Episode Overview

Podcast: How to Money
Episode: Pulling the Most Powerful Money Levers w/ Professor Kristen Cariotti #1043
Host: Joel (iHeartPodcasts)
Guest: Professor Kristen Cariotti, Mount Mary University
Original Air Date: October 1, 2025

This episode features Professor Kristen Cariotti, economist and personal finance educator, discussing how to "pull the most powerful money levers" in one's financial life. The conversation explores teaching financial literacy to college students, mindsets about money, the value of financial education in the curriculum, and how practical behaviors and beliefs shape long-term outcomes—addressing both what “doing smart stuff with your money” actually looks like and the internal work required to build financial freedom.

Main Insights & Discussion Points

1. Personal Approach to Money and Entrepreneurship

• Kristen’s “splurge”: Once a week, she hires a babysitter to have personal time, treating this as a mindful splurge that supports her well-being (02:53).
• Entrepreneurship Experience: Kristen's husband runs a family donut business, which has taught her about the realities of owning a small business, financial trade-offs, hard work, and teamwork in marriage (04:15).
  • “Understanding how the business works is really helpful for me...it helps us be a better team together.” — Kristen (04:15)
• Small Business Lessons: She incorporates entrepreneurship and gig economy trade-offs into her curriculum, emphasizing that side hustles can have both promise and pitfalls (05:22).

2. Personal Finance Education in College

• Pioneering a Required Course: Mount Mary University now requires all undergrads to take a 3-credit personal finance course, largely due to Kristen’s advocacy (07:44).
  • “If it's not required, they probably won't take it.” — Kristen (07:46)
• Why Students Want Financial Literacy: Despite historic lack of financial education, students are “hungry” for real-life, applicable knowledge—highlighting the gap in K-12 and higher ed (06:55, 08:40).
  • “Best practice is to learn it in middle school, high school, college and beyond.” — Kristen (08:40)

3. Teaching Strategy: From Fundamentals to Unlearning Bad Habits

• Start at Zero: Kristen underscores starting from basic definitions (what is a checking account?), and recognizing that many students come with misinformation picked up from family or social media (10:19, 11:49).
  • “They have to unlearn a lot of things too… things from their parents or from TikTok that just aren’t correct.” — Kristen (10:19)
• Seven Steps (Money Gears) Framework: She leverages a seven-step financial independence model (inspired by How to Money’s “Seven Money Gears”) for clarity—a one-page map that’s portable and applicable even as life circumstances change (12:34).

4. Mindset and Behavioral Finance

• Mindset is Everything: Students’ sense of empowerment and growth mindset matter as much as technical knowledge—especially among women, who statistically take less risk and negotiate less (14:38).
  • “There is a negotiation gap. And just knowing that the gap exists is helpful...someone else is going to [negotiate], and they're going to get paid more simply because they asked for it.” — Kristen (15:06)
• Discussing Mistakes: Kristen shares her own financial mistakes—like buying a house at the wrong time or not starting her Roth IRA early—encouraging students to learn from errors and to reset when needed (16:21).

5. Identity, Habits & Motivation

• Identity Change: True financial progress means building habits and seeing oneself as “a person who invests”—even small, regular contributions matter far more than waiting for the “right moment” (25:45).
  • “It’s the habit of dollar cost averaging...just building up that habit, right?” — Kristen (25:45)
• Growth Mindset Against Avoidance: She notes a tendency for people to ignore money problems after mistakes (“avoidance behavior”) and stresses proactive learning and action (28:20).

6. Connecting Practical Life with Financial Skills

• Trade-Offs & Social Pressure: Contemporary culture highlights “fun” consumption but rarely the unglamorous choices (like meal prep or skipping events to save money) that build wealth over time (32:09).
  • “The fun stuff is what goes on social media, and the tradeoff of you staying home and packing your lunch probably didn’t make it to social media.” — Kristen (32:09)
• Diverse Student Experiences: Teaching students with a broad range of financial backgrounds means using frameworks (like the Seven Steps) that can meet people where they are (34:30, 35:49).
• Budgeting Rebranded as “Planning”: To avoid the stigma around “budgets,” Kristen frames it as building a plan, keeping it flexible and student-driven (38:45).

7. Career, Major Choice, and the Value of Security

• Career Planning with Money in Mind: Kristen has students research earning potential and job outlook. Tools like the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and assignments comparing dream jobs to adjacent roles drive practical reflection on financial trade-offs (41:07, 42:41).
  • “Job security also makes you pretty happy.” — Kristen (44:04)
• Nonlinear Career Advice: Rather than “follow your passion” blindly, students should consider security, growth potential, and ways to pursue passions via side projects or volunteer work (44:10).

8. Financial Technology & Tools: Help or Hype?

• Apps Are Optional: Students should find what works (“do what works for you”), and beware of apps or products with misleading promises, high costs, or predatory models (50:40).
• DIY Approach: Many “premium” services for credit repair, debt settlement, or identity theft can be self-managed for free or at lower cost; skepticism and research are key (51:59, 53:42).

9. Becoming a Lifelong Learner in Personal Finance

• Knowing Yourself: Self-assessment tools and money values exercises help students continue learning after the course ends (55:03).
  • “You don’t take the class in college and then you’re just set for the rest of your life. ...Find what works for you.” — Kristen (54:32)
• Curate Your Influences: Surround yourself—on social media and elsewhere—with sources that reflect your values and encourage healthy financial behaviors.

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On trade-offs and social pressure:
  “The fun stuff is what goes on social media, and the trade off of you staying home and packing your lunch probably didn’t make it to social media.” — Kristen (32:09)
• On the fundamental role of financial literacy:
  “You can’t transform the world if you’re living paycheck to paycheck.” — Joel quoting Kristen (01:26, 08:40)
• On learning from mistakes:
  “I bought a house right before the housing market crash. ...I was kind of in a rush to grow up, I think, back then.” — Kristen (16:26)
• On budgeting’s bad reputation:
  “We call budgets a plan and we keep coming back to that word, right?...And we also keep it pretty open on how students want to do their plan.” — Kristen (38:45)
• On building financial habits:
  “It’s the habit of dollar cost averaging…show them how interest compounds and how time matters the most.” — Kristen (25:45)
• On women and negotiation:
  “There is a negotiation gap. ...Just knowing that the gap exists is helpful.” — Kristen (15:06)
• On using frameworks:
  “You need a map, you need a guide...for the same reason a doctor is going to use a checklist...that works in personal finance.” — Kristen (36:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:53] Kristin’s financial “splurge” & donut business lessons
• [05:22] Entrepreneurship, gig economy, and trade-offs
• [06:55-08:40] Building a required personal finance course; students’ hunger for knowledge
• [10:19] Teaching from the ground up, “unlearning” bad habits
• [12:34] Seven Money Gears as a one-page framework
• [14:38–16:21] Mindset, negotiation gaps, and compounding interest
• [16:26–17:50] Professors’ own money mistakes & behavioral finance
• [25:45] Building habits of investing and growth mindset
• [28:20] Confronting avoidance, building proactivity
• [32:09] The “unsexy” side of financial choices and trade-offs
• [38:45–39:54] Rebranding budgeting as “planning”
• [41:07] Career and major choice, role of job security
• [50:40] Fintech tools: “Do what works for you”, beware predatory services
• [54:32–55:03] Personal finance is lifelong learning; know yourself and curate your influences
• [57:05] Where to find Kristen Cariotti’s work and seven steps resource

Additional Resources

• Kristen Cariotti’s website: [KristenCariotti.com]
• “Seven Steps to Financial Freedom” summary available on her site
• Her textbook is available via Sage Publishing
• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for career/job research

Overall Tone & Takeaways

Educational but practical, jargon-free, and encouraging, the episode underscores that financial literacy is both a technical and a behavioral challenge, best solved with clear frameworks, healthy mindsets, and habits that last. Kristen Cariotti’s approach bridges fundamentals with the lived realities and varied backgrounds of her students, providing a model for both classroom educators and self-learners. The conversation is peppered with relatable stories, actionable tips, and a welcoming, “let’s figure this out together” tone.

Summary by How to Money Podcast Summarizer