Ep 529: Lessons from a Legend: What Jonathan Clements Taught Us About Money and Life

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky Her Money

Investing, Business

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There are people who change the way you think about money. And then there are people who change the way you think about life, and do it through the lens of money. Jonathan Clements was one of those people. The beloved personal finance columnist and Wall Street Journal veteran passed away in September 2025, leaving behind a remarkable legacy and one final book: Money and Me: How to Make Your Finances Work Harder for You and Your Family. This week, Jean sits down with Jason Zweig, Jonathan's dear friend and fellow Wall Street Journal columnist, to honor that legacy and dig into the lessons Jonathan left behind for all of us. They cover: The investing philosophy he championed for nearly 40 years, and why it's still the best advice out there The three dimensions of money and happiness: freedom from worry, spending on experiences, and using money to create meaning Why the shift from saving to spending in retirement is one of the hardest psychological transitions we face, and how to make it easier Jonathan's take on how much money to leave your kids Why spending small is actually the smartest spending strategy of all And if today's conversation got you thinking about your own relationship with money, Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is the perfect next read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching
0:05.7	insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some
0:11.7	details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto
0:16.6	policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket.
0:21.9	Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save.
0:26.2	Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates.
0:29.1	Potential savings will vary.
0:30.6	Not available in all states.
0:49.3	Music Spending money to create experiences is really, really important. And instead of spending on possessions, the bigger house, the bigger car, the new kitchen, the new bathroom, all of which are nice, but all of which you'll also adapt to and eventually find yourself bored with or jaded by or jaundiced, instead create experiences with the people you love. Flowers, feasts, vacations,
1:15.6	family reunions, things like that.
1:19.6	Hey everyone, welcome to Hermione. I'm Gene Chatsky. There are people who change the way that
1:26.2	you think about money. And then there are people who change the way that you think about money.
1:28.1	And then there are people who change the way that you think about life and do it through the lens of money.
1:36.3	Jonathan Clements was one of those people.
1:39.2	If you have been around the personal finance world for any length of time, you know his name.
1:45.3	He spent years as the personal finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal and went on to
1:50.7	found Humbolddollar.com, a site dedicated to helping everyday people make smarter, simpler
1:58.3	choices with their money. He believed in index funds before they were cool,
2:04.7	in frugality, before it was a movement, and in honesty, always unflinchingly in honesty.
2:14.1	I had the privilege of knowing Jonathan, and I can tell you, the person on the page was exactly the person in the room.
2:22.8	Warm, sharp, a little rye, someone who could take a complicated idea and make it feel completely obvious the moment that he explained it.
2:36.8	In May of 2024, Jonathan was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 18 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jean Chatzky Her Money, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jean Chatzky Her Money and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.