Fix Emotional Spending Habits with Feel-Good Finance and Learn How to Manage Finances Post-Job Loss

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Investing, How To, Education, Business

4.3 • 895 Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Learn how to navigate job loss and reshape your money mindset to feel more in control — emotionally and financially. What should you do with your money after losing a job? How can you feel better about money and stop stressing about finances? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss managing job loss and improving your relationship with money to help you understand both the practical and emotional sides of financial well-being. NerdWallet writer Kim Palmer joins the show to share her conversation with Aja Evans, a financial therapist and author of Feel-Good Finance: Untangle Your Relationship with Money for Better Mental, Emotional, and Financial Well-Being. They discuss money taboos and financial trauma, with tips and tricks on how to open up about money, build healthier habits, and understand your emotional triggers. Then, Bri, a listener from Chicago, joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss navigating job loss and making tough financial decisions. They discuss how to choose between COBRA and marketplace health insurance, when to consider tapping savings or debt, and how to balance job search priorities without derailing your financial future. They also share smart strategies for cutting spending, staying motivated with rewards-based goals, and deciding what to do with old retirement accounts. Learn more about NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast Book Club: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/bookclub In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: job loss finances, what to do after losing a job, COBRA vs marketplace insurance, unemployment benefits, high-yield savings accounts, emotional spending, financial trauma, money shame, how to budget after layoff, unemployment job search tips, how to choose health insurance after job loss, rollover retirement account, how to talk about money, financial therapy, coping with job loss, 50/30/20 budget rule, rebuilding emergency funds, how to negotiate salary, unemployment and freelance work, how to cut spending fast, when to tap retirement savings, mental health and money, money mindset, smart budgeting strategies, financial stress relief, marketplace health insurance, spending triggers, navigating layoffs, unemployment and part-time work, personal budgeting goals, rebuilding after job loss, job loss recovery plan, financial therapy techniques, affordable health insurance options, rolling over 401(k), money taboos, improving financial habits, saving during unemployment, and the emotional impact of job loss. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Adobe Acrobat Studio so brand new.
0:02.0	Show me all the things that PDFs can do. Do your work with ease and speed. PDF spaces is all you need. Do hours of research in an instant. Key insights from an AI assistant. Pick a template with a click. Now your Prezo looks super slick. Close that deal. Yeah, you won. Do that, doing that, did that done. Now you can do that, do that with Acrobat. Acrobat, now you can't do that, do that, doing that, did that done. Now you can do that, do that with acrobat. Now you can do that, do that with an all-new acrobat. It's time to do your best work with your new Adobe Acrobat Studio. Gobble-Gobble, Elizabeth, happy Thanksgiving. I don't think I've ever said gobble-gobble in my life, but gobble-gobble and happy Thanksgiving, Sean. Are you a Thanksgiving food person? Are you eating the mashed potatoes, the turkey, all that?
0:41.6	You know what? Growing up, no, I remember we went to Boston Market for Thanksgiving. That was our
0:46.7	thing in my household. So we didn't really cook Thanksgiving food. And now I've created a new
0:51.7	tradition of eating at everyone else's house. There you go. Let's clean up for you. Well, we are out enjoying Thanksgiving food, at least I am myself. So we have a special archive episode for our listeners to enjoy. All right. And y'all can consider this the pecan pie of your Thanksgiving meal. Just because you're stuffed and probably in a food coma, that doesn't mean that you don't
1:11.5	have money questions, and we are still here to answer them. So send them our way. You can hit us up
1:15.6	on the Nerd Hotline at 901-730-6373. That's 901-730 Nerd. Or email us at podcast atnervaalit.com.
1:24.3	Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm Welcome to Nerd Wallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds.
1:39.3	I'm Sean Piles.
1:40.3	And I'm Elizabeth Ayola.
1:42.3	This episode, we talk with a listener who was just laid off about the smart money moves they should make at this pivotal moment in their life.
1:49.9	But first, we have the next installment of our nerdy book club series, which is led by regular smart money guest and friend of the pod, nerd wallet writer Kim Palmer.
1:58.9	Kim, who are you talking with this episode?
2:00.8	I'll be talking with
2:01.8	Asia Evans, a financial therapist and author of Feel Good Finance. Untangle your relationship with
2:08.0	money for better mental, emotional, and financial well-being. She has a lot of really helpful
2:13.4	ideas about how we can improve the way we talk and how we handle money in our lives.
2:19.1	Sounds great. Well, we also want to remind listeners that you can enter for a chance to win our
2:23.0	book giveaway at nerdwollet.com slash book club for our next book club pick. And with that, Kim,
2:29.5	take it away. Great. Thank you. Asia, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, Kim. I'm so excited to chat.
2:37.2	Me too. Well, let's start with a backdrop for your book. Why do so many of us feel badly about money?
2:45.0	I think in general, people just have no idea about money, number one. So whether that looks like your financial education,
	...

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