Five Best Personal Finance Independent Podcasts

 

Here are five personal finance podcasts that appeal to a wide range of U.S. demographics -- rich, poor, black, white, urban, rural, homeowners, renters. What the shows have in common is that they offer solid advice with no strings attached, such as selling you their product, service, or investments.

Moreover, there's none of the "do exactly what I tell you, and you'll be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams" flimflammery. When possible, we defer to indie podcasts.
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Brown Ambition

Brown Ambition is an iHeart podcast, but it started out as an indie show in 2014 after Mandi Woodruff, an editor at Business Insider, wrote a profile about Tiffany Aliche, who had just founded The Budgetnista platform. Aliche left the show in 2023, but Woodruff hasn't missed a beat as the sole host. 

  Brown Ambition offers financial advice that ranges from asking for a raise at a job to purchasing investment properties. Their target demographic is people of color, and women, but here's the thing. You can be whiter than Nicole Kidman and still learn from their advice and financial wisdom. These women know what they're talking about.

Here's what Woodruff says about their goals with the podcast: "With each episode, we aim to create a safe space where women can ask questions, feel seen and heard, and feel like they’ve taken one step closer to accomplishing their wealth-building and career goals. We want to amplify the voices of women of color in spaces that have never traditionally been open to us — from building businesses to earning seats at the boardroom table."

In this country, the income gap between black and white households has narrowed over the last twenty years. But the wealth gap remains stagnant and as wide as the gap between red and blue states. Brown Ambition handles the questions from listeners about finances that relate to their target audience. 

That is the "ambition" part of the title. The podcast is about their audience wanting more out of life and "going for it." The podcast's mission statement reveals that there is more going on than simply financial wisdom.

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 The Clark Howard Podcast

I confess that I've been a long-time Clark Howard fan. I lived north of Atlanta for 10 years and listened to his show on the radio for years. 

Now, as the host of The Clark Howard Podcast, Clark shares his take on top financial news and delivering practical and actionable money tips to help you. He’s joined by Christa DiBiase, who asks listeners' questions during each episode’s Ask Clark segment. You can expect episodes every weekday on your favorite podcast app, or you can watch the podcast on YouTube.

Howard gives solid, common-sense advice with no financial agendas, and he is helpful regardless of income.  

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Planet Money

 The tagline for the Planet Money podcast is The Economy Explained. Now that the Trump Administration has given the finger to NPR and PBS, we consider NPR shows independent.

The podcast describes itself perfectly: "We find creative, entertaining stories that make sense of the big, complicated forces that move our economy and shape your life. That's why we made a t-shirt and traced the supply chain around the world from cotton field to factory; bought 100 barrels of crude oil — paying cash out of a briefcase for fun — then followed it from ground to gas tank; launched a satellite; and built an adorable algorithmic trading Twitter bot, and adopted an abandoned superhero and built a merchandising empire and created a record label so we could see inside streaming payouts."

The show, around since 2008, also leads the podcasting universe in the number of hosts. Amanda Aronczyk, Erika Beras, Mary Childs, Nick Fountain, Sarah Gonzalez, Jeff Guo, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi and Kenny Malone. 

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 Standard Deviations

 What I like about this show is that it combines financial advice with psychology.

The Standard Deviations podcast is a weekly production that examines money, mind, and meaning through a psychological lens.

Each week, psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Daniel Crosby interviews a fascinating new guest, experts in everything from finance to literature to wellness. Each guest provides listeners with three concrete ways to apply what was learned that week, ensuring that weekly listening becomes part of a path to a richer life. Episodes are brief, research-based, and designed to fit perfectly within your commute time.

As Dr. Crosby suggests: "So, tune in for practical news that will help you make more, think more, and be more."

Educated at Brigham Young and Emory Universities, Dr. Daniel Crosby is a psychologist and behavioral finance expert who helps organizations understand the intersection of mind and markets.
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 Afford Anything Podcast

 

Host Paula Pant interviews a diverse group of people—including entrepreneurs, early retirees, millionaires, and investors—exploring the tough work of living a balanced life.

She coaches listeners on how to make wise daily decisions about spending money, time, energy, focus, and attention. After all, she says, "You can afford anything, but not everything."

 Here are summaries of recent episodes: Eva is approaching financial independence, but is worried about messing up the transition. How does she set her portfolio up for success during the drawdown years of early retirement?

George is a worried baby boomer who wonders if today’s generation is drowning in the noise of the financial landscape. How does one find a balance between information and overload?

Heather is stunned by the notion that renting could make more financial sense than buying. Where she’s from, the numbers seem to always swing in favor of owning. What’s she missing?

Along with former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy, Paula Pant offers sage and safe advice.
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Of course, there are the well-known shows like Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, both of which have years of experience and renown to prove their worth. However, try these five shows we recommend if you're searching for new shows in the personal finance space.  

P.T. Barnum once said, "Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant." These shows can offer you a certain degree of mastery over your finances.