Podcast
Money Hungry
Hosted by Julian Mercer · EN
Money Hungry: Capital and Counsel is a practical, conversational podcast for high-income professionals and business owners focused on wealth building, retirement planning, and financial independence. Each episode simplifies complex investment strategy, tax-efficient planning, and market uncertainty into clear, actionable insights. If you’re successful, driven, and money hungry for smarter financial decisions, this show delivers expert guidance without hype—just disciplined strategy and long-term thinking.
This podcast was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence. AI tools were used in the preparation, editing, or production process. All final content was reviewed and approved by the creators.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Equity Compensation Blind Spot
4d ago00:10:15Tap to summarizeRSUs and stock options often make up the single largest slice of a high earner's net worth, and this episode breaks down the tax surprises that come with them. We explain why the standard withholding on vesting shares almost never covers what you'll actually owe, and why ISOs can trigger real tax bills before you've sold a single share. From there we cover why "just holding" concentrated company stock isn't the safe move it feels like, according to both the SEC and FINRA. Finally, we walk through the underused tools, like NUA elections and 10b5-1 plans, that actually manage the risk instead of ignoring it.
Transcribe →Estate Planning Isn't for the Elderly
2w ago00:09:40Tap to summarizeOnly about a third of Americans have a will, and this episode explains why that's most dangerous for the people who assume they have time: young parents and high earners. We look at why your will doesn't actually control everything, since retirement accounts and life insurance follow whatever beneficiary form you filled out years ago, not your estate documents. A landmark Supreme Court case shows just how rigidly those forms get enforced, even when a divorce decree says otherwise. With trillions in wealth about to change hands and new rules compressing how fast heirs must draw down inherited accounts, this is the ten-minute check most high earners keep putting off.
Transcribe →The Raise Trap
3w ago00:09:48Tap to summarizeNearly half of six-figure earners still live paycheck to paycheck, and this episode explains why. We dig into the "raise trap," the mechanical reason spending rises in lockstep with income, leaving even top earners with nothing saved. Along the way, we look at why windfalls, from NFL contracts to lottery jackpots, rarely change the outcome without a plan. The fix isn't earning less; it's deciding where the next dollar goes before your lifestyle gets a vote.
Transcribe →From Income to Wealth: The Transition Most High Earners Never Plan For
Jul 1400:08:51Tap to summarizeThere's a gap between the top 1% of income earners and the top 1% of wealth holders — and it's wider than most people expect. This episode explores why high earners so frequently fail to convert income into lasting wealth, from lifestyle inflation and a late start to tax drag and the absence of an intentional savings strategy. You'll learn how the wealthiest Americans actually save, what the real retirement number looks like, and the specific decisions that separate people who earn well from those who build something that lasts.
Transcribe →The 5 Biggest Financial Mistakes High-Income Professionals Make
Jul 700:10:55Tap to summarizeEarning a high income doesn't automatically produce financial security — and the data confirms it. This episode identifies the five most common financial mistakes made by doctors, lawyers, and other high-income professionals: overconfidence in financial decision-making, a delayed start due to debt and long training programs, lifestyle inflation that absorbs every raise, exposure to the wrong financial products, and chronically underinsuring the income that funds everything else. These mistakes are common, understandable, and correctable — but only once you can see them clearly.
Transcribe →Moving Your Money: Why It Feels Risky and How to Do It the Right Way
Jun 3000:09:07Tap to summarizeChanging financial advisors is one of the most common decisions high earners delay — not because the process is complicated, but because it feels that way. This episode demystifies the ACATS transfer system, which moves most account assets in three to four business days, and addresses the psychological barriers — fear of confrontation, loss aversion, inertia — that keep people in professional relationships that no longer serve them. If you've been thinking about making a change, this is the episode that tells you exactly what to expect.
Transcribe →Do You Really Know What You're Paying in Fees?
Jun 2300:08:28Tap to summarizeMost investors can name their advisory fee. Almost none can state their all-in annual cost — and the difference can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a career. This episode breaks down the three layers of investment costs: the advisor's fee, the underlying fund expenses, and platform charges that rarely appear as a line item. You'll learn how to calculate your true total cost, what questions to ask your advisor, and how to evaluate whether what you're paying is commensurate with what you're receiving.
Transcribe →Market Volatility: What Sophisticated Investors Do When Markets Get Rough
Jun 1600:10:15Tap to summarizeIn 2024, the S&P 500 returned over 25% — yet the average investor captured only 16.54% of it. This episode explores the behavioral science behind why markets feel so dangerous when they drop, and what disciplined investors actually do differently. You'll learn why loss aversion is hardwired into your decision-making, why market timing reliably destroys returns even for intelligent people, and how to build a plan that works before volatility hits — so you're not making critical decisions in the middle of a storm.
Transcribe →Hidden Cost of Delaying Financial Decisions
Jun 900:11:18Tap to summarize"I'll think about it later" is one of the most expensive decisions in personal finance — but most people treat it as a neutral, low-stakes choice. This episode breaks down the real cost of delay across three areas: retirement investing, life insurance, and estate planning. The compound interest math is laid out plainly — a 10-year delay in investing can cut your final portfolio value by more than half, even if you contribute the same total amount. Life insurance premiums rise 8–12% per year with age, and health events can close that window permanently. And dying without a will can leave families locked out of accounts and forced into costly, time-consuming probate. The episode also explores why awareness of these costs rarely translates into action — and what research on financial behavior says actually moves people to start.
Transcribe →Retirement for High Earners
Jun 200:12:12Tap to summarizeMost high earners assume that making more money means retirement is easier to solve. This episode challenges that assumption head-on. Social Security replaces a much smaller share of income for high earners — sometimes under 30% — meaning the burden of funding retirement falls almost entirely on you. On top of that, many standard tax-advantaged tools phase out above certain income levels, little-known strategies like the backdoor Roth and mega backdoor Roth are available but widely overlooked, and the distribution phase introduces risks — sequence of returns, Medicare surcharges, and Required Minimum Distributions — that can quietly derail even a well-funded retirement. This episode walks through each of these gaps clearly and explains what a coordinated, complete retirement strategy actually requires for high earners.
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