When Helen Lu graduated from college, she started her dream job at a Big Four Consulting company, something she had spent her entire life working towards. But soon she realized she didn't want to follow that path and work in corporate for the rest of her life. It wasn't until Helen discovered the FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement and learned that retirement is not an age, it's whenever you can afford, that it finally clicked for her. She wanted to create a life for herself that would allow her to retire early and have several mini retirements along the way as opposed to feeling burnt out all the time. So Helen started blogging and created @themoneyminimalist with the goal of creating personal finance content for the people around her, especially first generation immigrants and college graduates. She has since been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, in Fortune Magazine, and Business Insider. In the summer of 2021, Helen left the corporate world for a gap year to travel and work on a few passion projects of hers. On this episode, Helen and Thamina talk about steps you should take before taking a gap year, being a content creator, and what it means to separate your identity from your work early in life once you've been stripped away prestigious job titles.

We live in a society that has largely normalized the medical management of women's hormones. Most doctors are very quick to prescribe hormonal birth control as remedy for any hormonal condition (PMS symptoms, heavy periods, acne, etc.) without properly educating their patients about the potential risks and side effects. On this episode, our host Thamina is joined by Women's Health Expert Megan Haralampou, better known as The Biomedical Naturopath. Megan's purpose in life is to help women understand their menstrual cycles, hormones, and alternatives to hormonal contraception. Megan criticizes the severe lack of understanding about female hormones and the risks associated with hormonal birth control such as increased risk of osteoporosis. Many of her clients in their 30s and 40s that were on the pill for an extensive period of time now have the bones of a 60-year old. And that's just one example. Megan wants women to understand why our period is actually important as fertility is not just about making babies, it's so much more than that and it is frightening how little we know. We need better education, especially for teenage women, so they feel more empowered about their menstrual cycles to be able to make educated decisions about their own bodies - instead of experiencing shame, guilt, gaslighting, and serious health consequences because we live in a society that is built for men. If you've ever been on hormonal birth control, are currently on it, or are considering getting on it, this episode is an absolute must-listen. Your body will thank you later!

We're switching up our regular programming this week for a bit of a lighter episode considering the war in the Ukraine that's currently going on. Our host Thamina is sharing how her recent move to New York and trying to furnish her new apartment has led to some interesting household item obsessions.

Did you know most women get diagnosed with ADHD much later in life than men? That's because how ADHD presents itself in girls is different from how it presents itself in boys, which is what most of the ADHD studies have been on. Being extra talkative, bubbly, and outgoing - traits that many people would classify as gender-conforming - could be signs of ADHD. Regardless of when people with ADHD or a learning disability get diagnosed, it can feel either validating or upsetting. Alex Gilbert was diagnosed early in life and while she felt privileged to be born into a family that could afford access to valuable resources, once she graduated from college, Alex had to learn the hard way that the same resources that had supported her throughout her academic career, simply didn't exist in the workforce. Alex had to learn how to advocate for herself and today, she is helping ADHD and dyslexia patients to do the same through her company Cape-Able Consulting. Alex wants to change the perception around having learning disabilities and/or ADHD, and to empower those who have them. On this episode, Alex opens up about her own journey and shares valuable tips on how people who suffer from ADHD or dyslexia can better advocate for themselves at work.

We are back from our winter break with our first episode of 2022! Our host Thamina has a few very eventful weeks behind her after moving to New York. After two of her recent LinkedIn posts where she talked about her move went viral, hundreds of people from all over the world have reached out to Thamina to congratulate her on this achievement and ask for advice on how to replicate her success. On this episode, Thamina reflects on how she managed to pull off her internal transfer from Dublin, Ireland to New York and got visa sponsorship from her company. As we find out, her learnings are applicable to almost any professional goals one can set for themselves.

As another year is coming to an end, it's time to start thinking about what you want to achieve in 2022. Our host Thamina loves setting ambitious goals for herself but also knows that sticking to your New Year's resolutions can be quite overwhelming. On this episode, she shares an approach - based on James Clear's infamous 1 Percent Rule - that will significantly increase the chances of you actually achieving the goals you set for yourself - without the overwhelm.

When Emily graduated from her Master’s Program in May 2020, she was close to $200,000 in debt and was entering the economy during a global pandemic. About six months later, Emily started her blog "Sometimes Sensible" where she talks about financial wellness and investing education. On this episode, our host Thamina and Emily talk about navigating conversations around debt with your partner and how someone who has loans can still be smart about money while enjoying life at the same time. Emily - who supported herself through college and grad school - also explains under which circumstances it makes sense to invest while paying off debt and when it is financially smarter to solemnly focus on paying off loans first.

Last week, the US Supreme Court kicked off hearings that could lead to the - inexplicit but effective - overturning of the infamous Roe vs. Wade ruling from 1973 that made abortions a constitutional right. With new, extreme abortion bans being introduced across many US states - most recently in Texas - the highly politicized debate between pro-life and pro-choice supporters has never been more polarized. On this episode, our host Thamina - a vocal pro-choice supporter - sheds some light on this ongoing debate and shares some sound bites from the recent protests in Washington DC.

Do you have trouble relaxing until you have checked off all items on your to do list? Do you feel the need to be productive all the time? If the answer is yes, then you are suffering from productivity guilt. Our host Thamina has had her fair share of feeling guilty when not being productive 24/7 and she shares a few perspective shifts that have helped her find a healthier balance.

On this week's solo episode, our host Thamina shares with us how her visualization technique has helped her achieve major milestones in life. She's attributing her process of mentally visualizing her dreams, which then triggers her to ruthlessly execute on those goals, a lot of her success to date, including getting accepted to Harvard and most recently, being able to transfer to New York with her current employer. Funnily enough, Thamina didn't even realize until this year that what she was doing was goal visualization as she thought everyone around her was doing the same. Spoiler alert: That's actually not the case.

Do you feel like you're always so caught up in your day to day? Do you wish you were more resilient? Could you use more joy in the present? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this week's episode is for you. Our host Thamina is joined by Liv Bowser, Founder and CEO of Liberate, the world's first mental fitness studio. When Liv was in college, she realized that her mind did not feel as strong as her physical body, so she started investigating how she could better train her mental muscles. After learning from a variety of mindfulness experts and psychologists, Liv launched the first Liberate classes in May 2020. What was originally supposed to be a brick and mortar studio, turned into a successful online business that helps its clients be more confident, resilient, courageous, grateful, and present in the moment.

Are you disappointed that something - personally or professionally - didn't work out the way you had hoped? While it does suck in the moment and you have every right to grieve, our host Thamina genuinely believes that things happen for a reason. On this solo episode, she shares a few personal examples of how initial disappointments eventually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So if you need a pep talk right now, this is the right episode for you.

Do you find investing intimidating? Do you have absolutely no idea where to start? Then you are in the same boat our host Thamina and her guest Julia Menheere were in just a few years ago. During her first job at the Dutch Ministry of Finance, Julia found herself living from paycheck to paycheck and eventually decided things would have to change in order to lead a life that would allow her to live more freely. Once Julia had figured out how to make her money work for her, she started coaching personal finance in addition to her full-time job in Uber's Money Data Science Department. In April of 2021, Julia took her coaching business full-time and is teaching her clients how to be less intimidated by investing. She particularly believes in the power of investing in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which is an efficient and affordable way of holding a diversified portfolio.

Are you career-driven, ambitious, a hard worker, constantly wanting to achieve more? Do you feel that weight of your ambition weighing heavily on you? Welcome to the club! Our host Thamina knows exactly how overwhelming the pressure to perform and wanting to get from A to C as quickly as possible can be. Through lots of self-reflection over the past few months, she has come to the conclusion that it is ok to not be on top of your game all the time. In order for our successes in life to be sustainable, it is important to give yourself some grace, especially during times of increased stress. Thamina shares a few handy tips that have really helped her to be more kind to herself while juggling a million mentally draining things at the same time.

Do you add smileys or filler words to your emails and sometimes even go back and delete a bunch of exclamation points in order to tone down your requests? You are not alone. As women, it sometimes feels like as if we can only lose. If we're too nice, we're not being taken seriously and if we're too assertive, we are not likable because society expects us women to be warm and empathetic but not strong. On this week's episode, our host Thamina is joined by Hope Timberlake, Speaker, Trainer, and Coach on persuasive communication, relationship building, and overcoming obstacles to speaking up. She is particularly passionate about elevating and amplifying the voices of women and underrepresented minorities. Thamina and Hope talk about how women can find the right balance between strength and warmth, so we stop discrediting ourselves and become more confident and courageous in our communication. If you're hooked, we also recommend you check out Hope's new book "Speak Up, Dammit! How to Quiet Your Fears, Polish Your Presence, and Share Your Voice".

Are you one of very few women on your team? Do you work in a traditionally male field or industry? Have you experienced misogyny and discrimination in the workplace? Unfortunately, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are incredible female trailblazer who are paving the way for future generations of badass women. This week's guest is one of them. Kate Gelman is an engineer and was one of the first employees at Elon Musk's Neuralink, his company dedicated to building the world’s highest bandwidth brain-machine interface. On this episode, Kate shares with us what it's like to be the only woman on a team of 14 and how the the sexism she has experienced in her field has taught her how to stand up for herself. Kate believes in the importances of creating open and honest spaces where we can discuss our experiences. We also talk about what male allies can do to be more supportive and why having visible female role models is so important. If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy listening to our previous episode "How to navigate being a woman in STEM" with guest Sammi Siegel who is a Senior Software Engineer at Duolingo.

Our host Thamina was recently diagnosed with lipedema, a chronic disease of inflamed fat cells that affects primarily women. It causes pain, swelling, and abnormal sensations in the tissues of the legs, hips, buttocks, and sometimes arms. Not to mention the psychological impact on patients' mental health due to their change in physical appearance. On this episode, Thamina talks about her diagnosis and encourages every woman to get checked, preferably by a phelobologist. 1 in 10 women are believed to suffer from lipedema, a disease that is widely unknown and very frequently under- and misdiagnosed. While there is no cure for lipedema, the medical treatment that is recommended by doctors, liposuction, is rarely covered by health insurance and can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000. Thamina is sharing her story to spread awareness so more women can diagnosed early in life.