There are a ton of reasons why we overspend: depression, distraction, instant gratification, it's easy, etc. et al. And we have a hard time saying no to ourselves. But all this overspending leads to basements full of Beanie Babies and a lot of stuff no one actually wants. Regina has tips for how to budget like a pro: check your accounts, track your expenses, and rekindle your relationship with Excel. Plus, Regina might have a ghost, Valerie hates angels, OITNB, and celebrating reproductive victory with the SCOTUS ruling on HB2.
Scott Adair, a financial advisor associate, gives us the skinny on what we should all be doing to prepare for retirement. He tells us the difference between a stock and a bond and why investing in gold is probably not smart, talks about index funds, gives us strategies to get over fear of saving money and educate ourselves about investing with sites like Investopedia. He also talks about socially responsible investing (SRI, investing strategies that consider both financial return and social good (e.g., green companies, companies that pay equally). We also talk about Wall Street, Gordan Gecko, and The Wolf of Wall Street, and learn why hiding money in your mattress isn't a good a investment strategy but could be a good idea if you're mattress needs extra support.