Transcript of The Money Reset Series: Uncover the Financial Blind Spots Keeping You Broke | Finance | E1 | Presented by Experian

Money is one of the most emotional topics in our lives. Yet we're taught to treat money like a math problem. And when things don't add up, we assume the problem is us. For a lot of people, the stress doesn't come from spending too much. It comes from not really knowing where their money is going. And that's exactly where awareness can change everything. Today, we're tapping into insights from some of the most respected voices in personal finance who are going to help us rethink how we see money and ourselves.

Most people have absolutely no idea where their money is actually going.

I want your hard earned money going to things that you actually love.

Spend extravagantly on the things you love as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.

Just be intentional.

Money cannot do anything without you.

When it comes to overspending in general, I think that the secret is...

Hey, young inProfiters, welcome back to the show, and welcome to episode one of the Money Reset series, a special three-part series created in partnership with Experian. This series is all about hitting reset on your relationship with money. Today, we're talking about how to understand your money without shame, build smarter systems that don't rely on willpower, and create real financial relief without overhauling your entire life. Because the truth is, money is one of the most emotional topics in our lives. Yet we're taught to treat money like a math problem. And when things don't add up, we assume the problem is us. This episode isn't about budgeting rules or achieving financial perfection. It's really about awareness because you can't change what you can't see and you can't heal what you don't understand. That's why today we're tapping into insights from some of the most respected voices in personal finance, including Dave Ramsey, Susie Orman, and Jade Warshaw, who are going to help us rethink how we see money and ourselves. And when it comes to awareness, having better visibility into subscriptions and recurring bills can make a huge difference. Experian offers tools like subscription cancelation and bill negotiation, which could help manage eligible recurring expenses and could help put money back into your pocket, so your finances will feel more manageable and less overwhelming.

Results will vary. Not all bills and subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account is required. See experian. Com for details. All right, yeah, fam, let's get started. Before we ever talk about budgets or spending, we have to talk about fear because for most people, money anxiety didn't start with math. It started with a story, a story about what money means, a story about what we're allowed to want, a story about safety, success, or failure. The thing is, a lot of us carry these money stories around without even realizing it. We just feel the weight, the tension, the anxiety that shows up every time we check our bank account or think about our financial future. On Understanding where that fear comes from and how to loosen its grip often starts with the emotional side of the story. Farnoosh Tarobi is a financial expert and the host of the So Money podcast, and she explained to me why a fear of money is so rarely about the numbers.

When people are afraid of money, sometimes it has nothing to do with the money. All the time, it has nothing to do with the money. It has to do with your relationship to money, the stories you've been telling yourself about money. And so when the fear of money shows up, your best assignment, number one, is to trace the root of that fear. Where did it actually begin? Where did you first adopt this fear? Because I bet you adopted it. It wasn't something that you were just bored and feeling. You experienced it, you saw it, and then somehow it became who you are and what you think. But it's important to zoom out, and it's important to reflect on the root of our fears, especially when it's the fear of money, because it will tell you something very important, usually about the the way you were raised, the influences that you've had then and still. So maybe still you're in a relationship or you're in a community, or you're in a household that is feeding you these fears, which are actually fallacy They're not real. They're just these contrived perceptions, understandings, myths around money that we tell ourselves because money is very emotional, and money tends to poke at our sense of dignity Andy and pride and ego.

And when we don't like what money says about us, we sometimes create stories that aren't true. And so it's just important to examine that. It's the first step when you have the fear of money. And the next step is to when you've recognized these patterns, these stories, these ways that you've been raised, that you don't really want to continue to create a new narrative. Okay, all that happened to you, it's not to say that it It doesn't have validity or it didn't happen, but it's in the past. And now you are an adult with agency. So what's going to be your choice? Are you going to continue to lock arms with that fear, which is really what we've decided is fake, or you're going to create a new narrative that says the opposite of what you have been told to believe, you've been told to be afraid of.

What Farnush is pointing out is something really important. Once you recognize the story behind your money fear, you can start to question it. And that's where awareness turns into power. Because not all money fears are created equal. Some are real and rational, but a lot of them are vague, emotional, and way bigger in our heads than they are in real life. And when fear stays fuzzy, it keeps us stuck. That's where Jade Warshaw comes in. She's a debt elimination expert, finance coach, and the co-host of The Ramsey Show. She helps people figure out whether their money fears are actually real or just loud.

First off, is your fear rational or irrational? Because there's two types, right? There are very rational fears out there, and I want to validate that. But most of us are in the irrational zone. You know when it's irrational, when it's vague, like the vague idea of, If I do this, then I'm going to ruin everything, or, If I spend the money like that, then I'll never get to see my family. It's like, What are you saying? You'll never get to see your family. Let's drill that down. I'm talking about how to drill down those fears, because if you can drill them and distill them down to what it actually is, then we can actually find a solution for it. I tell people all the time, for example, I'll say, Hey, money is pretty simple. If you need more of it, you can either lower your expenses or increase your income. That's basically it. I tell people, if you're looking for ways to increase your income, yeah, either pick up a side hustle, maybe start a small business. Right when I say that It's like, Hold on, you're telling me I need to give more time to this?

Well, and now all of it, Well, what if I miss out on my kid's soccer game? Well, what if I miss out on this? Or what if my spouse thinks I'm neglecting them? And I'm like, Let's distill it down. Tell me exactly. And then we can address it. If you're afraid that you're a newlywed and your spouse is going to think you don't want to spend time with them, then we can solve for that, can't we? We can have that conversation. We can say, Here's what my fear is, because fear, the antidote to fear, is light. It just needs to be put out in the open. We can see it for what it is, and then we can deal with it.

Now, this distinction is so important. Some money fears are real and they deserve our attention. But many of these fears are undefined and distracting. When we don't name them, they can quietly run the show. The moment you bring fear into the light, it just loosens its grip. That's what Jade is really reminding us of. Awareness creates agency. When you can separate what's real from what's imagined, legend, fear stops driving and you get to choose intentionally instead of just reacting. And that realization leads to something even bigger. Money doesn't move on its own. It doesn't decide where to go or what to do next. You do. That's a message from Susie Orman, and she's been teaching this for decades. She's one of the most trusted voices in personal finance and the host of the Women and Money podcast. And she's crystal clear about where real financial control actually comes from.

You have to understand that the goal of money is for you to be secure. So all of you should stop right here and right now and answer that question. Are you secure secure. And if you are not secure, why not? And most of you will say, All I have is credit card debt. I have a student loan. I don't know what to do. I'm not... Right? And so therefore, you You want to change your lives. What you have to understand about money, more even important than, should you do this? Should you do that? What should you do? Because what I've learned over these past 40 years, longer than most of you have been alive, or at least many of you, what I have learned is this, that you and your money are one. You are the one who goes out and earns a paycheck, opens up a business, creates an idea, brings in money for it. You are the one who decides what to do with that money. Do you save it? Do you spend it? Do you reinvest it? What do you do with it? Money cannot do anything without you.

What Susie is really driving home is that money doesn't have a mind of its own. Every outcome starts with a decision, whether we realize we're making it or not. And once you understand the next question becomes, what are you actually choosing? And that's where intentionality comes in. For decades, Dave Ramsey has helped people understand how small, unexamined choices can quietly lead to financial stress. His work centers on a simple truth. No one plans to end up overwhelmed by money. Most people just drift there.

We've been teaching this stuff for, gosh, almost 40 years now. I think the thing we've discovered more than anything else is If I can get folks or if we can get folks to just be intentional and just think about, look at what they're doing instead of just impulsing every single thing in the financial arena and not considering the unintended consequences, not considering the downsides. When you're intentional, you automatically consider the downsides. When you're intentional, that's going to lead you to being on a budget. That's going to lead you to avoiding debt. That's going to lead you to investing. Because no one says, Hey, I want to work my whole life and have no money. That's not an intentional thing, right? I want to be broken deeply in debt and hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loan debt and car debt, and I can't breathe. No one sets out for that to be their goal. They fall backwards into it from a lack of intentionality.

What Dave is really pointing out is that money stress doesn't come from one big mistake. It builds up quietly when you're not paying attention. And that's exactly where awareness can change everything. When we come back, we'll dig into what happens once you start seeing your money clearly and why that moment alone can completely shift the way that you feel about your finances. Hey, app mam, I know a lot of you are working hard to hit new financial goals this year, but it can be tough to get ahead when subscription creep is quietly draining your bank account. I can't tell you how many times I thought I canceled something only to realize later they were still charging me, or how many times I tried to cancel, but it was so difficult, I couldn't figure it out. If you're like me, you have way too many subscriptions and bills, and you're probably looking for a way to track and manage them all. Lucky for us, Experian handles all that heavy lifting. Check out Experian Subscription Cancelation and Bill Negotiation, two powerful features that can help you save with minimal effort. Experian scans the accounts that you link, finds reoccurring charges, and puts the power in your hands.

You can keep the subscriptions you want and cancel the ones that you no longer need or use. Experian can cancel over 200 eligible subscriptions, from streaming services to entertainment apps and more. And it doesn't stop there. If you want to also try saving on everyday bills, Experian's expert negotiators could help you by finding better rates on eligible bills you're already paying. The best part, you get to keep 100% of your savings. Get started now with the Experian app and let your BFF, Big Financial Friend, do all the work for you. Disclaimer, results will vary. Not all bills or subscriptions are eligible. Savings not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. See experian. Com for details. Okay, now that we've talked about why money feels the way that it actually does, let's talk about what's actually happening with your money day to day. Because for a lot of people, the stress doesn't come from spending too much. It comes from not really knowing where their money is going. We make guesses, we round numbers, we tell ourselves stories. Without clear visibility, it's almost impossible to make intentional choices. Jean Chatsky is the host of the Her Money podcast, and she spent years helping people get clear on their finances.

Here's how she explains why awareness is the real starting point.

When it comes to overspending in general, I think that the secret is that most people have absolutely no idea where their money is actually going. So when we teach budgeting, and we have a program called Finance Fix, where we teach budgeting and how to do this in a way that you can actually save something, we put people through this process of figuring out where their money is going. We use technology to do it, so you don't have to do it by hand. And once you see where you've been using your money, then you have the tools and the ammunition to make changes about where you consciously want to use your money. And so it's not, don't buy the coffee, right? Everybody's least favorite example. It's if the coffee is the thing that lights up your day, then by all means buy the coffee. But if you could care less and really what you want is a little bit of caffeine to help you get out the door, then make it at home and have a sip and go about your day and spend your money on something that you actually value.

Now, yeah, fam, this is such a relief to hear. The issue isn't coffee coffee or small treats. It's that most of us are making decisions without the full picture. Once you can actually see where your money is going, clarity creates choice. You stop guessing and you can spend in ways that reflect what you value instead of feeling deprived. That awareness isn't just about numbers. It's about understanding why you're spending the way that you are. This is something Tori Dunlap talks about all the time. She's a money expert and the author of Financial Feminist, and she encourages people to get curious about their spending understanding instead of judging it. One of the tools that she uses to do that is something she calls a money diary. Here's Tori sharing with me how it works and why awareness is so much more than tracking dollars. So speaking of another tool that you talk about, you've got this concept of a money diary. Can you explain to us what that is and the framework around that?

Yeah. So it was a practice that I started doing when I would coach clients one on one. And it was this realization of I ask people, okay, what money is coming in? And they could total that up for me, usually. Like, Okay, I'm getting paid this amount during this time. And maybe I have this side hustle. Or if you're a business owner, that's a little harder to track. But I have these four clients, and these are my revenue streams. And then I would say, Okay, where is that money going? And they would be like, Well, I think it's going to this. And then we would look at their credit card statements, and they're like, Just kidding. I have no idea where the hell my money went. I don't know. And if that feeling is feeling of I look at my bank account and I'm like, I don't know where my money went, then this is the practice for you. It's literally writing down every purchase you make, especially your discretionary purchases for a period of time. And it's not to shame you. It's more just to watch what behavior and what mindset you have. So again, talk about this more in my book, but you do four things.

You write down where you spent the money or what you spent it on, how much. So I went to Starbucks, I bought a five dollar Mocha, right? And then why you made the purchase and how it made you feel. I was meeting up with a friend, and it made me feel great because I haven't seen her in a while. The why and how it made you feel is the transformational part. Because, again, money is psychological. It's emotional. I need you to understand why you're making this purchase. Is it, I went out with my friends and I had a little too much to drink and I suddenly was buying shots for the entire bar? Cool. Probably wasn't a great use of your money. Maybe it was. I don't know. But for me, probably not a great use of my money. Now, am I shaming and judging myself? No, 100 % not. I'm just like, interesting. Okay, I did that because I maybe wanted this feeling of belonging or I wanted this feeling of I am balling out and I can show people that I can buy an entire round. Maybe it's, okay, I bought this pair of shoes I didn't need and didn't want because my boss made me feel like shit today.

And I was spending to emotionally cope. I think we can all find a place in our life where we did that. But that's the thing is you have to start understanding my purchases, even the ones that are minor, are psychological and emotional. And what will start happening is before you lay down that credit card or before you hit add to cart, you'll start going, Okay, do I need this thing? Do I actually want this thing? Because I want your hard earned money going to things that you actually love. It's your hard earned money. It doesn't mean don't spend it like we were talking about before. It doesn't mean don't spend money. It just means spend your hard earned money on things that light you on fire. And if it doesn't light you on fire, we don't do lukewarm with spending, with men. We don't do lukewarm. We don't do lukewarm. We do things that light us on fire.

Yeah, gang. What I love about what Tori just said is how it reframes the entire conversation. This isn't about restriction or cutting joy out of your life. It's about making your money actually support the things that energize you rather than quietly drifting towards things you don't even care about. And once you start paying attention, not to just where your money is going, but why it's going there, something clicks and changes. Awareness stops feeling like deprivation, and it starts feeling like a choice. Because if money is a tool, then the real question isn't how little you can spend. It's what you're intentionally choosing to spend it on. Ramit Sati has spent years helping people rethink that question. He's a personal finance expert known for challenging the idea that good money habits mean constant self-denial. Instead, he focuses on building systems that let you spend more on what you love while cutting back on everything else without guilt. Here's how Rameet explains that idea through what he calls money dials.

Love it. All right, so let me explain what's going on here. So I call a money dial a money dial because just like a radio dial, you can turn it up. I always want to understand, what do you love to spend money on? And then I want to understand, what would it look like if you could actually spend more? Why? Because I believe you should spend extravagantly on the things you love as long as you cut cost mercilessly on the things you don't. And The sad fact is, most of us have never actually thought of spending more on the things we love. Because what's the note that we're taught by everybody? Save. We do it so poorly. We save, we go, I should probably save And I go, Why should you save? They go, You just should, right? I go, This sucks. So they go, I tried to save 5% on beans. I tried to save 5% on parking tickets. I tried to save... I go, This is so ineffective. Why don't you take the area you love and spend more? And then once you know what your vision is and you're excited and motivated by it, then suddenly it becomes much easier to look at your expenses and cut back on the stuff that's not serving it.

So if I were to come to you and we were to really work together and I were to say, Okay, look, you want to buy this, I don't know, Birkin bag? And you go, Oh, my God. Yeah. I go, Okay, let's not just say Birkin. Show me the color. Show me the style. Show me the website where it's currently for sale right now. And you're like, Oh, my God, no money guy has ever talked about this. So we're sitting there and you're getting excited. And I'm like, Look, this is a reality. It might take longer than you think, but we can model it all out. And you're like, Oh, my God. This could be mine. Because again, it drives you. Then I go, Okay, now let's look at your expenses. If you want to get that Birkin bag, this is what we need to make some changes. What would you do? And suddenly people are totally amenable to it.

What What Ramit is really pointing to is motivation. When you're clear on what you actually want your money to do for your life, the behavior changes almost automatically. Cutting back stops feeling like punishment and starts feeling purposeful. Because money isn't just about dollars and cents. Money is not a math problem. It's emotional. It's deeply psychological. It shapes how secure or trapped we feel in our everyday lives. Tori Dunlap captured this beautifully. She shared with me how one of her biggest money goals wasn't really the number at all. It was about what that number represented in her life.

It's very difficult sometimes to get somebody to care about money when they think it's just numbers, right? We know that money is psychological. We know that money is emotional. And so when I thought about that 100K and when shit started getting hard where I couldn't save or there was a period of time that I spent unemployed, so I was not only not saving money, I was spending the money I had already saved. I was trying to figure out, okay, I set this arbitrary goal for myself. What's the point? The 100K meant that I got to quit my job. That was the promise I had made to myself, is I attached the number to a goal and to a feeling. I literally imagine, what would my life look like if I didn't have to make somebody I didn't respect rich? What would my life look like if I didn't have to ask to take PTO and get it denied? What would my life look like if I didn't have to commute into a job that I didn't feel aligned with my passions or aligned with the mission and values of my life? What did that feel like?

And it felt amazing. And so that 100K goal, yes, part of it was seeing the 100K, being able to see the headline, which I'm grateful that there are many. How this 25-year-old saved 100K. But really, it was about, how does my life change? So if you're out there and you're trying to get yourself motivated, how do I become debt-free? Or how do I invest enough for retirement? Or how do I make ends meet so that I don't feel panicked all of the time? Associate that with a feeling. What does it feel like to not have somebody demanding that you send them money every month for your student loans? What does it feel like to know, Oh, yeah, I can buy this thing without guilt or shame because I've budgeted for it. What does it feel like to know that you're going to be set for retirement? That 65-year-old you is taking care of? What does that feel like? So I think that, for me, was really the driving force of, How does my life change? And what does it feel like to use money as a tool to get me there.

Once you start seeing your money clearly, what it represents, where it's going, and what you want it to support, something shifts. You're no longer just reacting. You're aware. And with that awareness comes a choice. Because clarity doesn't just bring insight. It brings responsibility, not in a heavy or shame-filled way, but in a grounded, honest way. When you can see what's really happening, waiting for somebody else to fix it stops being an option. Jade Warshaw speaks directly to that moment. She gets very real with me about what it means to take ownership of your finances even when the situation wasn't your fault in the first place.

Oh, boy. I could probably tell you a lot of different truths about money because there are so many things people don't want to hear. But I think the number one thing is it may not have been your fault, but it's your job to fix it. For me, that is the big one because, like you said, I take calls from people around the world all day, every day on the Ramsey show. I mean, it's like 18 million folks a week that are listening to that. Everybody's calling in with different types of problems, but the feeling of it is the same, which is, should I be the one that has to deal with this? It's, well, my spouse, They're not the one doing it. I'm trying to save money, but they're out spending. Or my grandma took out a credit card of my name, or my parents are the ones that told me to sign for the student loans. There's all of this reason that we want to place the blame somewhere else. I had a colleague and a mentor tell me once, he said, You can't blame your way to a better life. It always stuck with me.

You can't blame your way. That's the thing. If we can take responsibility and say, Hey, there might be a very good reason that this sucks. There might be a very good reason. Somebody may have done you wrong, legitimately. You may have been divorced, and now you're trying to rebuild, and it's tough. Or you worked at a job for 20 years and they fired you. All that stuff is real. But At the end of the day, that person is not going to come back and fix it for you. The chances of that happening are so slim, and we spend so much time waiting around for somebody to go, Oh, I'm sorry. Let me come fix that for you.

And they're not coming, Holla. Nobody's coming to save you.

You're the only one that can rescue you.

What Jade just said is powerful, and it's worth sitting with. You're the only one who can rescue you. I'm going to say that again. You're the only one who can rescue you. That doesn't mean blaming your sofa how you got here. It means recognizing that awareness gives you agency. All right, before you listen to episode 2, I want to give you a simple challenge. You're not fixing anything yet. You're just building awareness. Here's what I want you to do before the next episode. Step Step one, identify your money stories. Start by noticing the beliefs that you carry about money. Things like, I'm bad with money, money is stressful, I'll never feel caught up. Ask yourself, Where did this story come from and is it actually true? Step two is noticing where your money is really going. Next, I want you to take a look at your spending over the last 90 days. Go pull your credit and debit card statements and start organizing your purchases into simple categories. Rent, food, transportation, clothes, shopping, no judgment, no cutting back yet. Just awareness. Pay attention to what surprises you and what feels automatic. For example, when I did this, I was shocked how much I was spending on skincare, makeup, and eating out.

Step three is to conduct a many money diary, Tori Dunlap's method. To go one deeper level, try this exercise just for one week. Every day, write down what you spent, why you spent it, and how it made you feel. Remember, this isn't about control, it's about curiosity. It's about understanding the emotions behind your spending. Step four is getting clear on your money dials. This is what we learned from Mermite Satie. Now that you've tracked both your spending and your emotional habits, it's time to identify your money dials. Mermite Sati teaches you that you should spend extravagantly on the things you truly love and cut back mercilessly on the things you don't care about. So ask yourself, what are the one to two things you love spending money on and what are the one to two things you don't actually value? This is how you start using money intentionally, not just reacting to it. This clarity is exactly what we'll use to build systems in the next episode, so don't skip this. The final step is listing your recurring expenses. The last thing is I want you to make a list of the bills and subscriptions running in the background.

You can even sign up for Experian to see everything in one place. They'll do this for you. You don't need to optimize yet. Just know what's there. That's it. Awareness first, systems next, and I'll see you in episode two. Remember, Experian offers services like subscription cancelation and bill negotiation that could help put money back in your pocket, creating a little more breathing room without adding extra work to your life. Results will vary. Not all bills or subscriptions are eligible. Savings, not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment accounts. See experian. Com for details. Once you can see your money clearly, everything changes. But awareness alone isn't enough to make the progress stick. In episode two, we're going to talk about systems, how to automate your finances, create boundaries, and stop relying on willpower alone. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss episode two. If you guys want to watch all of your episodes, if you prefer to watch your podcast on video, you can find all of our episodes on YouTube. You can also find me on Instagram or LinkedIn. Just search for my name. It's Hala Tahha. On Instagram, it's @Yapwithhala. I'd love to hear from you guys on how you enjoyed this conversation and if you'll be taking my mini challenge that I proposed and would love to hear about your progress.

All right, I'll see you in episode two. Until then, remember that awareness is your first win.