Episodes

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here are some of the highlights from this week: Ralph's grandmother collected a $3,500 unclaimed money windfall from an old credit union account. A missing beneficiary form cost a client 35% in estate taxes, a 15-minute fix Ralph walks through. Juliet on the self-doubt behind leaving corporate life, and reframing an 18-month payoff goal as $6.60 a day. The Dollar Job Framework, and the r...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Rent payments can now count toward my mortgage credit score, thanks to a new rule from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Check in on this week's money move: opening a high-yield savings account & set up an automatic transfer. A caller question asking if she should cash out an old 401(k) as a 30-year-old, and I explain why that could cost her close to 40% of it Go...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: The Fed raised interest rates a quarter point. What does this mean for your variable credit cards & home equity lines? State Farm is returning $5 billion to drivers who had a 2025 policy. Do you qualify? A $120 million settlement covers MLS home buyers since 2006, with an October 27 deadline to file. Check if you qualify. Love scams, and a story from one of...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Why you should check in on your CDs once it matures You may qualify for a car loan interest deduction worth up to $10,000 a year Is personalized pricing legal? Considerations on whether side hustling on Rover is for you How to read your credit report Tomorrow, we're getting into timeshares, and Juliet puts Ralph on the hot seat with questions that Ralph c...

Join Ralph Estep Jr (licensed public accountant) & Juliet (not an accountant) as they dive into: What options are there saving for a grandchild (savings account, Trump Account, 529) Annual Notice of Change are being mailed out before September 30, and why it matters even if you're not the one on Medicare Why naming beneficiaries for your 401K and IRA + a story where a missing beneficiary name turned a 12% tax hit into 35% Dive into the Dollar Job Framework, starting with naming a real money ...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public account of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur Here's what we got into today: I broke down the LIHEAP heating assistance program, why renters qualify too, and why applying this week matters since the money goes first come, first served I explained how to call your bank and opt out of debit and ATM overdraft coverage so you stop paying that $35 fee I talked through escheat laws and how to check missingmoney.com for cash your state may be h...

Happy Saturday, everybody! Mortgage rates just climbed to a 13-month high, the IRS changed the 1099 threshold to $2,000, and I finally answered the question I get asked more than almost any other: do you owe a dead relative's credit card debt? We also got into what financial confidence really means, the framework I use with clients to give every dollar a job, and a conversation with a finance coach about money and marriage that hit closer to home than I expected. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a license...

Happy Friday! Before you sign anything with a debt collector on the phone, there's a letter that can stop them in their tracks, and there's a tax deadline this week that catches self-employed people who've never owed one before. Plus, marriage and money coach Karen Hackman joins me to talk about the 18 years it took her and her husband to get aligned on money, and what finally changed it. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohos...

For thirty years people have handed me their tax documents and their secrets in the same folder. Today I handed Juliet mine. I'm Ralph Estep Jr, licensed public accountant, and this is the episode where I said out loud what almost happened to my own marriage over money. My cohost Juliet and I go live Monday through Friday, 11:30 to 12:30 Eastern, on Becoming Financially Confident. Three things landed in your mailbox or your paycheck this year that most people are getting wrong, and one story I'v...

Ralph Estep Jr. here, licensed public accountant, thirty years in the business, still finding new ways to get surprised by what people don't know about their own money. My cohost Juliet and I go live Monday through Friday, 11:30 to 12:30 Eastern, on Becoming Financially Confident. Before you sign that lease renewal or say yes to a side hustle with your car, listen to this one. Today we broke down how much room you actually have to negotiate rent, the dependent care tax benefit that just got its...

The Federal Reserve asks Americans the same question every year: if you got hit with an unexpected $400 expense right now, how would you pay for it? The answers say a lot about where people actually stand with money, and it's not what you'd guess. On today's episode, Juliet and I dig into what that $400 question really reveals, then walk through the four stages I've watched people move through on the way to real financial confidence. Before that, three quick things worth knowing about your mone...

I'm dealing with a head cold today, so forgive the voice, but we've got a full show for you. Mortgage rates just hit 6.71%, the highest in over a year, and I'll walk you through what that actually does to your buying power. We also dig into why your regular savings account might be handing the bank $573 a year that could've been yours, what an IRS CP2000 notice really means (spoiler: it's not an audit), and whether you're on the hook for a parent's credit card debt after they pass away. Plus a n...

We found out the hard way that waiting to save for retirement cost over a million dollars, and this week Juliet and I are unpacking that along with a $770 prescription that dropped to $25, a car dealership story involving my mom in 1993, and the real hourly pay behind a DoorDash shift once you factor in gas and taxes. https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/retirement-regrets This is our weekly highlights recap, pulling the best moments from this week's episodes of Becoming Financially Co...

Happy Friday! Today's episode centers on something a lot of homeowners are being offered right now. If your lender has dangled a refinance that "saves you $700 a month," you need to hear this before you sign anything. That's the big one today, and we've also got childcare costs, a shorter health insurance deadline, and a scam worth knowing about. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. We're live every Monday through ...

I didn't save a single dollar for retirement until I was 47, and today I'm walking you through what that decision actually cost me. Plus, SNAP benefits are about to change for millions of families, and ground beef just hit $6.89 a pound. https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com This is Becoming Financially Confident, live weekdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years of experience, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. On Today's...

I found out this week that fewer than half of us have claimed a 1% discount that's sitting on our student loans right now, my car insurance keeps climbing even though I haven't had a single claim, and one of my own clients once owed the IRS $18,000 because of a health insurance rule almost nobody knows about. Visit our website: https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com This is today's episode of Becoming Financially Confident, airing weekdays at 11:30 AM Eastern. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a lice...

Prescription just got 97% cheaper through a program most people don't know exists, gas is running 90 cents higher than last Labor Day, and nearly 3 in 10 car trade-ins are underwater by an average of $6,884. That's today's show. This is Becoming Financially Confident, live weekdays at 11:30am Eastern. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years of experience, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet Chuang. Today we covered: Prescription prices fell 3.1% this year, the biggest d...

They all sneak up on you, and none of them care how good you are with money. becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live This is our first ever live episode of Becoming Financially Confident, recorded and released August 31, 2026. In this episode: Why consumer sentiment keeps dropping, and why 77% of people have already changed how they spend day to day Home insurance premium keeps creeping up in a supposedly quiet hurricane season, and his deductible alone could run him $15,000 Standard homeowne...

Gas is up almost 30% from last year, my flood insurance deadline is closer than I thought, and my paycheck isn't doing what I assumed. This is a preview before our daily live show later today at 11:30 AM Eastern. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet Chuang. Starting today, we're live every weekday at 11:30 AM Eastern talking about money without the shame. Takeaways: Inflation affects different expenses differently; ...

This is the Becoming Financially Confident show trailer. Most people aren't bad with money. They're ashamed of it. I've felt that too, and I'm a licensed public accountant. I'm Ralph Estep Jr. My co-host Juliet Chuang isn't an accountant. She asks what you'd ask, and stops me when I lose you. If you've got mail on the counter you haven't opened, this show is for you. No lectures. No judgment. Just real money problems, worked through to something you can do today. We go live weekdays at 11:30...