I’ve shared about making your money work for you. And then when you’re ready, please send me your thoughts & questions!
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