It’s September! I’m on round two of what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, otherwise known as my yearly time to take a one-month recess from podcast production.
Throughout September, we’re airing some of the most insightful, inspiring interviews from the archives. You’ll hear from experts discussing topics like habits, happiness, focus, digital minimalism, classic financial lessons and easy-to-make financial mistakes. Enjoy!
Michelle Singletary writes a personal finance column, The Color of Money, for The Washington Post. Her column is syndicated in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She’s the author of three finance books, holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and is the winner of the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award for commentary.
But her strongest financial education came from her grandmother.
Her grandmother raised five grandchildren while working full-time as a Nursing Assistant at a hospital. She earned $13,000 per year, but never took welfare, was never late on a bill, and “handled her money like a pro.”
In this podcast episode, Michelle shares timeless financial lessons she learned from her grandmother, including:
- Save from every penny or dollar you receive
- Live below your means
- Hate debt like it’s the devil
- Save for the future
- Don’t buy more than you can afford
- Don’t care about what other people think about what you wear or drive
Michelle’s grandmother taught her resourcefulness, humility and the value of a strong work ethic.
Michelle joins us to chat about the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement, emotional spending, how her experience growing up poor gives her a unique perspective in financial media, and the falsehood behind the phrase “it’s not what you earn, it’s what you save.”
You’ll enjoy this episode if…
- You’re new to the world of personal finance or FIRE and want to learn more about the basics. (#lessonsfromgrandma)
- You can’t relate to some of the discussion around FIRE because it seems unachievable to you.
- You love down-to-earth guests who tell it like it is.
Resources Mentioned:
- Michelle’s website
- Michelle’s articles on The Washington Post
- The 21 Day Financial Fast, by Michelle Singletary
- The Instagram account of Elon Musk’s mom – @mayemusk
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