Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger

While it’s always fun talking to authors, CEOs and you on the Better Off podcast, I also enjoy chatting with fellow financial industry journalism colleagues. Doing so allows me to get their take on the state of the industry and to talk about what they’ve been covering, what has them jazzed and what they see coming in the weeks and months ahead...

We love starting them young on Better Off, and that's certainly the case with Kevin from Maryland, our latest BONUS call. Kevin, just 23 years old, want's to make sure he has all his finances in order before starting medical school later this summer. His main question is what he should do with an old 401(k) plan...

Imagine a world without companies like Apple, or media outlets such as CBS or NBC, without all of the cars and trucks crisscrossing the country, without food provided by the farmer...that’s what would happen if Wall Street did not exist...it would all go away, according to this week’s Better Off guest, writer William “Bill” Cohan...

This week we have one of the more interesting BONUS calls that we've taken on Better Off. You know, life isn't always as we plan it...it's not always a simple, straight line. Things come up, especially health related items that can make it difficult when doing a financial plan. Mike from Tennessee falls into this category. Given some recent poor test scores, and the fact that his father died of a heart attack at 59, Mike, currently 49, wants to retire early...

It seems everyday there’s a story in the news that involves hacking. Whether it’s a big box retailer, the IRS or Russians hacking the DNC, cyber warfare has become one of the biggest threats in the 21st century and we are all vulnerable. To help you understand the current environment and to learn some of the simple steps we should take to prevent ourselves from becoming a victim, we had to find an expert...a professional hacker. I’m not talking about some random hack.....

Summer is just about upon us which means all those hardworking teachers out there will get a well deserved break. That includes our BONUS caller this week, James from Illinois. What's different about James is that he doesn't necessarily want to take the whole summer off...he actually wants to find a side gig to make some extra cash. Because he lives in a rural area he's not quite sure how to make it happen so he decided to call us for some advice...

Sometimes a host has to do what a host has to do to land the interview. You could say that was the case with the one and only Michael Lewis, our guest this week on Better Off. It was a few months back that I ran into Michael in the CBS This Morning Green Room and immediately started working my mojo to get him on the podcast. Although it took weeks and weeks of emails to finally make it happen, it was worth the wait...

This week on the BONUS call we’re talking to Chris from Florida who recently inherited 30k from his grandmother. By the way, can I just say what a nice lady his grandma was! Okay, back to Chris…his first move was a smart one as he paid off the remainder of his student loans, about 12k. So now he has 18k and isn’t quite sure what his next move should be. Here’s a hint…he badly needs a car… Have a finance question? We want to hear from you! Email us at askjill@betteroffpodcast...

By now you may have seen or heard an interview with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg discussing her recently released new book, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. Although she is the headliner, Sandberg had a co-author on the project -- the incredible Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, professor and accomplished author in his own right. We were lucky enough to land Adam as this week’s Better Off guest...

This week on the BONUS call we're going to the Pacific Northwest where we found Chris from Spokane, Washington. Chris, who is only 40 years old, is maxing out his 401(k) and his Roth IRA and also has an emergency reserve. On top of all that, he has an extra 2k each month and isn't sure what to do with it...