Talk Money Podcast

Most of us believe we have a safety net. And most of us are working with something that will fail the moment we actually need it. 

In Episode 20 of Talk Money Podcast, Sherri gives April — and every woman listening — the spare key. Not a credit card. Not a 401k. Not a promise from family. A real, liquid, accessible safety net that does not cost you extra when everything else is already going wrong.

This episode gets specific about what liquidity actually means: money you can reach quickly and without significant loss of value. And it names...

April’s foundation is poured. The cement is set. And this week, she picks up the floor plan.

Episode 19 of April’s Toolbox: Building Your Financial House is about the financial tool most people know they need and almost nobody actually builds: a spending plan. Not a budget — a spending plan. And the difference between those two words is the difference between a document that feels like punishment and one that feels like power.

This episode opens where real financial conversations have to start: with a question. Do you know — right now, today — exactly where every doll...

This is the episode where April breaks ground.

In Episode 18 of April's Toolbox: Building Your Financial House, host Sherri Brown, introduces the financial concept that separates those who build wealth from those who only earn income — and the one ingredient it cannot work without: time.

April's tool this week is cement. Because before you can build anything that lasts, you have to pour the foundation right. And in your financial house, that foundation is compounding.

But this episode doesn't begin with a definition. It begins with a question Sherri used to open her fi...

I want to ask you something before we get into today’s lesson.

What did money mean in the household you grew up in?

Was it discussed openly — with intention and clarity? Or was it something that lived in the background, managed quietly, never explained? Was it a source of tension? Something you learned to work around rather than understand?

Most of us, if we are being honest, grew up in households where money was managed but never truly understood. Where the system was: here is what comes in, here is what goes out...

Episode 16 of the Talk Money Podcast — “The Woman at the Table” — is the finale of the March series Invest in Women: The Economics of Leadership, and it closes the month at the largest table in the world: the World Trade Organization.

Host Sherri Brown traces the full arc of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s life — from a village in southern Nigeria where she was raised by her grandmother and learned to carry water and cook as a child, through the devastation of the Biafran War, to Harvard, MIT, and a 25-year career at the World Bank. The episode follows her two tenu...

Episode 15 of the Talk Money Podcast — "The Slow Fire" — examines one of the most misunderstood entrepreneurial success stories in American history: the real timeline behind Sara Blakely's Spanx.

Host Sherri Brown walks listeners through the full arc of Blakely's journey — from a $5,000 idea in a Florida apartment in 1998, through two years of self-funded development, a hand-sold launch in 2000, the career-defining Oprah Favorite Things feature that crashed the website and sold out retailers, and the quiet twenty-one years of bootstrapping that preceded the 2021 Blackstone acquisition at a $1.2 billion valuation. The episode reframes Sara's story as not an overnight succes...

Episode 14 of the Talk Money Podcast — “She Came Prepared” — is the second installment of a two-part Women’s History Month series examining the glass cliff through the careers of women who lived it at the highest level of American corporate leadership.

Host Sherri Brown follows Rosalind Brewer from her childhood in Detroit — where she was propped up in a window by her mother while a neighborhood community kept watch — through her education at Spelman College, her rise through Sam’s Club and Starbucks, and her historic appointment as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance in 2021. Brewer became only the third Black...

In Episode 13 of the Talk Money Podcast, host Sherri Brown introduces one of the most important and least discussed financial patterns facing ambitious women today: the glass cliff. While the glass ceiling describes the barrier that keeps women from reaching the top, the glass cliff describes what happens after she breaks through — the documented tendency for women to be appointed to leadership roles during periods of corporate crisis, when the risk of failure is highest and resources are thinnest.

Drawing on the real stories of Anne Mulcahy and Ursula Burns at Xerox Corporation, Sherri traces the pattern fr...

Ann Fudge walked away from one of the most powerful careers in corporate America — on purpose, fully funded, and with a plan. Episode 12 of Talk Money breaks down sabbatical planning for high-earning women: how to calculate your real number, budget for healthcare, protect your retirement trajectory, and re-enter on your own terms.

In Episode 11 of Talk Money, host Sherri explores the financial reality of unexpected job loss through the lens of Emeline King — the first Black woman to design a car at Ford Motor Company. With federal layoffs and corporate restructurings affecting Black women in record numbers, this episode delivers practical, plain-language guidance on the financial moves that matter most in the first days after a job ends.

Topics covered include: understanding vesting cliffs and why leaving before the finish line can cost tens of thousands of dollars; how to negotiate severance beyond the standard offer; why early 401(k) wi...

The economics of power is not an abstract concept — it is the daily reality of every woman who has ever produced extraordinary value without fully understanding what she was worth or how to negotiate for it. This episode of the Talk Money Podcast, the second in our March series Invest in Women: The Economics of Leadership, explores that reality through the story of Indra Nooyi, former CEO and Chair of PepsiCo.

Under Nooyi's leadership, PepsiCo grew from $35 billion to $63 billion in annual revenue. She repositioned the company's product portfolio ahead of major consumer shifts, expanded into health-conscious li...

Financial courage is not about fearlessness — it is about the decision to stop hiding from your money and start understanding it fully. This episode of the Talk Money Podcast opens our March theme, Invest in Women: The Economics of Leadership, with a deep look at Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments and one of the most respected financial leaders in the country.

Mellody's story begins in financial chaos — a childhood marked by instability, eviction notices, and a mother holding everything together with limited resources. From that foundation, she built a career rooted in discipline, long-term thinking, and the...

Episode 8 of the Talk Money Podcast explores the emotional and financial weight of being “the one who made it out.” We discuss the pressure placed on Black women to support family, the difference between helping and enabling, and the guilt that comes with saying no. This episode offers practical strategies, boundary scripts, and affirmations to help listeners protect their future without abandoning their people. A powerful conversation for anyone navigating family expectations, financial responsibility, and generational patterns. 

Episode 7 of the Talk Money Podcast explores the emotional and operational realities of succession in Black‑owned businesses. We discuss the successor who was groomed but not grounded, the soft‑skill gaps that can’t be taught, and the stakeholders who ultimately determine whether a transition succeeds. This episode also speaks directly to founders, highlighting the blind spots parents often have when choosing a successor. Legacy requires clarity, honesty, and choosing the person who can carry the weight — not just the person who carries your last name. 

In Episode 5 of Talk Money, we opened a powerful two‑part series on what it really means for Black creators to move from being the spark to being the owner. We talked about inspiration, protection, and the missing bridge between creativity and partnership.

Today, I’m excited to share Episode 6: The Leverage Shift — the second half of this series and the moment where everything comes together.

In this episode, we explore:

There is a sacredness to creativity — especially in the hands of Black women. Episode 5 of Talk Money invites us to honor that sacredness by moving from inspiration to stewardship.

In this episode, we reflect on the legacy of Annie Turnbo Malone, a visionary who built Poro College as a place of training, empowerment, and economic dignity. Her work reminds us that God has always placed innovators among us — women who build systems, not just styles.

Today’s creators carry that same divine spark. But a spark without protection can be taken, reshaped, or claimed by others...

This conversation explores the quiet moments where lifestyle and financial reality don’t align — especially for women who appear successful but rely on a partner’s income to maintain their lives. It’s a thoughtful, grounded look at the difference between comfort and security, and what it means to build a financial identity that stands on its own.

If you’re navigating your own journey toward clarity, independence, or long‑term protection, this episode offers insight and encouragement.

In this episode of the Talk Money Podcast, Sherri Brown explores the powerful legacy of presentation — from a Black woman preparing to board a train in 1917 Mississippi to a modern Somali American mother navigating visibility in 2026. Through these stories, we uncover how presentation once protected us, how it still shapes perception today, and how we can evolve that instinct into something transformational: ownership.

Sherri breaks down the evolution of conspicuous consumption, the role content creators play in driving brand value, and why even small, simple investing can help you participate in the value you help create. If yo...

Most women don’t grow up dreaming about prenups, contracts, or legal protection. We dream about partnership, stability, and a love that feels like home. But the truth is this: protection is not unromantic. Protection is clarity. Protection is structure. Protection is grown‑woman wisdom.

In Episode 2 of the Talk Money Podcast, we step into the world of women who give, support, and hold everything together—yet often forget to protect themselves. This episode is for the women who say “I got you” with their whole chest, but whisper “I hope you’ve got me” in the quiet corners of...

Welcome to the very first episode of the Talk Money Podcast — a space for women who want clarity, confidence, and grown‑woman truth around money, relationships, and self‑worth. Since we’re launching in February, this episode kicks off our theme: Love, Money, & the Ties That Bind. And today, we’re diving into a topic that so many of us are whispering about, debating online, or quietly wrestling with: modern dating and the new financial expectations shaping it.

In this cinematic, story‑driven conversation, Sherri Brown unpacks the rise of “dating in your price range,”...

Welcome to the Talk Money Podcast — a space created for women who lead with intention, honor their ambition, and know their financial lives deserve clarity, confidence, and respect.

In this Welcome episode, Sherri Brown sets the tone for what this podcast is and who it’s for: women who are done with surface‑level money conversations and ready for grown‑woman strategy. This is where financial insight meets lived experience, where wealth building is personal, and where protecting what you’ve built is just as important as creating it.

Sherri brings decades of expertise as a financia...

This is your first look into the Talk Money Podcast — a space created for women who lead with intention, honor their ambition, and know they deserve more from their money and their lives. In this trailer, Sherri Brown sets the tone for what’s coming: elevated conversations, grown‑woman wisdom, and the kind of financial insight that stays with you long after the episode ends. If you’re ready for a podcast that speaks to your excellence, your future, and your next level… you’re in the right place.