Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Carrie Joy Grimes on How to Break Free from Financial Insecurity | EP 585
Fri, 14 Mar 2025
Financial security isn't just about numbers—it’s about emotions, security, and having control over your future. In this episode of Passion Struck, I bring you an insightful conversation from the Systems Catalyst podcast, featuring Carrie Joy Grimes (CJ), the founder of WorkMoney, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Americans save money, increase their financial stability, and build a better life.With over 8.1 million members, WorkMoney is using collective strength to challenge economic insecurity and make financial well-being accessible for all. CJ shares why so many Americans are struggling to afford even a $1,000 emergency expense, what’s driving this crisis, and how we can take back control of our financial futures—without waiting for someone else to save us.Full Shownotes here: https://passionstruck.com/cj-grimes-break-free-from-financial-insecurity/What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Why financial well-being is about more than just money—it’s about emotions, security, and control.The $1,000 emergency dilemma: Why half of U.S. adults are financially vulnerable.How WorkMoney is changing lives through personalized financial tools and community-driven solutions.The power of listening: Why understanding people’s real needs is key to making meaningful change.How to break free from financial insecurity and start making decisions that empower you.Sponsors:Factor Meals: http://factormeals.com/factormeals50off and use code “FACTOR MEALS 50 OFF”Rosetta Stone: Unlock 25 languages for life at “ROSETTASTONE.com/passionstruck.”Prolon: Reset your health with 15% off at “ProlonLife.com/passionstruck.”Mint Mobile: Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at “MINT MOBILE dot com slash PASSION.”Hims: Start your journey to regrowing hair with Hims. Visit hims.com/PASSIONSTRUCK for your free online visit.Quince: Discover luxury at affordable prices with Quince. Enjoy free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/PASSIONNext on Passion Struck:In the next episode of Passion Struck, John sits down with Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Indistractable and Hooked. They dive into the science of focus, why we get distracted, and how mastering your attention is the key to living an intentional life. Don’t miss this powerful conversation on breaking free from digital addictions and reclaiming your time.For more information on advertisers and promo codes, visit Passion Struck Deals.Join the Passion Struck Community!Sign up for the Live Intentionally newsletter, where I share exclusive content, actionable advice, and insights to help you ignite your purpose and live your most intentional life. Get access to practical exercises, inspiring stories, and tools designed to help you grow. Learn more and sign up here.Speaking Engagements & WorkshopsAre you looking to inspire your team, organization, or audience to take intentional action in their lives and careers? I’m available for keynote speaking, workshops, and leadership training on topics such as intentional living, resilience, leadership, and personal growth. Let’s work together to create transformational change. Learn more at johnrmiles.com/speaking.Episode Starter PacksWith over 500 episodes, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. We’ve curated Episode Starter Packs based on key themes like leadership, mental health, and personal growth, making it easier for you to dive into the topics you care about. Check them out at passionstruck.com/starterpacks.Catch More of Passion Struck:Check my interview with Jeffrey C. Walker On The Criticality of Collaboration in Systems ChangeMy episode with Richard Dolan On the Importance of Financial Health in LifeCan't miss my episode with Codie Sanchez on How to Gain Financial FreedomCatch my interview with Adrian Brambila on 21 Brutal Money Lessons You Need NowListen to my solo epísode on Robert Breedlove on the Hidden War on Financial FreedomIf you liked the show, please leave us a review—it only takes a moment and helps us reach more people! Don’t forget to include your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally.How to Connect with John:Connect with John on Twitter at @John_RMilesFollow him on Instagram at @John_R_MilesSubscribe to our main YouTube Channel and to our YouTube Clips ChannelFor more insights and resources, visit John’s websiteWant to explore where you stand on the path to becoming Passion Struck? Take our 20-question quiz on Passionstruck.com and find out today!
Chapter 1: Why can't half of U.S. adults afford a $1,000 emergency?
150 million American adults, which is over half of adults in this country, can't afford a thousand dollar emergency. There's a lot of reasons for that. You may get a bum deal. You may get dealt a bad hand of cards. It's still on us to figure out how we play them. No one's going to show up and say about us. We got to figure out how to get out of this hole ourselves.
Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles. And on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself.
Chapter 2: What is the mission of Passion Struck?
If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now, let's go out there and become PassionStruck. Hey, PassionStruck fam. Welcome to episode 585.
Whether you're a longtime listener or tuning in for the first time, I am so excited you're here. You've joined a global movement dedicated to unlocking human potential, creating intentional change and making what truly matters, matter most. Before we dive in, let's take a moment to reflect on some of the incredible conversations we've had this week.
On Tuesday, I sat down with Dr. Lori Santos, the all-professor and host of the Happiness Lab podcast. to explore why happiness isn't just about personal joy, but about feeling like we matter. We broke down the biggest misconceptions about happiness and why our pursuit of success and convenience often leaves us more disconnected than fulfilled.
Then on Thursday, I spoke with Bryant Wood, a former model and bodybuilder turned breathwork expert, about the power of vulnerability, emotional healing, and the importance of redefining masculinity. If you've ever struggled with connection or self-worth, His insights will change how you think about personal growth.
Now, today's episode is something a little different, and I think you're going to love it. Instead of our regular format with me doing a solo episode, I'm bringing you an episode from a show I truly admire, System Catalyst, which is hosted by my friend Jeff Walker, who you might remember from PassionStruck episode 99 and English Sol.
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Chapter 3: Who is Carrie Joy Grimes and what is WorkMoney?
System Catalyst tells the stories of changemakers who put their egos aside to transform the systems that shape our world. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Kerry Jo Grimes, known as CJ, the founder of WorkMoney, a nonprofit with over 8.1 million members that's dedicated to helping Americans save money, increase their financial security, and improve their well-being. Today's episode, here's
and what we can do about it. And finally, the power of listening, how work money success.
is driven by deeply understanding its members and meeting their real needs this is an inspiring conversation about how to create meaningful impact at scale and i'm honored to share it with you today if you enjoy this episode be sure to check out systems catalyst and follow the link in the show notes to explore more of their incredible work Now let's dive in.
Here's Jeff Walker's conversation with CJ Grimes on System Catalyst. Thank you for choosing PassionStruck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life. Now, let that journey begin.
I say a lot that money is about math and feelings. And when we only think about the math part, you know, we might solve a problem, but we only solve half the problem. You know, people don't just want money for its own sake. They want money so that they can live their good life.
We can't fix the world alone, but collaborating isn't easy and systems are allergic to change. So how do we do it without losing our damn minds?
That is what we're here to find out.
I'm Jeff Walker.
I'm English Saul. Welcome to System Catalyst, the podcast that cracks the code for making the world a better place.
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Chapter 4: How does WorkMoney help its members achieve financial security?
Jeff, you know my family's from Evansville?
I'm saying this connection.
Oh, wow. First of all, nobody knows where Evansville, Indiana is. And it's a remarkably large town for nobody to know where it is. You know, it's like right at that apex of where Indiana meets Kentucky. And you can see right across the river to Kentucky. You know, I grew up in a very working class, middle class family, and my grandparents are hugely inspirational for me.
My mom's parents, Charlie and Rachel Ashton, and neither of them graduated from the eighth grade. And my grandpa, Charlie, worked at the Whirlpool factory making refrigerators just down the way from the Sears and Roba where my grandma, Grandma Rachel, she ran the women's department. And they really elbow greased their way to like a good life.
You know, they had two kids and they bought a house and one of their kids went to college. I mean, it was really kind of the way it's supposed to be. You know, you work hard and you get a good life out of it. And my grandpa, with his refrigerator factory job, saved up enough money to still retire. And in retirement, he bought himself a black Cadillac Eldorado with a red racing stripe.
And every Sunday, my grandma and grandpa would go for a drive after church. And they would always have the same argument because my grandpa would roll the windows down because he wanted people to see that he was driving a Cadillac because it was a big deal for him. And my grandma would go, Charlie, roll the windows up because it was messing up her hair. And I just...
grew up believing that if you put the time in, if you work so, so hard, you can get that good life. My grandpa didn't have 10 Cadillacs. I mean, he was rich. And I just thought when I worked really hard in my life, I would be able to get whatever my Cadillac was, you know, whatever that is for me as an adult.
And what I've seen happen over the last 30 years, it's gotten harder and harder for folks to have that moment. And I can't imagine a refrigerator factory worker saving up enough money over a 35, 40-year career to buy themselves a Cadillac.
Well, and you and I are connected because some part of my family grew up in Southern Illinois and on Sunday afternoons after church got in their Cadillac, my grandfather's Cadillac and drove around to look at houses and sites. It's so, you know, I agree with you that that dream You know, is it still here and is it possible? And so you've been working to try to, you know, make it possible, right?
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Chapter 5: What role does community play in WorkMoney's success?
We got to figure out how to get out of this hole ourselves. And it's also not that 150 million individual people are screwed up. You know, like there's clearly something wrong with the system overall. Wages aren't keeping up with costs. Things cost too much. And there are ways that we can use our strength as a large organization to build an economy that works for us too.
Go on the WorkMoney website and you'll find plenty of great tools and resources to help you with your finances, like a starter budget calculator, an app that saves you gas money, and a student loan consolidator. As great as these are, they're only the first step to really helping people in the long term.
I say a lot that money is about math and feelings. And when we only think about the math part, you know, we might solve a problem, but we only solve half the problem. You know, people don't just want money for its own sake. They want money so that they can live their good life. They can spend time with their family. They can have the bandwidth to, I don't know, my good life is something simple.
It's like, I want to be able to watch the Cubs and the Bears and the Trailblazers. You know, I would like to have enough time and money to go to the gym. You sometimes have one or the other, but generally not both. I'd love to buy my teenage daughter one of the million things she says she desperately needs and not feel like I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul.
You know, I'd love to take my husband out to eat seafood because when he cooks it in the house, it's disgusting and I hate the smell. And so like, you know, it's like, that's, it's like, that's the, it's, I don't even mean by good life. I'm not even trying to say I want like five yachts and 10, you know, fancy cars.
And I think that when I think about financial security, it's really to me for me about my relationships, you know, my relationship with myself, my relationship with my kid and my husband. And I think that that's ultimately what we want people to have.
Well, and there's so many people that are lonely when they find others that are suffering the same questions through the same questions or issues. That's right. You know, it gives them more strength and light around it.
Yeah.
It sounds like once the trust, you start being able to talk about that kind of stuff, which is very angst driven and things that people don't like to talk about necessarily as much.
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Chapter 6: How does WorkMoney plan to expand its impact?
And then we found this really interesting thing happening where as we have more social media content, there's a lot of stuff that happens in the comments on some of our YouTube videos and in our Instagram and Facebook Reels where people interact together about how they solve problems around how to shop and save at the store. We have a lot of members who are interested in things like...
Dinner for four on 20 bucks. People share lots of ideas back and forth. And we've done some real life events. We'll do a swing through a state and we'll have like an event or a tabling event and people can come and sort of chat with each other. In this next year, I expect we're going to be doing a lot more work in people's physical communities because it's time. You know, we got pretty big.
And so where we'd be moving into a couple of places and working with our members on the ground. I'm really excited for what that will look and feel like. I think that's the next chapter for WorkMoney. When I think about WorkMoney in its most mature, I imagine WorkMoney being physically present in, you know, thousands of communities on the ground in states all across the country.
Despite having 8 million members across the country, Work Money operates almost like a small business. With regular phone calls and in-person events, each individual member feels seen and heard and understood, which further strengthens and grows the Work Money community. It's a virtuous cycle that I wish more organizations would employ.
Some people, when they work on social change, they had to figure out the geographic level to work on. And you clearly pick the United States, obviously. But many people then start going, well, do I go down to the state? Do I go down to the city? Do I go down to rural versus city? And then there's different levers of change. And so kind of where you focus on, I think, is interesting.
Could you have a work money New York and a work money Arkansas, you know, and have them work together?
Yeah, we do. We were born when he was born out of the pandemic. You know, I was a union organizer for a couple of decades and I left the union maybe two and a half years before that. And I was kind of knocking around, working on getting jobs here and there. And then, you know, everyone's money kind of got turned inside out when we shut down. And I started fielding lots of questions for folks.
I'd spent a lot of, I mean, I spent two decades working with people about, you know, how to improve their financial lives, like through union organizing. And so I got together with some friends from that world and we built this website and that kind of took off, you know?
And so we were born digitally because there was no other option, you know, then there's no in-person anything at WorkMoney for two years, practically. And so we grew nationally immediately because we were just online. And now we're so big that we have enough members in a bunch of states that we're taking pretty seriously.
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