HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Medicare can feel like a maze of parts, plans and deadlines – and getting it wrong can cost you.

On this episode of the HerMoney Podcast, sponsored by LIMRA, Jean sits down with mother-daughter Medicare experts Diane Omdahl and Melinda Caughill of 65 Incorporated to break down exactly what you need to know: when to enroll, how to choose between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and what's changing in 2027 that could catch beneficiaries off guard – from Part D drug plan shakeups to insurers pulling back from Medicare Advantage.

We cover:

The basics of Medicare – who's automatically enrolled and who isn't, and when you should start prepping to make Medicare decisions

A quick guide to Parts A, B, C and D, plus where Medigap fits in

Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: the key differences and why the choice matters more than you think

What to know about switching plans later – and why timing is everything

What's changing with Part D and Medicare Advantage in 2027

A tool that can help simplify comparing your options during open enrollment

After you’ve listened, if you’re ready to dig in, LIMRA’s 5-step guide to planning for healthcare costs in retirement is a great place to start. It will help you get organized, understand your options, and know what to ask your advisor about building a healthcare strategy before you retire.
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Jenna joins Jean Chatzky on this week's episode for another AMA conversation, this time digging into a decision that sits right at the heart of Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck: Is it worth giving up more money on paper for the peace of mind that comes with guaranteed income?

In this episode:

Why Jenna and her husband are reconsidering the lump sum after years of assuming it was the obvious choice

Jean's take on why retirees with pensions tend to spend significantly more than retirees with the equivalent balance sitting in a retirement account

How guaranteed income can free up the rest of a portfolio to be invested more aggressively

Why Jenna says choosing peace over optimization is exactly how she and her husband got their finances in order in the first place

Want a signed copy of The Forever Paycheck? Leave The Forever Paycheck a review on Amazon, screenshot it, and email it to mailbag@hermoney.com to be entered to win.
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We've gotten really good at teaching people how to save for retirement. But almost nobody teaches you what to do the day you stop earning and have to start spending. That's the gap Jean set out to close in her new book, The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less and Never Run Out of Money, and on this episode, HerMoney Chief Content Officer Kathryn Tuggle turns the mic around and interviews Jean about it.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What a "forever paycheck" actually is, and how it fills the gap between Social Security and what your life will cost

The surprising research on why retirees with a pension spend twice as much as those with the same money in a 401(k)

How much of her own portfolio Jean is annuitizing, and how she decided on that number

The one exercise Jean says is the best way to get comfortable with spending in retirement

And if you've already read The Forever Paycheck, leave a review on Amazon and send Jean a screenshot at mailbag@hermoney.com; you'll be entered to win a signed copy.
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Do you feel like you're middle class? You might not be. Pew Research shows the U.S. middle class has shrunk from 61% of households in 1971 to closer to half today. So what does building wealth actually look like for regular people right now?

This week, Jean sits down with Joel Larsgaard, co-host of the How To Money podcast, to talk about building wealth as a normal person, no finance degree or trust fund required. Joel opens up about the money struggles that shaped his childhood and led him into personal finance, then breaks down his "craft beer equivalent" philosophy: identifying the handful of things worth spending real money on, so you can cut back guilt-free everywhere else.

In this episode:

Why fewer Americans are middle class than they think

Joel's "craft beer equivalent" approach to spending

How to handle "funflation" without going into debt

Simple, specific investing advice for DIY investors

We're giving away signed copies of Jean’s new book, The Forever Paycheck! Leave HerMoney a review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it, and email it to mailbag@hermoney.com to be entered to win.
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Gloria Steinem died today at 92, and we're revisiting a conversation that's stayed with Jean for almost a decade. Recorded live at the Paley Center in 2017 at an event called Winning Plays: Black Women, Feminism, and Empowerment, this episode brings together Gloria Steinem and financial journalist Stacey Tisdale for a wide-ranging conversation on money, power, and freedom.

It's a conversation about resilience, self-worth, and what it really means to bet on yourself financially at any age.

More from Stacey Tisdale:

Stacey's site, Mind Money Media: mindmoneymedia.com

Winning Play$, Stacey's financial literacy nonprofit for students: winningplays.org

Got a question about The Forever Paycheck, retirement, Social Security, or annuities? Send it to mailbag@hermoney.com, and Jean may tackle it in an upcoming mailbag episode.
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