Clear money rules for real-life decisions.
Money Girl translates everyday money problems into clear next steps. Recent episodes weigh leasing versus buying a car, fixing excess retirement contributions, retirement loan risks, budgeting alternatives, debt levels, and tax choices for small-business owners.
PRESS PLAY
Money Girl is a practical personal-finance show for people who want the rule, the numbers, and the tradeoffs without a long detour. It moves fast. Laura Adams brings a teacherly structure to topics that often feel scattered, from retirement plan nondiscrimination testing to whether a car loan is quietly becoming unaffordable. The show tends to begin with a question or a common worry, then breaks the issue into usable parts. Terms get defined. Then they get translated. A retirement loan is explained through repayment periods, interest, taxes, penalties, and what happens if payments are missed. A budget episode becomes less about tracking every purchase and more about paying future goals first, with retirement and emergency savings given concrete percentages. Housing is treated with similar balance. Renting is not dismissed as failure, and owning is not sold as automatic wealth; both are judged by cost, discipline, flexibility, and long-term behavior. The car episodes look at affordability in a grounded way, including down payments, depreciation, maintenance, loan terms, and the problem of owing more than a vehicle is worth. Taxes show up often and in detail. With Lisa Green-Lewis, the show covers filing changes, small-business choices, self-employment, incorporation, home office deductions, and how long to keep returns. The tone is warm but careful. It does not promise that a clever workaround can erase a difficult financial situation. Instead, it asks what the listener can control next: the account to contact, the limit to check, the expense to reduce, or the goal to fund first. That makes the show useful for beginners, but not only for beginners. Even financially attentive listeners can run into returned retirement contributions, excess HSA or IRA deposits, year-end bonus surprises, or state-specific business costs. Money Girl is at its best in those moments. It turns a stressful rule into a checklist, then leaves enough context for a smarter decision.
Made for: Money Girl is for people managing everyday financial choices around debt, cars, housing, taxes, retirement savings, and self-employment. It fits listeners who prefer practical explanations with numbers, limits, and consequences spelled out.
What sets it apart: The show stands out for turning narrow financial rules into plain-English decision paths. It is less about motivation and more about what changes when taxes, penalties, interest rates, deadlines, and account limits enter the picture.
Laura Adams provides short and friendly personal finance, small business, real estate, and investing tips to help you live a richer life. Whether you're just starting out or are already a savvy investor, Money Girl's advice will point you in the right direction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Practical tax guidance for self-employed filers and small-business owners.
Laura Adams covers practical tax filing issues that many filers face, from new rules that can lower taxes and raise refunds for the average taxpayer to tips for small businesses and the self-employed.
Tax rules, refund math, and LLC choices explained for people filing on their own.
Money Girl treats tax season as a practical, grounded conversation for filers and self-employed listeners. Lisa Greene-Lewis, presented as a TurboTax expert and CPA with over 20 years in tax preparation, plus experience as a public auditor, controller, and self-employed worker,…
A practical guide to choosing an agent who knows neighborhoods, saves time, and can negotiate rent or lease terms.
This episode makes a strong case for treating a renter's agent as a practical ally rather than a social extra. It stresses neighborhood knowledge, price trends, familiarity with landlords and management companies, and a working sense of building amenities.
Real-estate freedom, taught in plain numbers.
The host sits down with Lisa Green-Lewis, a TurboTax expert and CPA.
A real estate agent can make a rental search less of a slog.
Laura Adams addresses a listener's question about being upside-down on a car loan and finding an affordable vehicle.
Money Girl episode 1056 answers Emily S.'s question about buying a second home while carrying a current mortgage.
On Money Girl episode 1055, Laura Adams asks Credit Karma executive Natasha Madan how to build wealth while interest rates rise.
Money Girl host Laura Adams answers Nate M.'s question about whether savings-bond interest for his three-year-old can qualify for an IRA.
Money Girl addresses a 36-year-old listener choosing between Fidelity and Vanguard by outlining eight brokerage-account considerations.
Laura Adams interviews Jim Sexton, a New York City divorce trial lawyer with about 25 years of family-law experience, about the financial and legal consequences of marriage.
Money Girl host Laura Adams answers listener Kelly M.'s question about moving debt off an 18.99% card by interviewing Mary Gemeng, MBA and credit card specialist for Citizens.
This episode addresses how to manage an unaffordable car loan and choose between leasing or buying a vehicle to fit your budget and lifestyle.
This episode explores how to build wealth without following a traditional budget, addressing common budgeting challenges and offering alternative strategies.
This episode addresses whether to use a 401(k) loan for a home down payment, discussing pros, cons, and alternatives for first-time buyers.
Tax season still has a little room left.
This episode explores the financial pros and cons of renting versus buying a home, offering guidance on how to build wealth through either option.
This episode explores how personal debt compares to the average American's, covering different types of debt and how they vary across age groups from Gen Z to Gen X.
This episode explains what 401(k) nondiscrimination testing is, why it exists to prevent highly paid employees from receiving disproportionate benefits, and what to do when contributions are returned due to test failures.
This episode features tax expert Hannah Cole discussing how to simplify taxes and overcome financial fears for self-employed individuals, especially creatives and artists.
This episode features an interview with Jocelyn Pearson, founder of The Scholarship System, discussing practical strategies for students and parents to secure scholarships and graduate from college without debt.
This episode provides practical advice on four ways to invest for a young child's financial future, addressing listener questions about selecting financial advisors and building wealth early.