Success Talks

How much should we save? Where do we keep our money? Is saving 10% enough? Welcome to another episode of rich & REGULAR, where Julien and Kiersten Saunders answer these questions and more. This week's topic is all about the holy grail of personal finance: saving. Julien reminds us that saving is not just a habit, it's a skill. And like all skills, it takes practice to perfect. Listen in to hear tips on where to stash your cash, how much to save, and how to know what types of savings accounts are a fit for you and your financial goals. As Kiersten puts it, "Money is a tool for better quality of life throughout your lifespan, not just at the end of your life." Whether you're just starting or have been saving for years, there's always something new to learn about managing your money and securing your financial future. ---- Learn more at richandregular.com, purchase Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away by Kiersten and Julien Saunders and follow on Instagram @richandregular.  Support rich & REG

"In your business life, in your workouts, in your relationships, nothing is ever easy, and there's always going to be hardships, there's always tough moments… I think tapping into [your] inner power and saying 'I can do this. I can conquer these things.’—that's how you're going to overcome that,” says Erika Hammond in today’s episode. While her career has been full of tough moments and challenges—from leaving WWE due to the lack of off season to starting from the bottom in her new career to learning how to build a business—Hammond has continued to conquer them all.  Today, Hammond is the creator of her own workout program, Knockout, which she built in partnership with Equinox. It and STRONG by Erika Hammond are the first businesses she’s created entirely on her own, and while they’ve presented their difficulties, they’ve also given her the opportunity to do what she’s always wanted—help people become a more powerful version of themselves. Now, Hammond and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada discuss the st

It's time to break out the balloons and pop the champagne because the In The Details podcast is celebrating its first birthday! Host Karen Allen is taking a stroll down memory lane and reminiscing about some of the show's best moments and guests from the past year. Will your favorite make the cut? We've got Amina AlTai dishing out career advice on how to know if you're not aligned with your work, Stephanie Harrison emphasizing the importance of serving our corner of the world well, and Steele Smiley giving tips on how to put yourself out there. But that's not all, folks! Bill Murphy joins the party to shed light on the emotional exhaustion men carry and the stigma that surrounds sharing their feelings. Meanwhile, Brad Ryan shows us the importance of intergenerational connections and how we can pass down both trauma and healing. And let's not forget Amy Morin, who dropped some serious knowledge on mental strength and resilience, reminding us that self-pity is the enemy of progress. So, here's to all the guests

Are you yearning for a much-deserved getaway, but worried about breaking the bank? Well, fear not fellow travelers! In this week’s episode of rich & REGULAR, Julien and Kiersten help you plan a guilt-free vacation. With US hotel prices skyrocketing by a staggering 54% in January 2023 compared to the previous year, it's easy to feel like the only way to fund your travel is by taking out a second mortgage on your home. Tune in to hear the dynamic duo cover all the bases to help you save big while still planning a vacation that you'll remember for years to come. By taking advantage of the guilt-free tips and tricks shared in this week’s episode, you can make the most of your vacation, avoid buyer’s remorse, and create lasting memories with your loved ones. So, go ahead and start planning that trip – your wallet (and your sanity) will thank you! ---- Mentions:  Point.me website to save on credit card points Flight Connections website to look at flights     Learn more at richandregular.com, purchase Cashing

"You probably haven't made a single authentic career choice in your life,” says Misha Rubin in this week’s episode. And he speaks from experience—while Rubin stayed with Ernst & Young for 15 years, even making partner at the company, he wasn’t happy. Nonetheless, he remained—after all, he had no other plans to follow. But one afternoon, during a business meeting, he finally listened to the quiet voice in his head and decided to take a leap. Now Rubin has built a career out of helping others make their own changes—without taking the same kind of risk he himself took. And his experience has served him well in his new career—having had to find and shape his own path, he can better relate to and serve his clients.  Rubin and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada discuss the three types of “career design criteria,” the importance of having a vision for the future and building your own “board of supporters.” ---- Misha Rubin is a career educator, entrepreneur and speaker. He provides career transformational p

Biologist Dr. Rebecca Heiss wasn’t always interested in stress management. It wasn’t until her sister-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer that she re-evaluated her life and realized that many of her choices were made out of fear. In one month, she quit her job, sold her house, and divorced her husband - some of the most stressful things people can go through, all at once.  Since then, Rebecca has leveraged the lessons she learned from that trying time in her life and turned them into Instinct, a book about helping people transform how they interact with stress. Now, Rebecca is a Ph.D. in stress physiology, keynote speaker, and author. Additionally, she is the founder and CEO of her company, Year of Happy, and started a community for women to transform and thrive called “The Leap.” Learn Rebecca’s stress management ABCs and discover the difference between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth. She challenges readers to ask themselves: “Is this a life-or-death situation? No? Then this stress is

Are you tired of the traditional retirement plan of working until you're old and gray? Enter FIRE, the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement. It's like retirement, but significantly better. In this week’s episode of rich & REGULAR, Julien and Kiersten are here to answer all the burning questions about FIRE. Who is it for? Is it sustainable? Is it just for people who eat ramen noodles every night? It turns out that FIRE can be for anyone wanting to pursue work-life balance, intentional living, minimalism… the list goes on. As Kiersten says, “It's like having your cake and eating it too!” So why not give it a shot? Retiring in your 40s and living your best life sounds like the dream. Listen in to hear the Saunders outline how his dream can become reality.  ---- Mentions:  The Simple Path to Wealth book by JL Collins Your Money or Your Life book by Vicki Robin Mr. Money Mustache blog      Early Retirement Extreme book by Jacob Fisker Learn more at richandregular.com, purchase Cashing Out: Win the W

Kiersten and Julien Saunders’ story is one which spans nearly 10 years, from meeting at the company where they both worked to breaking up after a vacation to getting back together and learning more about money to beginning a career in the very field that had ended their relationship. Now the podcast hosts, authors and YouTube personalities discuss the importance of gaining financial literacy, and how community goes a long way in getting you there. One of the first steps toward becoming financially secure is becoming financially literate, and finding communities—both digitally and in-person—can be an important element to doing so. Listening to and learning from other people allows you to realize what experiences are normal and what you should be concerned about, as well as giving you a place to ask for advice when you need it. Kiersten, Julien and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada continue on to discuss their book, building an awareness of yourself and your financial situation, and improving your financi

Amy Morin is deeply familiar with grief. When she was in her 20s, her mother and husband passed away suddenly, precisely three years apart. Confronted by immeasurable suffering, Amy began exploring strategies to help her cope and develop her mental strength. In the following years, she penned two international bestsellers about the ins and outs of building resilience and mental strength, one of which is called 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do. Nowadays, Amy serves as Editor in Chief of the online publication, Verywell Mind, and host of the Verywell Mind podcast. Tune in as Amy and Karen share the insights they’ve acquired while healing and growing through tragedy. Amy offers strategies to regain your power and develop resilience in the face of loss. As Amy profoundly notes: “Life is still going to throw you curve balls, but when you’re mentally strong, it’s all about the choices you make every day.” ---- Follow Amy Morin on LinkedIn and Instagram, or buy her books 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don

What exactly is net worth? How is it calculated? It’s time to debunk the myth that income is the primary measure of success and explain why net worth provides a more holistic picture of financial health.  In this week’s episode of rich & REGULAR, Julien and Kiersten Saunders caution listeners against common mistakes they've seen when it comes to building net worth and provide a variety of healthy financial habits which can be implemented in order to improve your own. By taking small, manageable steps, we can improve our financial situations. Julien reminds listeners that, “Measuring your net worth is relatively simple, but managing it can be complex.” The good news is, it's never too late to start building net worth and securing financial well-being! ---- Mentions:  Personal Capital App/Website, now called Empower               Learn more at richandregular.com, purchase Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away by Kiersten and Julien Saunders and follow on Instagram @richandregular.  Leave us a tip

At the end of the day, have you ever felt exhausted and stressed, even though you can’t think of a good reason why? Turns out, there’s a cause after all—microstresses, small moments and interactions that fly under the radar of our fight-or-flight response, but which affect our body just as regular stress does.  Rob Cross and Karen Dillon conducted myriad interviews for their new book, The Microstress Effect, and found that “the stress we create inevitably boomerangs back on us in a different form, and so the less you create, the less you have coming back,” according to Cross. Now, Cross, Dillon and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada discuss how relationships affect your well-being, moments in which Cross and Dillon have taken action to push back against microstresses in their own lives and how we can build resilience and emotional reserves to deal with microstresses in our day-to-day life. ---- Mentioned: “The Secret to Building Resilience” “Harvard Study of Adult Development” Rob Cross and Karen Dillo

Born and raised under the Franco dictatorship in Spain, business coach Tania Vasallo was used to being told what she could or couldn’t do, and she constantly yearned for freedom. After her first taste of freedom when she moved to the United States for school, she decided to stay and shift careers. Tania has created multimillion-dollar campaigns for some of the world’s most renowned companies, like Starbucks, AT&T Wireless, KFC, Samsung, and Nabisco, to name a few. She imparts lessons, tools, mindsets, and strategies to create an empowered life of freedom and abundance through her platform, The Courage To Be. Her community is geared toward empowering ambitious women entrepreneurs to own their value and charge for what they are worth to have a more significant impact in the world. As Tania notes in the podcast: “If you have not worked on your money mindset and how you relate to money…you can make all the money in the world and you can lose it.” ---- Follow Tania on LinkedIn. Visit her website at The Courage

Many of Kiersten’s family members have been involved in the insurance business, so The Saunders are smashing through the stigma and delivering the life insurance low-down this week. They mull over the purpose of life insurance and perform a cost-benefit analysis on the two types of policies, term and whole life, while offering their two cents on which one to invest in. Julien and Kiersten also answer significant questions like who qualifies for life insurance, which of the two types is best, and what lifestyle factors will increase your premium.  The soaring cost of premiums may make some people exclude insurance altogether if they don’t know the big picture, so they let listeners know what to look for and if eliminating the middleman and investing your funds in other accounts can lead to better financial outcomes. Listen along as Kiersten shares her experience with over-investing in multiple types of insurance and how she’s adjusted her strategy over the years. She advises, however, that the market is consta

Rachel Glass has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but it’s only recently that she’s gotten a chance to put it to use. After graduating from business school in 2006, Glass worked in the financial sector—specifically hedge fund fundraising—for about 10 years. It was a financially secure job, but after having her second daughter, the reality of feeling like she wasn’t in a job she truly loved began to weigh on her. And so, GLOSSLAB was born. The company wasn’t a new idea—for Glass, it was one that had originated in college, something that she held onto but never pursued. Now, it is a hygiene- and efficiency-focused, membership-based nail salon brand that Glass is proud to call her own. Glass and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada discuss how she got the business started, the importance of a branded experience and what Glass looks for in new hires. ---- Mentioned: Equinox SoulCycle The “Getting Things Done®” system Rachel Glass founded GLOSSLAB in 2018 with a mission to modernize the nail salon experi

Donna Bond hadn’t felt inspired in a while. As the former director of marketing at the Ritz Carlton for 28 years, she’d sunk so much time into her corporate career, but it no longer gave her a feeling of purpose. Donna’s father passed away when he was 44 years old, and when she herself turned 44, she felt a huge rush to find her life’s purpose and get out of the corporate grind. One day, she decided to take a leap. On the advice of a psychic, Donna threw caution to the wind and decided to leave her career and apply for a master of arts in spiritual psychology. In light of her new understanding, Donna relocated to Costa Rica to chase that famous pura vida. She now serves as a soul-centered catalyst for personal transformation as an author, speaker, thought leader, professional life and business coach, and transformation consultant. Follow along to hear Donna’s incisive insights on finding purpose in a world of distractions. ---- Follow Donna on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. You can also watch her

Seven and a half years ago, Brad Ryan was struggling to finish his veterinary program at Ohio State University. For the first time in his life, he began feeling suicidal, and not long after, one of his classmates took their own life. This sent him into a tailspin; he knew he needed a break. He recalled a moment a few years earlier when he was chatting with his grandmother, Joy, and she admitted to never seeing a mountain in her life. With that moment in mind, Brad called his grandmother and started planning their first trip to the Great Smokey Mountains. Thus began a 50,000 mile journey for Brad and Joy. Brad is now a veterinarian and mental health advocate, famous on social media for his travels with his grandmother. They’ve flown to Alaska, Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands to reach their goal of visiting all 63 U.S. national parks, and will visit their final park in American Samoa this year when Joy turns 93. Brad shares the critical perspective intergenerational relationships give us in our dark nights of th

Each person’s retirement planning strategy is deeply personal. There are so many options for retirement accounts because they’re designed to be suitable for people with many different needs and lifestyles. But from 403(b)s, 501(c)3s, and 457(b)s, and other accounts, the amount of alphabet soup associated with retirement planning can be stupifying. Without financial education, confusing retirement account and tax code names can be a huge barrier for people trying to set themselves up for their future. This week, Kiersten and Julien break down all of your retirement account options and the pros and cons of each while shining a light on some murky topics like incentives, contribution limits, income ceilings, and deferred retirement account taxes. Julien and Kiersten ask, “When should you stop contributing?” and provide some helpful guidelines and tools for listeners, including factoring in your longevity risk and using retirement calculators or Monte Carlo simulators to predict your future financial needs. Kiers

EVGLE didn’t start up all at once—instead, it built up over time, allowing pieces to slot into place and create the rising success the company is now. And slot together they did—first Victor Burnett and Blxst, followed by Karl Fowlkes. Now, their company has grown to include not only tour and day-to-day managers, but staff that include a creative director and various advisers and consultants. It’s been a slow growth, but growing in the long-term has always been their intention, Fowlkes says. Instead of rushing the company to its apex of success, they’re doing things their way, and that means taking their time and doing things right. The duo and Brilliant Thoughts host Tristan Ahumada continue on to discuss how they’ve worked through challenges, any changes they would have made based on what they know now and both recent hires and potential new additions—both staff and talent—to the company.  ---- Victor Burnett and Karl Fowlkes founded the rising multidisciplinary entertainment company, EVGLE, in 2018 with Gr

Teneshia Warner was in a rut in her career and her life. Growing up in a house where money was a sticking point, she knew her motivations made sense, but she wanted to thrive, not just survive. After a compelling question from one of her college professors, Teneshia resolved to design her life so that passion and purpose lead the way. The results of that life re-design have been astounding. Once she discovered her passion for marketing, Teneshia founded and became CEO of EGAMI Group, an award-winning, purpose-driven multicultural marketing firm recently named one of Adweek's top 100 fastest-growing marketing agencies serving some of today's most successful companies. Now serving as EGAMI’s CEO, Teneshia has authored several books and has helped turn EGAMI Group into a thriving multi-million dollar business.  Tune in to hear her takeaways about the pain of leveling up and the courage needed to stretch out of your comfort zone. Teneshia emphasizes permitting yourself to dream, saying, “You must give yourself sp

Before Jenny Blake started her business, she didn't feel like she had the authority to speak to others about her passion, business, because she didn’t have a “successful” $1M company under her belt. When Jenny finally leaned on her intuition and gave herself permission to speak about business publicly, she discovered her unique view on systems and operational efficiency propelled her to success. Since then, she’s learned that leading with intuition is one of her greatest strengths. The New York-based international keynote speaker and “solo’plus’preneur” is the author of the award-winning book, Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business, and host of the Free Time podcast. Jenny teaches heart-based business owners how to build a business with ease and joy for all involved, not just for the owner at the expense of the employees. Listen as she explains why she believes not just in high-net-worth but in high-net-freedom and why the hard work is aligning ourselves and designing the systems to free up our time