Intentional Money Podcast

Leah Hadley, AFC, CDFA, MAFF

Because your money should be as intentional as you are. intentionalmoney.substack.com

  1. Aug 10

    How to Read Inflation Headlines Without Getting Fooled

    When you read “inflation falls to 3.5%,” what do you picture? Most people picture prices coming down. That is not what the sentence says. It says prices are still going up, just more slowly than they were. Nothing on your receipt got cheaper. Think about easing off from 70 to 60. You slowed down. You are still moving forward, and you are still getting further from where you started. That gap is why a news anchor can say inflation is cooling during the same week your grocery total goes up. Both things are true. They are describing two different things, and almost nobody stops to say which is which. In this episode I take four real headlines from the last few weeks and go through them line by line. “U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July.” Why the same report showed unemployment improving, and the number that actually reaches your kitchen table that nobody put in a headline. “Divided Fed holds interest rates steady.” The three dissenters wanted the opposite of what most people assume, and that changes what the headline means if you have been waiting on rates before you borrow. “Inflation falls to 3.5%, below forecast.” The most misread sentence in financial news, and why two different inflation numbers show up in the same news segment. “Economist warns a third of the country is already in or near recession.” What that claim is, what it is not, and the one thing worth doing when you see it. You will leave with four questions you can run any financial headline through in about ninety seconds. Is this a level or a change. Compared to what. Whose average is this. Does it ask anything of me today. That is the whole practice. I made a one-page Headline Decoder with those four questions and every translation from this episode. It is free here: https://www.watchherthrive.co/inflation-cheat-sheet Put it somewhere you will see it Wednesday morning, because the next inflation report comes out at 8:30 Eastern. Before you read anyone’s take on it, go find the actual number and run the four questions. Then read two headlines about it from two different outlets and watch how differently they frame the exact same data. Come back and tell me what you saw, and I will pick it up at the top of next Monday’s show. Financial headlines are written to be understood in three seconds. Your financial life does not work on a three-second timeline. Almost all money anxiety lives in the gap between those two speeds. You do not have to become an economist to close it. Next Monday, episode three: shrinkflation, skimpflation, and what is actually happening to your paycheck once you account for rising prices. Sending warm wishes, Leah P.S. If you want a room where this kind of thinking is normal and nobody thinks your question is too basic, that is what we are building inside the Empowered Sisterhood. https://www.watchherthrive.co/empowered-sisterhood This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit intentionalmoney.substack.com/subscribe

    How to Read Inflation Headlines Without Getting Fooled
  2. Jun 30

    Your Second Half Starts Now

    We just wrapped the finale of the Mid-Year Intentional Money Reset, and if you couldn’t make it live, this is the one to come back for. Here is what usually happens at the end of June. You look up, you realize the year is somehow half gone, and a quiet little voice decides it’s too late to do anything meaningful with the months that are left. I want to hand you a completely different story today. You are not behind. You are right on time. The second half of the year has not been spent yet. It is sitting right in front of you, and what you do with it is still entirely up to you. That is what this session is about. What this replay walks you through This is Part 3, the part where everything we built in the series finally becomes a plan you can actually follow. In the video, I walk you through your 90-Day Reset Plan, your single most important action for the next seven days, and the commitment that makes all of it real. If you are new and this is the first session you have found, do not worry about catching up. You can start right here. The one idea I want you to take from this When you look at the rest of your year, the instinct is to fix everything at once. A new budget, more savings, the debt, the side income, all of it, starting Monday. That is exactly why most resets fall apart by week two. So here is what we do instead. You pick one focus. Just one. And you build it across three months, going a little deeper each time. Say your focus is budgeting. July is your awareness month, where you simply see your real numbers with zero guilt. August is your structure month, where you give those numbers a plan. September is your adjustment month, where you right-size it into something you can actually live with after the 90 days are over. Same focus, three months, getting stronger each time. And if budgeting is not your most urgent thing, the shape works for anything. An emergency fund. One specific debt. Whatever would change how you feel about your money if it moved before the year ends. One focus, built in layers, beats five things done halfway every single time. The part almost everyone skips A plan is powerful. But a plan you are carrying completely alone is fragile, and you already know that, because you have probably made this exact plan before. The women who actually finish the year differently are almost never the ones with the most willpower. They are the ones who stopped doing it by themselves. That is what The Empowered Sisterhood is for. It is the room where your reset keeps going after the video ends, with the support and accountability that make a 90-day plan turn into a new way you handle money. And the timing could not be better. This is Independence Week, and I want you to declare your own financial independence. From now through July 5, you can join The Empowered Sisterhood at our Independence Week rate using the code FREEDOM, and that rate stays locked in for as long as you stay a member. Join The Empowered Sisterhood Your move today Watch the replay. Pick your one focus. Decide your seven-day action. And if you are ready to stop walking this alone, come join us inside the Sisterhood before the FREEDOM offer closes on July 5. The first half of your year already happened. The second half starts now, and it starts with you.P.S. If you still need a copy of the workbook, you can get yours at https://www.watchherthrive.co/mid-year-intentional-money-reset This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit intentionalmoney.substack.com/subscribe

    Your Second Half Starts Now
  3. Jun 23

    What's Really Been Stopping You? (The Intentional Mid-Year Reset)

    What if the thing standing between you and the financial life you want isn’t your income, your willpower, or the economy, but a story you’ve been telling yourself for years? In this session of The Intentional Mid-Year Reset, we go after the question underneath everything: what’s really been stopping you? This is Part 2 of a 3-part series designed to help you reset your finances at the midpoint of the year and finish strong, with intention. It stands completely on its own, so if this is where you’re starting, you’re right on time. (And if you’d like to begin where it all started, you can watch Part 1 here: Is Your Money Where You Thought It Would Be?) In this session, you’ll learn: * Why the money stories running quietly in the background shape nearly every financial decision you make, and how to bring them into the light * How to trace a limiting money belief back to where it came from (often it was never even yours) * A simple reframe exercise to rewrite the stories that have been holding you back * The Strategy Gap Assessment: a quick way to spot exactly where your financial plan needs attention * How to choose the ONE strategic move that will make the biggest difference in your next 30 days Grab the free workbook:This session has a free companion workbook that walks you through every exercise, from the mindset reframe to the strategy gap assessment to your personal action plan. Download your free Intentional Mid-Year Reset Workbook here. About Leah Hadley:I’m Leah Hadley, and I help women build the confidence and clarity to make intentional money moves. This series is part of Intentional Money Moves, where we talk about money in a way that actually feels good, with no shame, no jargon, and no judgment. New sessions in this series air on Tuesdays. Subscribe so you don’t miss Part 3, where we turn all of this into action, and your second half officially begins. Thanks for reading Intentional Money! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit intentionalmoney.substack.com/subscribe

    What's Really Been Stopping You? (The Intentional Mid-Year Reset)
  4. May 19

    Stop Waiting to Feel Ready: The Intentional Decision Method

    You know what decision I’m talking about. The one you’ve been sitting on. The one you’ve researched, overthought, and still haven’t made. In this episode of Intentional Money Moves Live, we’re getting to the root of why smart, capable women stall on financial decisions — and walking through a practical framework to move from stuck to confident on anything you’re facing right now. What we cover: Why information alone doesn’t create confidence. Most of us aren’t missing data. We’re missing a process. And jumping straight to the numbers (while skipping the harder questions) is exactly what keeps us paralyzed. The Intentional Decision Method — six steps built from the Intentional Money Method framework: * Clarity — What decision are you actually making? Most stalling happens because the real question hasn’t been named yet. * Values — Does this align with what matters most to you? Run it through your values filter before you run it through the numbers. * Mindset — What fear is driving the hesitation? Fear of getting it wrong, fear of success, fear of judgment. You can’t make a confident decision from a fearful place. * Strategy — Now look at the facts. The options, the numbers, the tradeoffs. Not first — fourth. * Action — Make the decision and define the next step. Not the whole plan. Just the next step. * Support — Who’s in your corner as you execute? This is the step most women skip, and it’s often why we self-sabotage. Resources mentioned: The Empowered Sisterhood, our membership community for women who are ready to stop going it alone. Learn more at watchherthrive.co/empowered-sisterhood Intentional Money Moves Live airs every Tuesday at noon EST. Subscribe on YouTube at Watch Her Thrive so you never miss an episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit intentionalmoney.substack.com/subscribe

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Because your money should be as intentional as you are. intentionalmoney.substack.com