rich & REGULAR with Kiersten and Julien Saunders

This is our annual “what to expect in the new year” episode, and our hot take is “affordability” is about to be the most overused, and least understood, word of 2026. 

You’re going to hear it everywhere, and this week, we’re explaining why that should make you a little nervous.

We break down why affordability is becoming the new catch-all word for economic stress, how it’s being used to sell certainty in an unstable system, and why m...

Kiersten here. This week’s episode is a solo one, and it’s inspired by a book I just finished called The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel. 

If you’re familiar with The Psychology of Money, you already know Morgan’s style: short chapters, clean sentences, and big ideas. This new book is about spending but not the kind most people are struggling with.

In this episode, I unpack:

• Who this book is really for
• Two core takeaways tha...

In a year full of work drama and career pivots, our most eye-opening lessons came from the places no one talks about on LinkedIn. Somewhere between the PTA meetings, school drop-offs, HOA group texts, and community events, we kept bumping into reminders that real work doesn’t always pay. And that’s kind of the point.

This week, we’re unpacking what happened when we leaned all the way into volunteering and brought our professional sk...

Kiersten here. It’s just me this week.

It’s been two years since my ADHD diagnosis, and in that time I’ve learned a lot. In this episode, I’m sitting down solo to unpack what this label actually changed, what it didn’t, and what I’ve had to unlearn about focus, money, and identity along the way. I’m revisiting the journey to speak directly to anyone navigating their own diagnosis (or the suspicion of one), especially while trying to...

We’re 30+ days into a government shutdown, SNAP benefits are disappearing, layoffs are ongoing, and a catastrophic storm just hit Jamaica. But beyond the headlines, people are privately struggling with job loss, evictions, food insecurity, and the mental toll of trying to “stay positive” when everything feels urgent.

In this week’s episode, we talk about how to be resourceful in the real, messy, "make-it-through-the-week" ...

It’s that time again…open enrollment season. And while we know this topic doesn’t get anyone out of bed in the morning, it SHOULD. Because buried in that HR email you ignored is a decision that could cost or save you thousands.

This week, we’re breaking down why so many people just auto-renew last year’s health plan, what rising premiums in 2026 actually mean for your wallet, and how AI can help you stop making five-figure decisions...

We recently teamed up with Consumer Reports on an eye-opening project that made us rethink how we evaluate, purchase, and engage with our homeowners insurance policy. This week’s episode is about what we learned.

Here’s what we unpack:

• Why homeowners insurance is way more confusing and critical than we thought
• What’s driving double-digit rate hikes (even if you’ve never filed a claim)
• How your dog, HOA, or even local crime rates af...

Food prices are up (again), takeout is 4x more expensive than eating at home, and yet somehow..dinner still ends up on your doorstep. That’s exactly why we created Eat Better, a new video series that makes home cooking feel doable, even if you're not “a cooking person.”

In this episode, we're breaking down why so many people aren’t cooking at home, and what it really takes to change that.

Julien talks about how 20+ years of...

If talking about credit makes you anxious, confused, or just flat-out annoyed… you're not alone. In this episode, we break down the truth about credit scores and reports: what they are, how they work, the most common myths people believe, and why it’s time we stop treating credit like a moral compass.

Whether you’re building credit for the first time, trying to bounce back from a rough patch, or just wondering why your score di...

This episode is sponsored by NordProtect. To save up to 59% on annual plans for NordProtect visit https://nordprotect.com/richandregular and use code RICHANDREGULAR

This week, we’re breaking down three money identities we’ve seen over and over again. None of these are “good” or “bad,” they’re more like energies, instincts, patterns we’ve all lived at some point. And just like a horoscope, you might recognize yourself in all of them.

...

If budgets are supposed to keep us on track, why do so many of them make us feel stuck instead? In this episode, we talk about why the most common advice fails and what actually works when life keeps changing.

The problem with budgets isn’t discipline, it’s design. Most advice assumes your income, expenses, and goals stay the same forever. Ours doesn’t, and neither should yours.

We get into:

• Why the “stick to your budget no matter...

What if retirement wasn’t a one-time event at the end of a long career, but a rhythm you could build into your life right now?

In this episode, we're joined by the brilliant Jillian Johnsrud, whose new book Retire Often flips the script on traditional retirement. Instead of waiting 40 years to enjoy life, Jillian makes the case for taking intentional mini-retirements throughout your career by taking one month off every couple o...

This week we’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary by sharing some lessons about money, partnership, and staying excited about the long game.

10 years of marriage isn’t just a milestone, it’s a record of every choice you made together, from buying a house to splitting a check to deciding who’s unloading the dishwasher. Some of those choices aged well. Others? Let’s just say they came with late fees.

In this episode, we get into:

• ...

Some seasons of life are defined by money, and not in a good way. Those years test your patience, your relationships, and your identity. But they can become turning points and leave lessons that last long after the struggle is over.

This week, we're talking about the kind of year that stretches everything. When progress feels invisible and the usual advice doesn’t cut it, it’s easy to lose momentum or give up entirely. We’ve be...

Most people only invest for retirement through their employer plan, which means if that plan is weak, your future could be too. But how do you actually know if it’s bad, or if you just don’t understand it yet?

In this episode, we break down the three biggest signs your employer plan might be holding you back, and what to do about it.

We’ll get into:

• Why some 401(k) fund menus feel like a restaurant with no good options (and how to...

Groceries in 2025? Whew. Let’s just say…it ain’t pretty. Prices are still climbing, shrinkflation is in full effect, and Americans are still wasting almost 40% of the food we buy. Add tariffs and supply chain pressures on top, and it feels like we’re paying more, getting less, and throwing too much of it away.

The good news is you don’t have to stay stuck in the cycle. In this episode, we’re breaking down 4 real-world strategies to ...

👉 Catch us co-hosting the Merging into Life podcast with AAA Northeast! The first 2 episodes are live now, and you can listen on Apple Podcasts or here 👈

This week we’re pulling the curtain back on a topic that rarely gets talked about honestly, whether private school is actually affordable… even if you can technically write the check.

We’re not here to shame anyone’s choices. But if you’ve ever wondered whether that tuition bill i...

We’ve been managing money together for almost a decade, and we’re still learning how to do it better. This episode is part relationship therapy, part financial strategy, and all the things we wish more couples talked about out loud.

We’re talking about what it really takes to handle money together in a way that works for both people. Because most couples don’t need to watch each other’s every move, they just need to feel confident t...

A lot of people are feeling financially squeezed right now, and they’re blaming everything except their car.

Transportation is one of the top three household expenses. Between longer loans, higher interest rates, pricier insurance, and cars that lose value faster than ever, owning a car has gotten way more expensive in the last few years. 

And yet most of us still treat the car note like it’s untouchable…like it just is what it is.

In...