A Week In Her Wallet: How One Woman Saves 36% of Her Income While Living in Chicago

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky Her Money

Investing, Business

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of A Week In Her Wallet, we head to Chicago to meet Zoe M., a 29-year-old accountant who tracks every dollar with care, not just to budget, but to live in full alignment with her values. Zoe opens up about what it really means to spend with intention, how she and her boyfriend use a shared Google doc to manage finances together, and why she prioritizes saving 36% of her income each month — all while living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Tune in to hear: How Zoe manages shared expenses in her relationship with fairness and flexibility Her strategies for avoiding impulse purchases Why spending money on values-aligned experiences is always worth it What it looks like to balance short-term joy and long-term goals If more financial confidence sounds good to you, then you might want to try… ⁠4-Week Coaching Program⁠: Identify and understand your spending, build a strategic plan, and take control of your money. ⁠6-Week Pre-Retirement Program⁠: We’ll help you prepare financially and emotionally for this exciting milestone. 📈⁠InvestingFixx⁠: Learn, connect, and start investing—your first month is completely free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I want to tell you about another podcast I've been relying on to help guide my charitable giving
0:05.8	decisions. Giving done right is all about how to make an impact with your giving and tackles the
0:12.7	question every donor is asking. How can I make the biggest difference right now? With shifts in
0:19.7	federal policy and funding in flux, non-profits
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0:29.5	right, you'll hear from philanthropic experts and major donors who reveal how to maximize
0:35.1	impact on issues from protecting democracy to supporting
0:39.4	immigrants in crisis. Whether you give hundreds or millions, this show delivers knowledge
0:45.6	that turns good intentions into real results. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for an
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1:31.6	Hey, everyone.
1:32.7	Welcome back to her money.
1:34.8	I'm Gene Chatsky.
1:35.9	And today we are continuing our series a week in her wallet.
1:42.8	Each week we follow a real woman as she tracks her spending for seven
1:48.0	days. Yep, every swipe, every bill, every skip, and reflects on not just what she bought, but why she bought it.
	...

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