Bryan introduces the new podcast from Courtney Harrell and Audacy Podcasts, What We Spend. Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the premise of the podcast 'What We Spend'?
Hey there, cats and kittens. It's Brian, coming to you on an off day to share more about a podcast that we are enjoying from our network partner, Odyssey. And the new podcast, What We Spend, is extraordinarily interesting. Let me tell you why.
So much of the commercial break is a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the unfiltered conversations that Chrissy and I have about friendship, offbeat topics, things we find interesting, wild, unforgettable. Or just a crazy story from our personal life. One thing that always gets a laugh but often doesn't get talked about in a deeper way on the commercial break is personal finances.
Chapter 2: Why do we avoid discussing personal finances?
That's because personal finances are personal. We all want to know what our friends make and what they spend their money on, how they're flourishing or how they're suffering around money. But do we ask? No, we do not. We never dare ask. Well, this new podcast, What We Spend, it does just that.
Every episode, host Courtney Harrell talks with just one person and they document an entire week of their lives and all the ways money plays a factor in it. People from all over the country in all walks of life. They talk about how they make money, how they spend money, all the thoughts and emotions they have around money.
These conversations are intimate, they're thoughtful, funny, sometimes emotional, but it's always raw and it's always real. In 2025, when so much of our social media, our news, the people we look up to, our politicians, sports players, all make us feel this keeping up with the Joneses jealousy or desire. I think this podcast has come along at the exact right time.
Chapter 3: Who is the host of 'What We Spend'?
I want to share a preview with you. In this clip we hear from Kelly as she navigates life with her burden of outstanding loan debt. Something I'm sure a lot of you can understand. If you want to listen to the full episode, search for What We Spend on your favorite podcast platform wherever you're listening to this show. Or you can download the free Odyssey app and find it there.
What We Spend by Courtney Harrell. Okay, let me drop in that clip. I'll be back in a few minutes.
You know how you always want to know about everyone else's money? You do, right? Like, you'll see someone buying something you want or taking some amazing vacation and you think, how can they afford that? Or you meet your friend's new girlfriend and she has some very impressive job and you think, how much money does she make?
I think when it comes to money, even if you don't want to admit it, we're all a little nosy. But I don't know, I actually think that's good. I think we should be talking about money more. And all the ways, big and small, that it impacts our lives. On this show, we are actually going to do that. We are going to go somewhere that we almost never get to go.
Deep into the heart of someone else's finances. Hier ist, wie das funktionieren wird. Jede Woche werde ich euch eine neue Person aus einem anderen Land vorstellen. Sie wird uns alles über ihre Finanzen erzählen. Wie viel sie verdienen, wie viel sie machen wollen, worüber sie sich interessieren, oder ob sie sich überhaupt nicht interessieren.
Und dann, für eine Woche, werden wir sie durch ihre tägliche Routine folgen. Jeden Tag werden sie einen Audio-Dialog mit all den schmutzigen Details, wie sie ihr Geld verdienen. Ich meine, die Kaffee, die Gemüse, der Rentner, der Fahrer, der plötzlich alles aufhört. Und danach sprechen wir über das, was die Woche für sie gebracht hat. Was es für sie gemacht hat.
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Chapter 4: What unique insights does Kelly share about student debt?
Weil was auch immer du kaufst oder nicht kaufst oder spart oder spart, am Ende des Tages ist Geld immer mehr als dein Balance. Ich bin Courtney Harrell und das ist, was wir sparen.
How much school debt do you have? I have 150,000. I had more. I had 300,000 after my Master's. I had a great uncle pass away who was an artist and my parents chose with their share of that that they would help pay off all my private loans. And so that was a crazy night. I remember pressing submit on $150,000 payment and just being like, holy shit.
And they were like, yay, doesn't that feel so much better? And I was kind of like, This is Kelly. Kelly is one of the 42.8 million Americans who have student loan debt.
Und auch, wie viele von ihrer Generation, will sie ein Haus kaufen und ein Baby haben. Und sie versucht herauszufinden, ob es möglich ist, all diese Arbeit zu machen. Kelly verabredete ihren Mann vor etwa einem Jahr. Und acht Monate später sind die beiden von Tennessee nach Salt Lake City, Utah geflogen. Ben ist ein Ingenieur für eine Softwarefirma.
Kelly ist die Direktorin von Klienten-Erfahrung in einem Medizinspa. Und sie ist auch ein Online-Mental-Wellness-Coach.
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Chapter 5: How does Kelly navigate her financial challenges?
Ich war früher Therapistin. Und für viele Gründe bin ich es nicht jetzt. Aber ich werde immer Therapie oder Coaching in meinem Leben haben. Und ich werde wahrscheinlich irgendwann vollzeit zurückgehen.
Kelly wird täglich bezahlt. Aber sie macht ungefähr 50k pro Jahr. Und Ben macht ungefähr 78k pro Jahr. That's before taxes and health insurance. Together, that puts them just under the average income for married couple families in Salt Lake City. How would you describe your relationship with money?
Consuming. Oh. I would describe it as all-consuming, yeah. The thing that keeps coming to mind is when someone has an addiction or a struggle and they caught the monkey on their back.
Yeah.
Du kannst es einfach nicht entfernen. Es klingelt einfach. Und es ist immer mit dir vorhanden. Es fühlt sich so an. Und ich versuche wirklich hart, in Kontrolle zu bleiben, meine Kontrolle zu behalten. Ja. Aber es ist ein bisschen wie ein Tug of War.
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Chapter 6: What is Courtney Harrell's approach to discussing money?
Was machst du täglich, um deine Kosten zu gestalten?
An einem Sonntag sitze ich und schaue mir den Budget an. Und ich habe eine Sprechstelle gemacht.
Okay, yeah. So walk me through your spreadsheet. So I would love to hear what all of your regular expenses are and like what you kind of typically pay in each category.
So rent and utilities, $2,800. That's pretty expensive for rent. Anytime I tell someone that, they're like, that's more than my mortgage. I'm like, yeah, I know. Please don't tell me what your mortgage is. I don't want to know. Ja, wer braucht das?
Es ist ein Konvertierer. Phone Payment 75, Pet Insurance 76 and Physical Therapy for 250. It helps with Kelly's chronic back pain and osteoarthritis.
And then groceries. This one sucks the most right now and I really feel like everyone will understand. I put 600 a month for our groceries. And I mean that includes like toiletries and stuff too. They have a Costco membership, but they pay that yearly fee with the cash back they get from their credit card. Medications and supplements like
Ben arbeitet, also hat er einen riesigen Pack von Proteinpaste, den er von Cospo bekommt. Also Ben hat meistens Workout-Supplemente und nur eine Medikation. Und meine ist, denke ich, wie Some of the subscriptions are on them though. Dropbox for 12, Soundcloud for 6, Spotify for 10. Hair. My hair. I put $40 next to my hair.
And that's so I can spend that $40 and get my hair washed by somebody else one time every month. And it is like the gift to me to have somebody else wash my hair every once in a while. Isn't that shitty that like even now just reading my own budget that it really is just my business. I still feel the need to justify like I just need to treat myself sometimes and have my hair washed.
Wie viel kostet das, was du regelmäßig bezahlst? Rund 4.800 Euro pro Monat. Aber dann kriegst du Geld. Wie viel Geld hast du? Einiges. Wenn du meine Studentenlohne inkludierst, haben wir 202.728 Dollar in Geld. Wo hast du zur Schule gegangen? Ich bin zur Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee gegangen. Warum hast du zur Schule gegangen?
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