The Money with Katie Show – Episode Summary

Episode Date: October 29, 2025
Episode Title: A Big Announcement, the Realities of Burnout & Semi-Retirement, and Buying Gold
Host: Katie Gatti Tassin (Money with Katie), with executive producer Henna
Podcast: The Money with Katie Show (Morning Brew)

Episode Overview

This edition of the Rich Girl Roundup features a major career announcement from Katie, candid discussions about burnout and the concept of mini-retirements, reactions to semi-retirement as presented by guest Jillian Johnsroot, labor organizing in the age of AI, and listener Q&A on topics ranging from asset allocation to buying gold. Throughout, Katie and Henna maintain their irreverent, self-aware tone and foster a lively dialogue shaped by audience feedback and challenging, often hilarious, reflections on money and modern life.

Major Announcement: Returning to Independence & Show Hiatus

[00:48]

• Katie reveals she is buying back the "Money with Katie" brand from Morning Brew, returning to independent roots.
• This marks a "momentous occasion" as it will allow her more space and flexibility:

  "I am bringing Money with Katie back to its humble independent roots and I am buying the brand back from Morning Brew...this creates kind of a negative end result of me constantly putting myself in situations where I feel spread thin and then complaining incessantly about it. And so I'm going to stop doing that." (Katie, [00:48])

• As a result, the podcast will go on indefinite hiatus starting January 2026; final episode of this cycle airs December 31, 2025.
• Weekly newsletter will continue beyond the show’s pause:

  "If you are a listener … I am still going to send out my weekly email until the robots replace us all." (Katie, [01:44])

• Both hosts reflect on how working at this pace led to sickness and burnout in 2025, and express gratitude for choosing to step back on their own terms.

Listener Feedback: Labor, Unions, AI, and Workplace Solidarity

Tech Jobs & AI’s Disruption

[03:36]

• Responding to a listener comparing Money with Katie and Ben Shapiro for their takes on social fabric, Katie discusses the precariousness of the tech job market and the role of AI in hiring slowdowns.
• Influenced by Derek Thompson's jobs data and a Hank Green video, Katie notes a striking disparity between stock performance and job openings since 2002. The concentration of growth in AI-adjacent firms also raises flags:

  "...When you look at kind of how they're all putting money into each other, it's sort of giving mortgage backed securities...their share prices have accounted for something like 75% of market growth since 2022, which is just astounding." (Katie, [06:00])

• She urges that "the principles of worker power apply no matter your wage" and highlights recent examples of white-collar organizing, such as Google employees informally organizing.

Unionizing and Culture

[07:34–13:04]

• Listeners share experiences of anti-union propaganda, wage secrecy, and labor organizing across different industries.
• Katie notes the reality and complications of union participation, using a Starbucks practice picket as an example:

  "...it is not a silver bullet, that is for sure...that was something that I really, I wanted to get across in the episode." (Katie, [09:06])

• A “boomer complimentary” listener, Bill S., underscores the role of unions in community-building and recommends Mel Dorman’s “Banking on your Neighbor.”
• Discussion shifts to cultural "Red Scare" attitudes:

  "I cannot emphasize enough just how much cultural brainwashing is required to cause somebody to identify more with the interests of a multi-billion dollar multinational corporation than of like the people who live down the street from you and pour your coffee." (Katie, [13:04])

• Katie questions how people unlearn internalized pro-corporate ideologies—a recurring theme throughout her work.

Burnout & Mini-Retirements: Audience Divide

Audience Reactions to "Mini-Retirements"

[17:31]

• Discussion is divided: many are inspired, while others find the advice impractical or out of touch, especially for those living paycheck to paycheck or in entry- to mid-level roles.
• Listeners highlight restrictive PTO policies and income constraints:

  "As always, this feels really out of touch for me, but I'm just not at that level yet...some people live check to check and 'just budget for it' doesn't always pan out..." ([TheBlackPen93, summarized at 17:31])

• Henna and Katie stress that Jillian's example hinges on significant lifestyle trade-offs—such as living in 1,500 sq ft with five kids—showing that prioritizing time off often means forgoing other consumption.

Mindset & Cultural Barriers

[19:19–23:49]

• Many listeners voice an emotional or cultural aversion to extended time off, which feels "quite American" in its intensity; even those with anti-capitalist leanings find it hard to imagine leaving work for more than a brief sabbatical.
• Discussion of barriers for those in mission-critical roles versus easily-replaced positions.
• Financial and job market risks are especially acute in the current "Great Depression-ass economy," with one listener introducing the phrase "job huggers" to describe those clinging to rare, good positions.

  "It was a one way door to get where I am and my career is very competitive." ([Danny], [23:49])

FMLA, Parental Burnout, and Alternative Paths

[25:54–29:12]

• Tips are shared for leveraging FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) for burnout, including strategic advice on securing medical documentation.
• Stories arise of burnout-driven breaks (voluntary or imposed, e.g., via layoffs) and how these can turn out to be necessary and restorative.
• The unique challenges faced by parents—especially working mothers—are highlighted in candid listener stories about balancing logistics, finances, and the emotional load:

  "I know many women struggle with balancing work and family during their childbearing years, a topic I'm so grateful your show covers and I hope more moms can see this as an option..." ([Emily G.], [36:31])

The American Work Ethic & Incremental Progress

[46:44–49:45]

• Both hosts riff on how the U.S. “grindset” culture affects personal wellbeing, the normalization of overwork, and strategies like energy management (e.g., aligning workflow with cycles, intentional rest).
• Katie:

  "...I've had to get better at discerning my own capacity ... For me, it's irritability. It's like I have very little patience. When I can feel my patience wearing really thin, that's the signal to me..." ([46:44])

Practical Tips for Burnout Without Mini-Retirement

[41:20–45:22]

• Strategies for those "stuck" in rigid jobs:
  • Reevaluate long-term fit; plant seeds to move elsewhere.
  • Piece together "intentional pockets of reprieve"—maximizing existing PTO, mixing in holidays.
  • Detox from screens/social media to foster genuine rest and mental reset.
  • Short, strategic getaways—even 3-4 days—can rejuvenate mental health.

Q&A and Listener Spotlights

Asset Allocation and the 4% Rule

[60:38]

• Q: Does the 4% (or 5%) rule take into account reallocation or require a static 100% stock portfolio?
• A: The rule is rooted in diversified portfolios, not all-stocks—typically 50-75% equities, 25-50% bonds. You can (and should) rebalance as you age, keeping broad allocation.

Gold as an Investment

[62:49]

• Q: Should I put 15% in gold, as Ray Dalio recommends?
• A: Katie disagrees:

  "I personally do not own any gold and I do not have any plans to buy any. I am perfectly content buying my domestic and global equities and calling it a day." (Katie, [63:13])

• Henna notes how gold functions as a traditional asset, particularly in Indian/South Asian families.

Financial Independence and Giving Back

[63:47; 65:27]

• Listener shares "Yield and Spread," a tool and guide for building giving into a FI/RE (financial independence, retire early) plan.
• Katie and Henna discuss mutual aid, donating during crises, and “normalizing” philanthropy among FI-minded listeners.

Book Impact & Wealth Ethics

[68:13]

• Rich Girl Nation Book Club report: transformative effect on women's comfort with finances, negotiating prenups, participating in family financial decisions—emphasis on empowerment and community-building.

[70:15–77:58]
Q: Once you’re rich… now what?

• Thoughtful letter from a long-time listener wrestling with the ethics of wealth—especially regarding giving, employing domestic labor, navigating guilt and privilege.
• Katie emphasizes the limits of what individuals can control within a flawed system:

  "There are bad choices and there are better choices, but ultimately all of those choices are still constricted by forces that are usually outside of your individual control..." ([74:53])

• Henna and Katie advocate collective action and being part of systems tackling root causes, not just patching symptoms of structural inequality.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On cultural indoctrination and labor:

  "...you have to make people think that their interests are more aligned with the CEO of Starbucks who earns $96 million, than with their neighbors. Because that is where widespread support and acceptance of the status quo comes from." (Katie, [13:04])

• On self-critique and why the grind needs to end:

  "My instinctual position is whatever is going to be best for making the business bigger is obviously going to be the best thing. So I really have to work against my instinctual drive to want to do more, bigger, better all the time..." (Katie, [37:54])

• On the mindset of taking breaks:

  "It does feel quite American frankly to be like one month off. How fucking dare you. Like that is unreasonable." (Katie, [19:19])

• On privilege and ethical living:

  "Knowing that other people are struggling while you are not is a life diminishing experience. And I think a lot of wealthy people end up just deadening themselves to that reality because the guilt feels very ugly and personal." (Katie, [74:53])

• On practical burnout solutions:

  "I think if you feel like you have too many mental browser tabs open at all time and you just can never close them and you're just constantly running on empty, I think that is an experiment you can run on yourself that costs nothing to be like, all right, I'm doing a week of like no phone." (Katie, [44:22])

[Timestamps for Key Segments]

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:48 | Katie’s big announcement: leaving Morning Brew & hiatus | | 03:36 | Listener Q: Labor, AI’s effect on job market | | 09:06 | Unionization, organizing, and community | | 13:04 | Red Scare, American anti-union attitudes | | 17:31 | Mini-retirement episode reception—hope vs. realism | | 23:49 | “Job huggers” & economic stress | | 36:31 | Extended semi-retirement while parenting | | 41:20 | “What if you really can’t leave your job?” | | 46:44 | Recognizing burnout: practical energy management advice | | 60:38 | Q&A: 4% safe withdrawal rule logistics | | 62:49 | Q&A: Should you buy gold? | | 65:27 | Q&A: Philanthropy and FI/RE | | 68:13 | Book club impact/case studies of empowerment | | 70:15 | Existential wealth questions: "So you’re rich, now what?" | | 74:53 | Wealth ethics; system constraints and collective action |

Tone & Takeaway

True to the "Money with Katie" brand, this episode blends hard finance, cultural critique, and sharp humor. Katie and Henna validate both optimism and cynicism regarding economic agency, while consistently redirecting focus from individual optimization to collective, systemic solutions. The show pauses not as an end, but as an evolution, with listeners encouraged to stay engaged via the newsletter and to continue rethinking the intersection of money, power, and meaning in their lives.