Introducing What We Spend

What We Spend is back for another season of diving into the financial questions you never get to ask. In Season 2 we’ll ask a brand new set of people from across the country and the financial spectrum to open their wallets — and their lives — and share what they make, what they want, and, for one week, what they spend. If you want to be on What We Spend, we’d love to hear from you. Write us at: [email protected] mailto:[email protected] Available now: link.pscrb.fm/f0281/WWS_JOM http://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/WWS_JOM

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Hey gang, you're used to us tackling your personal finance question and cutting through the jargon. Sometimes you may want to zoom in on the raw, day-to-day reality of why people spend the way they do. Trying to figure out how others manage their money, what they spend, they save, they avoid, it often feels like a strange guessing game. Whether you're funding a trip, buying a car, grabbing a round of drinks, it's easy to feel like that math, it's just not adding up. While we help you focus on what to do next in your financial life, the team at What We Spend pulls back the curtain on the personal stories behind those numbers. On their podcast, real people share the honest details of their finances, from secret debts and surprise expenses, to the quiet lifestyle choices that build up over time.

• 0:43Speaker 00

  It's an unfiltered look at money you rarely get from your inner circle, making it a perfect companion to what we do here. Season two of What We Spend, it's out now, and they're dropping new episodes every week on your favorite podcast platform. We've put a link to their show in this episode description. Enjoy.

• 1:02Speaker 01

  In general, how would you describe your relationship with money?

• 1:06Speaker 02

  It, it kind of stresses me out.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  Money. It shapes almost every decision we make. Where we live, what we do for work, whether we travel, even the medical care we can afford. And yet, it's something we almost never talk about, at least not openly. What's actually in your savings account? How can you afford your home? Who pays your phone bill?

• 1:29Speaker 03

  I looked at my banking stuff, and I have $729.71 in my bank account.

• 1:38Speaker 04

  We bought, you know, a $1.3 million house on a $350,000 income. And we had like, you know, over a million in investments, but also, we had like $500,000 in cash.

• 1:48Speaker 01

  On season two of What We Spend, a whole new group of guests open up their wallets and their lives. For one week, they'll tell us about every dollar they spend and the choices and trade-offs behind it.

• 2:00Speaker 04

  This is audio diary, day one.

• 2:02Speaker 05

  Audio diary, day two.

• 2:03Speaker 03

  The week of diaries that I did for you is like, the only time that I've ever really kept track of money coming in and going out.

• 2:12Speaker 01

  This is a show about the way money moves through our lives and all the feelings that come with it.

• 2:17Speaker 02

  I want to be the kind of person who can just take care of the people in my life. I make enough money that dropping $100 on lunch is not the end of the world. But, it's the kind of thing that when I plug it into my spreadsheet later, I just, I cry a little bit, because I'm like, oh no, the number went down.

• 2:37Speaker 01

  Because no matter how much you're spending or not spending, money is never just a number in your bank account.

• 2:43Speaker 04

  We do have a lot of choices, I guess. But, I will say that it feels like we have a lot less choices because of, you know, these golden handcuffs that we have.

• 2:51Speaker 01

  I'm Lloyd Lockridge, and this is What We Spend. Listen to and follow What We Spend, an Odyssey original podcast. Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.