millennial financial tips

via Cleo


Seemingly every day, TikTok excavates a new defining difference between Gen Z and millennials.

Officially, millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, and Gen Z includes anyone born between 1997 and 2012. Though the "Zillennials" born between '94 and 2000 straddle this divide, the commonly cited factors that distinguish the two include: relationship to technology, use of social media, and memories/experiences of key events like 9/11 and the 2008 recession.

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Bloomberg Radio is so yesterday. And how many of us can actually say we sit down and read the Wall Street Journal every day? Podcasts have become one of the most popular ways for consumers to ingest information on just about anything–so why not get your daily dose of finance medicine through one of these hand-picked podcasts we have cultivated!

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1. ChooseFI Podcast

chooseFI podcastPhoto Credit: ChooseFI.com

Co-hosts Jonathan Mendonsa and Brad Barrett discuss all things personal finance with a focus on helping listeners achieve financial independence. Some of their popular topics include reducing expenses, tackling debt, tax optimization, side hustles, and other great tips! In their most recent episode, I learned that you can ask a hospital for a discount on paying your bill in full. And guess what, most of the time they will allow it! With a 5 star rating on iTunes along with a listing as one of their Top 25 business podcasts since its creation only three years ago, ChooseFI is definitely an essential!

2. Bad With Money Podcast

bad with money podcastPhoto Credit: Bad With Money

New York Times best selling author, Gabby Dunn, started the Bad With Money podcast in 2016 to research and discuss economic topics with a social justice view, as she considered herself to be "bad with money" and wanted to start a journey to better understand how it affects our day-to-day lives. Ex-writer and producer for Buzzfeed, Gabby now focuses on discussing money topics from the point of view of POC, women, and the LGBTQ+ community and asks often neglected but important questions that are important to people identifying with these groups. One of her recent episodes discusses the costs of living abroad as an LGBTQ+ or black person. iTunes gives Bad With Money a 4.5-star rating, but I give it a solid 5!

3. Millennial Money Podcast

millennial money podcastPhoto Credit: Millennial Money

Shannah Compton Game, a Certified Financial Planner, started the Millennial Money podcast in 2018 to help make talking money less taboo. With a connection to her listeners declaring she is "just like you," Shannah aims not to necessarily teach, but to empower people to take the reins on their financial future. Many episodes focus on money mental fitness, a pillar of mental fitness in which people learn not how to necessarily have more money but feel more in control of their money, which has a huge impact on overall mental well-being. Shannah is considered fairly new to the podcast world and currently has a 4-star rating on iTunes, but I believe she has the potential to become one of the biggest financial podcasts out there.


4. Planet Money Podcast

NPR Planet Money podcastPhoto Credit: Planet Money

This long-established podcast that's sponsored by NPR has been in the podcast world since 2008. Current hosts Amanda Aronczyk, Mary Childs, Karen Duffin, Jacob Goldstein, Sarah Gonzalez, and Kenny Malone bring the perfect amount of comical banter to the money world to make every episode interesting. Check out the twitter account they created for their stock-market bot created to follow Donald Trump's business tweets and make stock-market trades accordingly, ironically handled @BOTUS. The Planet Money podcast currently has a 4.5-star rating on iTunes and boasts a Peabody award and the 2017 Edward R Murrow award for the investigations into Wells Fargo's retaliation against whistleblowers.

5. Millennial Investing Podcast

millennial investing podcast from the investor's podcast networkPhoto Credit: The Investor's Podcast Network

The Millennial Investing podcast is part of The Investors Podcast Network. This fairly new podcast is hosted by accounting and finance professional, Robert Leonard. The lead focus is covering all the basics for millennials to get into the world of investing. Robert interviews experts in the field, such as Scott Young, author of the bestselling Wall Street Journal book, Ultalearning, and Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific to uncover their tips to help young millennials get into the investing world. For a newer podcast, Millennial Investing impressively holds a five-star rating on iTunes.

The phrase "long term care" refers to the services that a person with a chronic illness or disability (typically due to age) may need on a daily basis over an extended period of time. It's designed to help the person perform everyday activities that they may not be able to do on their own anymore.

Long term care is not an unusual subject for millennials. In fact, a study conducted by AARP reported that of the current estimated 40 million caregivers in the US, 1 in 4 are millennials. Maybe this is why more and more are expressing their concerns over the future of long term care.


The six common everyday activities addressed by long term care include the independent ability to perform the following tasks:

  • Eating
  • Getting Dressed
  • Walking or transferring
  • Bathing
  • Toileting
  • Continence

Long term care insurance policies are designed to cover the costs of the expenses that occur from long term care needs. It is not limited to just medical expenses. In most instances, the benefits are triggered by the inability to perform at least two to three of the everyday activities. Once the benefits kick in, they can cover the following:

  • Nursing homes
  • Assisted living
  • Adult daycare services
  • Home care (grooming, bathing, cleaning)
  • Home modification (Ramps, grab bars)

There are a slew of options and ways to customize long term care policies, so the cost depends on the age at which you take the policy out, your current health, the length of time you want your coverage to last, the elimination period (number of days you choose to be disabled before benefits kick in) so there is much you should consider when choosing your distinct policy's terms. Before purchasing any policy, here are some things to consider:

  1. How much will I need? Sadly, we aren't fortune tellers, so it's hard to say whether or not you will need a policy that will cover you for a longer or shorter duration of time, but it may be smart to look into your family health history if you can.
  2. How do you think you will receive possible long term care? If you don't plan on ever having children, long term care insurance may be vital for you. On the other hand, someone who hopes that their children will care for them may not want to purchase as much coverage if they believe they will get care from a family member.
  3. How much money do you plan on having later in life? Again, another silly sounding question. We all want to be millionaires in retirement. Depending on what type of career you hold, or plan on having, you may not need long term care if you plan on being in the pool of the wealthiest Americans.

Genworth has a great tool you can use to see an estimate of what you would pay for long term care insurance. However, the youngest age available on this handy calculator is forty. This is most likely because most Americans don't purchase long term care insurance before that age, although it is possible to get it beforehand.

Even though long term care insurance premiums are lower the younger you purchase it, it really isn't necessary to purchase much before the age of forty, so buying it too early can unnecessarily cost you more. You also shouldn't wait too long if you do decide to purchase a policy. According to the Genworth premium calculator, the same policy that would cost a forty year old $341 annually would cost a fifty year old $491 and a sixty year old $627!

It's also important to keep in mind that employer health insurance does not cover long term care needs, and Medicare insurance will only cover nursing home stays up to 100 days. That's with a daily copayment of $164.50 after the 20th day. Medicare's home care services are also very limited in what they will cover. According to the study conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center of Public Affairs research, only 1 in 10 of those aged 18-39 are confident that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will maintain their level of benefits when it comes time for them to need these programs.

Just looking at the current national median monthly out of pocket costs of long term care is enough to scare anyone. The current monthly costs are immense, but looking at the forecasted costs in 50 years is enough to make me hope for a quick and young death (kidding, obviously)!

national average long term care costs


As many millennials have other financial priorities to worry about, you should be financially well off before considering any long term care insurance. Check in with a trusted financial advisor and discuss your needs and options with them first.

We use social media to keep up with the latest in the worlds of pop culture, politics, fashion, and music, so why not the world of finance? Whether you want to keep up with financial trends or get some quick money advice, we've gathered a list of five of the best personal finance influencers you need to follow.

1. J Money, Budgets Are Sexy

J. Money is a Mohawk rockin' husband and father who has been in the blogging business since 2008. His casual and easy to comprehend writing style makes learning about the financial world easy for anyone. J has received 12 industry awards and recently posted about his achievement of reaching a net worth over $1 million. If nothing else, you should at least follow him for his "dad worthy" money jokes!

Website / Twitter

2. Michele Schroeder-Gardner, Making Sense of Cents

Michele Schroeder-Gardner has been writing for her blog, Making Sense of Cents, since 2011 and has over 20 awards to show for it. She started her blog sharing how she paid off $38,000 in student loan debt in only 7 months. She now travels full-time. She's currently living on a sailboat with her husband. She shares best practices for paying off student loan debt along with some great tips for making money online. Plus, following her travel journeys is worth the follow alone!

Website / Twitter / Instagram

3. Erin Lowry, Broke Millennial

When I discovered Erin on Twitter, the first thing I noticed was her coined hashtag, #GYFLT (get your financial life together), which I naturally thought meant get your f***ing life together. The author of two books in the financial industry, Erin graduated from college debt-free and has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC, and Fox and Friends. Upfront and hilarious, she breaks down the often confusing and scary finance world for Millennials.

Website / Twitter / Instagram

4. Tina Hay, Napkin Finance

What better way to guide you through the financial world than through pictures drawn on napkins? Tina is the founder and CEO of Napkin Finance, a site that makes money easy to understand through visualizations drawn on yes, you heard right, napkins! As their website so bluntly puts it, Napkin Finance is "everything you need to know about money in 30 seconds or less." Napkin Finance has collaborated with companies like JP Morgan, UBS, Michele Obama's Better Make Room Initiative, and the United States Olympic Committee. These bite-sized lessons make learning about money fun and quick.

Website / Twitter / Instagram

5. Lily, The Frugal Gene

Lily and her husband write for their blog, The Frugal Gene. She is a first-generation immigrant from China who was raised in San Francisco. Lily shares how her journey out of a life of poverty was the key motivator in attaining FIRE (financially independent, retiring early). Lily was able to pay off all of her student loan debt with only a part-time job in eight months! She shares interesting and unique tips on saving money, and she has been featured on The Cut, Rockstar Finance, Tiller Money, and Money.

Website / Twitter / Instagram