Money Feels

Sports betting has exploded in the last few years, driven by legalization, aggressive advertising, and frictionless apps that make placing a bet feel as easy as ordering takeout. What used to be a niche activity is now embedded directly into sports culture.
In this episode of Money Feels, Alyssa and Bridget explore the emotional, psychological, and financial reality of modern sports betting and why this isn’t just about money. It’s about dopamine, identity, relationships, and the normalization of risk.
We talk about how gambling has shifted from a destination to something in your pocket 24/7, why sports betting feels different from “traditional gambling,” and how the design of betting apps keeps people engaged longer than they realize.
We also discuss why young men are especially targeted, the ripple effects on partners and families, and why women in relationships need to be aware of how normalized betting can quietly impact shared finances.
We’re your hosts, Alyssa and Bridget. Welcome to the podcast where we explore the emotional side of money, and why sports betting might be telling a much bigger story than just winning or losing.
In this episode, we discuss:
 How sports betting became normalized almost overnight 
 The role of legalization, advertising, and accessibility 
 Why sports betting feels different from “gambling” 
 How betting apps are designed to keep you engaged 
 The psychology of risk, reward, and dopamine 
 Why young men are especially drawn into sports betting 
 The social culture around betting and group dynamics 
 Why partners (especially women) need to be aware of financial risk 
 The reality of gambling economics (the house always wins) 
 How gambling shifted from a place you go to something in your pocket 
 The emotional highs and lows that reinforce betting behaviour 
 Warning signs that betting may be becoming a problem 
 The ripple effect gambling can have on relationships and families 
 Why this conversation is also about public health, not just money
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

We are living in a time where it feels like groceries don’t make sense anymore! Not the prices, not the sizes, not the sales. The same cart costs more every week, packages are shrinking, loyalty apps change the “real” price, and something as simple as buying food now feels like a mental math test.
In this episode of Money Feels, Alyssa and Bridget explore the emotional, psychological, and financial realities of grocery inflation and why so many of us feel exhausted, confused, and, frankly, a little suspicious every time we walk into a store.
We unpack how grocery pricing actually works, why it can feel intentionally confusing, and how behavioural pricing, shrinkflation, and constant price changes create decision fatigue around something that’s supposed to be basic. We talk about the grief of “backwards lifestyle creep” — going from not checking prices to suddenly calculating every item — and why that shift feels so emotionally heavy.
We’re your hosts, Alyssa and Bridget. Welcome to the podcast, where we help you understand the emotional side of money—and why your grocery cart might be telling a deeper story about stability, safety, and what it means to feel financially secure.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Why grocery prices feel like a scam — even when they technically aren’t
 How groceries in Canada have increased faster than overall inflation
 Why feeding yourself now feels like a part-time job
 How grocery stores actually price products (margin targets, elasticity, competition)
 The psychology behind sales, “2 for $8,” and urgency pricing
 Shrinkflation and why packages keep getting smaller
 Loyalty pricing and why the shelf price isn’t the real price anymore
 Loss leaders and why milk is cheap but everything else isn’t
 The mental load of constantly recalculating your grocery budget
 “Backwards lifestyle creep” and the grief of losing grocery stability
 Why grocery inflation hits harder than other expenses
 The emotional impact of decision fatigue around food
 How consumers push back — quietly and collectively
 Why this isn’t about being bad with money, it’s about navigating a system designed for optimization
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

We're back, baby! Season 9 and feeling fine! 
We are living in a time where our attention is constantly being pulled in every direction — notifications, scrolling, ads, emails, content, news, shopping, and algorithms designed to keep us looking just a little bit longer.
The average person now spends over 7 hours per day looking at screens. Gen Z? Nearly 9 hours a day. And mobile screen time alone sits around 5 to 7 hours daily.
In this episode of Money Feels, Alyssa and Bridget explore the emotional, psychological, and financial reality of living on our phones, and how screen time is quietly shaping not just our focus, but our spending, habits, and sense of control.
We talk about what happens when our attention becomes fragmented, how constant exposure to ads and aspirational content drives spending, and why reducing screen time can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your finances.
We’re your hosts, Alyssa and Bridget. Welcome to the podcast where we explore the emotional side of money, and why your screen time might be costing you more than you think.
In this episode, we discuss:
 The average screen time statistics (and why they’re shocking) 
 How 5 hours per day equals 2.5 months per year 
 Why more screen time = more spending 
 The link between ads, scrolling, and impulse purchases 
 How screen time reduces cognitive bandwidth for planning 
 Dopamine, resilience, and the ability to say no 
 Why reducing screen time improves financial decision-making 
 The emotional pull of phones: boredom, loneliness, avoidance, habit 
 Why screen time quietly drains both money and mental energy 
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

We are living in a time where it feels like we don’t own anything anymore — not our phones, not our entertainment. Everything is a subscription, everything renews automatically, and everything in our lives comes with a monthly fee.
In this episode of Money Feels, Alyssa and Bridget explore the emotional, psychological, and financial reality of living in the subscription economy, and why so many of us feel like we’re leasing our lives one tiny charge at a time.
We unpack how subscriptions prey on convenience, loneliness, perfectionism, and the desire to optimize our lives. We talk about why it feels impossible to keep track of everything you’re paying for, how companies intentionally design services to be forgettable, and how this constant drip of micro-payments affects our sense of stability and control.
We’re your hosts, Alyssa and Bridget. Welcome to the podcast where we help you understand the emotional side of money — and why your monthly subscriptions might be telling a deeper story about your values, your habits, and what you’re craving in your life.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Why everything is a subscription now — and how we got here
The illusion of ownership in a world where most things are rented
Why companies love subscriptions (predictable revenue + harder to cancel)
How “just $9.99” becomes hundreds of dollars a month
Subscription fatigue and the emotional load of tracking everything we pay for
Why people forget how many subscriptions they have
The psychology behind subscriptions: convenience, identity, belonging, boredom, self-optimization
This episode is a reminder that you’re not bad with money, you’re just living in a system designed around tiny, invisible charges that chip away at your financial and emotional bandwidth. It’s an invitation to approach your subscriptions with curiosity, compassion, and clarity… and maybe cancel a few things along the way.
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

Real estate is one of the most emotionally loaded topics in personal finance. For many of us, real estate investing has always felt tangled with inequity, bro-dude energy, and a sense that the whole system is rigged. But what happens when someone shows you a different way to see it? A way rooted in values, impact, and community care?
In this episode of Money Feels, we’re joined by real estate investor and appraiser Christine Traynor, who has completely changed the way Alyssa sees real estate. We’re diving into the emotional, ethical, and practical layers of real estate investing, especially for women who want financial freedom but feel conflicted about how to build it.
We unpack the tension between building wealth and honouring housing as a human need, explore what “ethical investing” can actually look like in practice, and discuss how women can enter the real estate space without losing their values to hustle culture.
We’re your hosts, Alyssa and Bridget. Welcome to the podcast where we talk about the emotional side of money and how power, access, ethics, and identity shape our financial lives far more than interest rates or investment gurus ever could.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Why real estate feels dominated by bro culture
Whether real estate investing is inherently unethical
How to reconcile building wealth with the affordability crisis
Why so many women feel intimidated, unwelcome, or unprepared to invest
The first steps for beginners who want to “dip a toe in”
Red flags most new investors don’t know to look for
How to evaluate whether a property supports or harms a community
The role of diversification, especially as women’s wealth grows
This episode explores what it means to build wealth with intention, to challenge old narratives, question the ethics of our financial choices, and make room for nuance in a world that often wants simple answers. It’s a reminder that your values can guide your financial decisions, and that wealth-building doesn’t have to mean abandoning what matters to you.
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!