Episodes
-
448 - Stop Fighting About Clothes: The Sneaky and Silly Budget Category Causing So Much Tension
Did you know clothing is one of the sneaky tension drivers in households across America? In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why a category as small and silly as clothing wreaks so much havoc on couples' finances (and relationships). We discuss why and how this plays out, and offer a...
-
447 - Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Why We Often Confuse Standard of Living With Quality of Life
We humans are on a non-stop journey for a higher standard of living. For many, it’s not as much a journey as it is an obsession. What if we’re barking up the wrong tree? What if, instead of pursuing a higher standard of living, what we’re really seeking is a better quality of life? These aren’t…
more -
446 - When Budgeting Means Spending More: Never About Less, Always About Better
“I need to get on a budget.” This is a commonly used phrase in our culture, almost always viewed through the lens of budgeting = spend less money. We couldn’t disagree more. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why budgeting isn’t necessarily about spending less, but spending better....
-
445 - Interest Rates or Grandkids: The Role of Meaning Over Money in Everyday Life
What does Meaning Over Money actually mean? Is it just some catchy phrase that made for a decent podcast title? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares how the concept of meaning over money applies to so many aspects of our lives. Specifically, he shares the story of one couple’s financial...
-
444 - Wanting It vs. Doing It: Why Some People Thrive While Others Sit Idly (With Jealousy)
Want a hard pill to swallow today? One reason we haven’t achieved our most deeply desired goals is that, while we want them, we’re not willing to pay the price to make them happen. Instead, we sit idly and watch, with jealousy, as other people live our dreams instead of us. In today’s episode…
more -
443 - So Much Noise: Why Ignoring the News (and Social Media) Is the Secret to Investing
Do you ever get nervous about your investments because of how much madness is going on in the world? Does it seem like the world is melting? Chances are, your investments are probably doing much better than you believe. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why there seems to be a...
-
442 - American Dream or American Nightmare? Why the World’s Way Might Not Be Your Best Way
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “The American Dream?” Chances are, most of us have similar ideas that immediately flood our minds. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares why our universally accepted version of the American Dream is leading many people down a path of…
more -
441 - We’re Back! An Ode To Seasons
Life is full of seasons. Personal seasons. Relational seasons. Professional seasons. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains where the Meaning Over Money guys have been these past five months, and now that we’re back, where we’re headed. We’re so grateful you’re here, and we hope this is...
-
440 - The Chicken and Egg of Wealth and Fame: Maybe It’s Opposite of What You Think
As a culture, we love to point our fingers at the rich and famous and accuse them of only caring about money. What if we have it totally backward? What if wealth and fame are byproducts of caring about anything but money and fame? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton uses the U.S. Men’s Hockey...
-
439 - Managing the Puzzle Pieces: Everything Can Work….If It Works Together
Guilt, regret, resentment, remorse. All feelings tied to money. It’s so easy for us to beat ourselves up for each and every decision we make. However, nobody wins when that happens. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses how we need to give ourselves the gift of understanding the…
more -
438 - Creating a Life We Don’t Want to Retire From: A Better Path Than the Race Toward Retirement
Hello again! After an unexpected hiatus, we’re back at full strength! One of the elephants in the room in our culture is the idea of retirement. Not just any retirement, though, but a constant pursuit of an earlier-the-better retirement. 60 is better than 65. 55 is better than 60. 50 is better…
more -
437 - Memories Don’t Discriminate: Don’t Let a Lack of Resources Rob You From Creating Beautiful Memories
Many people are hurting financially this holiday season. Things feel tight. This can lead many families to feel defeated and throw their arms in the air when it comes to creating memories for their kids. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses how memories are memories because they are...
-
436 - Closer Than You Think: Why You’ve Probably Made More Investing Progress Than You Believe
We invest, invest, invest, and invest some more, only to look at our numbers and get frustrated by little progress we’ve made. Sound familiar? It’s common for people to experience immense frustration and fatigue about 10 years into their investing journey, sometimes leading to apathy….or quitting...
-
435 - Reverse Engineering Our Obituary: Starting With the Desired End in Mind
We’re all going to die. Yeah, morbid, we know. What will your obituary say about you? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton talks about the exercise of writing our own obituary. What do we want to be remembered for? What impact do we want to make on this world? How do we want the end of the…
more -
434 - What Would You Pay For Meaning? When Meaningful Work (Initially) Requires a Pay Cut
Would you take a pay cut to pursue work that would provide you with more meaning and a higher level of well-being? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares the story of a friend who recently weighed this very decision, and chose meaning. His decision may be counter-cultural, but through the...
-
433- More Is Never Enough: How the Curse of More Can (and Will) Hunt Us Down
You know what the problem is with more? Every time we get more, more is still, well, more. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares an intense story about a couple that is painfully losing the battle for more. It’s a brutal story to share, and one that far too many people can relate to, but...
-
432 - Recent Does Not Mean Real: The Risk of Recency Bias When Making Decisions
Whether you know it or not, there’s a hidden force at play in your life. It’s called recency bias. It’s a phenomenon where we humans place too much emphasis on recent experiences when making decisions. It’s present in all areas of our lives, but nowhere as impactful and prevalent as in our...
-
431 - It’s Gotta Come From Somewhere: The Art & Science of Budgeting in the Real World
Budgeting is simple on paper, but we don’t live on paper. We live in a chaotic, volatile, and ever-changing world. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses how best to live in a budget when the real world decides not to cooperate with our best laid plans. It’s not easy, but it is simple....
-
430 - Live By the Sword, Die By the Sword: The Dangers of Businesses Polarizing Their Customers
We’re living in crazy times. Never before has our culture seemed so divided, so polarized. This sentiment also applies to businesses, unfortunately. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explores the dangers of what happens when businesses decide to adopt human beliefs, values, and…
more -
429 - The Unfixable Mistake: The Harsh Lessons of Trying to Time the Market
Buy low, sell, high, right? That’s the motto when it comes to stock market investing. One problem: It doesn’t work. It’s nearly impossible to time the right moment to buy, and even if we get lucky, it’s also nearly impossible to time the right moment to sell. In today’s episode, host Travis…
more -
428 - It’s Just Money: Why We Can (and Should) Make Some Decisions That Hinder Our Finances
Have you ever intentionally made a decision that hinders your finances? Good! That’s great news! It means there are more important things in life than money. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares his controversial perspective about how the mission should matter more than the money....
-
427 - The Bar Has Never Been Lower: Your Opportunity to Make An Impact Has Never Been Greater
It seems like our culture has grown accustomed to mediocre. We’ve normalized bleh. It almost feels like every time we engage with a business and they hit a home run, we’re shocked. We didn’t expect that. We expected to be let down like every other time. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton...
-
426 - Sometimes, the Only Prescription Is More Income
In the personal finance world, experts are typically keen to recommend all sorts of cutting, saving, hacks, and frugality. Don’t get us wrong, all of these have value! However, sometimes, the only prescription is more income. Sometimes, there simply isn’t enough fat to cut in order to get on the...
-
425 - Quality Over Quantity: Why Less Is More
Whenever we spend money, there’s a tension in the air. Do we buy cheaper items so we have the resources to buy more, or do we focus our resources on buying fewer, but higher quality items? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares why he believes quality over quantity is almost always the...
-
424 - Give An Inch, Take a Mile: Why We Self-Sabotage Our Own Best Interests
For more than four years, we produced two episodes per week.....like clockwork. 419 episodes in a row without a single miss. Then, something happened. We decided to skip one episode, which led us to take a week off, which led us to take two weeks off, which eventually led us to take nearly three...
-
423 - Too Many Flourless Cakes: The Value of Work In a Society That Glorifies Leisure
If sugar is what makes cake taste good, why don’t we just replace all the flour with more sugar? It would taste like crap, that’s why. However, we live in a culture that continually tells us that we should replace the flour in our lives with more and more sugar. In today’s episode, host Travis...
-
422 - It’s Pretty Great to Be Young: Investing, and the Power of Time
Compounding is a powerful phenomenon, but it’s staggering how much so for young people. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton shares some insights from a recent talk he gave to young adults. In short, young adults have a particularly massive opportunity to embrace the power of compounding. All…
more -
421 - Simple is Not Easy
This money stuff should be simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. In fact, some of the simplest things in the world are the hardest to actually do. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses this important distinction, and will challenge you to aggressively and obsessively pursue simple....
-
420 - Know the Downside: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You
Humans have an interesting knack of overestimating the probability of something bad happening, but underestimating the severity of said bad outcome. The net result of these dynamics can be utterly destructive. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discussed the importance of understanding the...
-
419 - History is Your Friend: What 23 U.S. Stock Market Crashes Have In Common
Worried about a possible stock market crash? You aren’t alone! With the volatility we’ve experienced in the first three months of 2025, many people are getting nervous. Will the market crash? Is this just a bump in the road? Are bad days ahead? We aren’t fortune tellers, but we can say with 100%...
-
418 - How to Have a Midlife Crisis That’s Not a Midlife Crisis
Did you know that host Travis Shelton recently had a midlife crisis? Well, that’s what most people would call it, anyway. In the Meaning Over Money world, we simply calling it living for the meaning, not for the money. In today’s episode, on the one-year anniversary of Travis purchasing an...
-
417 - The Ten Dollar Challenge: Spending $10 Per Day On Things You Don’t Need
Would you spend $10 per day on things you don’t need? Every day, every week, every month, every year. In some ways, this idea sounds crazy and irresponsible. Host Travis Shelton wrote a blog about this recently, and his readers agreed. Spending $10 on wants every single day sounds grossy…
more -
416 - It’s Okay to Buy Fun Things, But You Can’t Buy ALL the Fun Things
No, that daily coffee isn’t ruining your financial life…..by itself. We love to pigeonhole certain expenses in our life as the ones that are hurting us. Truth is, most probably aren’t. It’s okay to spend money on fun things like coffess, drinks, clothes, and dining out. There’s nothing inherently...
-
415 - Taking Timing Off the Table: Why and How to Stop Worrying About When Your Bills Are Due
One of the biggest financial stressors in people’s lives is the tension they experience waiting to see if x bills will be paid before y paycheck arrives (or vice versa). Just one or two days can be the make or break, and the stress that creates in our lives is tremendous. In today’s episode, host...
-
414 - How to Stop Being Jealous: The Power of Factoring in Consequences
Have you ever been jealous of someone in your life? Of course you have! Often, we get jealous of the upside of someone’s decisions (such as the house they live in or the car they drive). However, we rarely think about the cost of these decisions. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains…
more -
413 - Please Stop: With the Stock Market Declining, We’re Begging You to Not React. Here’s Why
People are once again starting to get nervous about the stock market. It makes sense, as the market has recently experienced some negative volatility. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton makes his argument why it’s so important that we stop. Stop worrying. Stop reacting. Stop adjusting. Stop...
-
412 - Stepping On Landmines: How One Bad Decision Can Create a Decades-Long Spiral….Or Not
Most tales of financial struggle have a starting point. People can often trace back their turmoil to a single event. Maybe it’s one poor decision, or a misfortune, or a mistake. We call those landmines. And when we step on a landmine, it becomes more likely to step on another. In today’s episode,...
-
411 - Taxes 101: You Wouldn't Change the Transmission In Your Own Car Just to Save a Few Bucks, Would You?
Do you do your own taxes? If so, please listen to this episode. We believe that one of the simpliest and most important decisions you can make in your financial life is to get a trusted tax professional. It’s about far more than just getting your taxes done each spring. For many families, this…
more -
410 - Life Insurance 101: A Little Morbid But a Lot Important
What would happen to your family if something happened to you? What would happen to you if something happened to your spouse? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why it’s critically important to protect our families with life insurance, how much you might need, and how to get it. If...
-
409 - Taxable Investing 101: Giving Yourself the Gift of Freedom, Flexibility, and Options
Whenever we talk about investing, it’s almost always through the lens of retirement investing. Retirement investing is awesome, no doubt. However, most families, in their pursuit of focusing their energy on retirement, miss out on an important and powerful opportunity. What if you need/want some…
more -
408 - Income Fund 101: Do You Have an Inconsistent Monthly Income? We Got You!
One of the hardest nuances to manage in our finances is dealing with an inconsistent income. While some people might get a salary or work a consistent set of hours, many rely on commissions, royalties, bonuses, and varying hours to feed their family. One month might pay $15,000, and the next...
-
407 - Personal Spending 101: A Powerful Release Valve When Combining Money In Marriage
More than nearly every aspect of personal finance, we here at Meaning Over Money will die on the hill that married couples should combine finances and view everything through the lens of “ours.” However, it’s inevitable that tensions and stress will arise at some point. In most marriages, the...
-
406 - Sinking Funds 101: Saving Intentionally While Combatting Damaging Psychological Forces
On the heels of our Budgeting 101 episode, host Travis Shelton dives deep into sinking funds. What they are, why they matter, and how to easily and effectively execute them. If you’re looking to improve your saving game, this is the episode for you. The implementation of sinking funds can be the...
-
405 - Budgeting 101: A Simple and Clear Overview of How to Execute a Monthly Budget
Today marks the beginning of a series we are calling 101. Based on listener feedback and common questions, we’re getting back to basics on how to logistically and mechanically execute on several ideas we regularly discuss on this podcast. Today, we’re starting with budgeting because, well, we...
-
404 - Are You Accidentally Losing 25% of Your Life Savings? The Sneaky Undercurrent of Investment Fees
Most Americans are willingly but unknowingly throwing away 25% of their life savings. Yes, one-quarter of people’s assets are literally vanishing from under their nose? How, investment fees. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why even a 1% fee on your investments can rob you blind....
-
403 - Just Buy the Shoes: A Guilt-Free Blueprint to Overcome Financial Hoarding
Millions of Americans struggle with financial hoarding…..or the weight of feeling guilt when spending. Much of this stems back to our childhoods, when we were continuously told not to buy things we don’t need, to quit spending, to save more, etc. After decades of this narrative, many people…
more -
402 - What Gets Measured Gets Done: The Sneaky Hack to Propel Your Momentum
Achieving goals is hard. After all, life doesn’t slow down or do us any favors to make it easier. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton talks about the importance of measuring the things we want to accomplish. This is a critical part of his financial coaching process, and with visibility,...
-
401 - Just Start. Right Now. Today. Not Later.
How impactful is investing $25/month? Not much, actually. However, that’s not the point. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses the power of starting. From a behavioral science perspective, the most important (and difficult) part of any endeavor is to simply start. Even if it’s slow…
more -
400 - Less Talk, More Doing: The Power of Action In a World Obsessed With Talking
400 episodes!?!? In a world filled with a million great ideas and endless talk, it’s the people taking action who win. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton discusses the power of just doing. It’s not always sexy. It’s not always enjoyable. It’s not even always successful. However, there’s a...
-
399 - Everything is Repurposed: Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to “Throw Away” One Career For Another
When asked why they don’t leave their job for a better one, one of the main answers people provide is they don’t want to “throw away” what they’ve built. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton addresses this concern head-on. In short, nothing is thrown away. Instead, everything is repurposed....
About this show
A different kind of financial podcast, where money is NEVER about money.
Hosted by
Travis Shelton
Categories