Money & major life events
The money side nobody warns you about
Nobody hands you a financial checklist for the biggest moments of your life — moving out, changing jobs, combining finances with a partner, having a first child — so improvising is the norm. This track maps the money mechanics behind each transition: the real cash a move takes, the 401(k)-rollover and insurance decisions hiding behind a new job, the ways couples structure shared money, and where a child's costs actually fall. Warm, judgment-free, and educational — it explains how things work without ever telling you what to choose.
4 lessons · about 30 minutes total · 100% free
Saved on this device only — no account needed.
1. Moving out on your own
Nobody hands you a financial checklist for the first time you live on your own, so improvising is the norm. This lesson lays out the full money picture of independence: the one-time move-in cash stack that's bigger than just first month's rent, the new recurring costs that arrive all at once, how to build a first real solo budget, and the buffer that keeps month one from becoming a crisis. Worked in real dollars, never a directive.
7 min read
2. Changing jobs: the money checklist
A new job is exciting, and nobody warns you about the pile of money decisions hiding behind it. This lesson walks the financial checklist of switching jobs: what a 401(k) rollover actually is and its four paths, how vesting decides what employer-match money is really yours, the insurance gap between coverage and the COBRA-vs-marketplace choice, the unused PTO payout, the timing of the last and first paychecks, and updating direct deposit and a fresh W-4. Purely educational, with worked dollars.
8 min read
3. Combining finances with a partner
Moving in together or getting married means money stops being entirely solo, and nobody hands couples a manual for it. This lesson lays out the three common models — fully joint, fully separate, and the hybrid yours/mine/ours approach — neutrally, with the trade-offs of each. It covers how to talk through money differences, shared vs. individual goals, what marriage changes legally and financially as concepts (filing status, shared liability), and prenups explained without spin. It never tells a couple which model to choose.
8 min read
4. The financial side of a first child
A first child is one of life's biggest moments, and nobody hands new parents a financial checklist for it. This lesson maps the money side calmly: the cost categories (one-time setup, ongoing essentials, and childcare — often the single biggest line), the benefits and leave side (parental leave, adding a dependent during the special enrollment window, and the Child Tax Credit and dependent-care FSA as concepts), and why an emergency fund and, for those with dependents, life and disability insurance matter more than before. How-it-works framing throughout.
7 min read