Anne Lester is the author of Your Best Financial Life: Save Smart Now for the Future You Want, and a leading voice on retirement and financial wellness, especially for those under 45. She spent two decades as Head of Retirement Solutions at JP Morgan and co-founded the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings.

In this episode of Mindful Money, I talk with Anne about how our emotions shape our financial choices. We unpack her personal journey with money shame, the lessons she taught her kids about saving, and the traps many fall into with impulse spending and DIY investing. Anne shares why defining “good enough” can lead to financial peace, why advisors need to stop sounding like “Charlie Brown’s teacher,” and what Gen Z should prioritize right now. It’s an honest, empowering look at money, mindset, and sustainable success.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro
(03:06) - Anne's early life and financial lessons
(07:04) - Raising financially savvy kids
(14:17) - Anne's road from Princeton to Wall Street
(17:21) - Rethinking how we talk about money in America
(26:58) - The power of automation in financial planning
(29:04) - Smarter ways to approach saving for retirement
(33:10) - Why emotions play a bigger role in money decisions than we think
(35:02) - Helping clients navigate fear, shame, and uncertainty around finances
(36:13) - How Gen Z can make sense of money and the modern economy
(39:49) - The emotional traps of online shopping vs in-store shopping
(43:06) - Anne’s new book and where to connect with her online

Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MindfulMoney.