Money, Meet Meaning

After their conversation with Jesse Mecham, Amber and Tom turn inward to an emotionally charged question that we all have to ask ourselves: How do you help people understand what's an authentic want and what may have been embedded from somewhere else? They explore the need for friction when it comes to spending to combat convenient spending, digital payments, online shopping, and frequent takeout. Drawing on personal experience, Amber and Tom outline simple ways that they have budgeted for spending their money on meaningful experiences, rather than mindless purchases. Along the way, they show how surfacing those scripts through conversations with partners, friends, colleagues, therapists, or clergy can create room for new choices. It’s a thoughtful conversation about our very practical day-to-day relationship with money, and how agency can eliminate worry. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us worry about money. We feel that we either never have enough or that it should be squirreled away for when disaster hits. But what if the purpose of money is to be spent? In this episode, Jesse Mecham hits us with the difficult truth that people are bad with money. Amber and Tom tease out why this is with Jesse, and how we can eliminate money worry by asking ourselves what money is for. Jesse shares how his years of working with people showed him that eliminating money worry starts with understanding what we are spending our money on. In his new book and New York Times Bestseller, "Never Worry About Money Again," he outlines that being good with money means being good at spending it. This includes understanding the five categories of spending: for now, for later, for ease, for you, and for change.  Along the way, the conversation gets personal, and Jesse reflects on his current stage in life, where he wants woodworking tools and a beautiful garden. Amber, Tom, and Jesse discuss that knowing what you want allows you to use agency, choosing what money is spent on instead of allowing the spending to happen without any thought. Spending reflects our spiritual selves, not by being separate, but by being a part of our everyday lives and who we are. About Jesse Mecham: Jesse Mecham is a personal finance expert and founder of YNAB. Jesse hosts the top-rated financial podcast You Need A Budget, as well as the business owners’ guide to managing cash flow, the Beginning Balance Podcast. He is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of, You Need A Budget and is regularly quoted in the media as a money management expert – Forbes, New York Times, CNBC, and Business Insider have featured him – to name a few! When not teaching the YNAB Method, Jesse loves gardening, woodworking, marksmanship, and travel. He also spends a good bit of time with his wife and their seven children – yes, seven!   Jesse's Books:  You Need A Budget Never Worry About Money Again For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After hearing from three faith-driven entrepreneurs, Tom and Amber turn to a question that sits at the center of modern work life: Can you bring your whole self to work – or does faith inevitably get left at the door? Drawing on insights from Eboo Patel, Jenna Nicholas, and Tim Busch, they explore what it looks like to integrate values not just personally, but structurally – through decisions, leadership, and cultures we help create. They wrestle with real-world dilemmas: doing a deal that conflicts with your beliefs, investing in ideas that challenge your values, and deciding whether to make your business explicitly faith-based or quietly values-driven. Along the way, concepts like taqwa (conscience), shalom (wholeness), and “work as worship” offer language for something many people feel but struggle to name. It’s a thoughtful close to the season and an invitation to live and work with greater coherence, wherever you are. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when faith doesn’t stay personal but becomes the foundation for how you build, invest, and lead? Amber and Tom explore faith-based entrepreneurship through three distinct voices, each integrating spiritual conviction into their real-world work. Tim Busch shares how his Catholic faith shaped a model of principled entrepreneurship grounded in dignity, care for his employees, and building literal chapels in his hotels, where priests are invited to stay for free. Jenna Nicholas, inspired by the Bahá’í faith, brings a long-term, values-driven lens to investing – where profit and purpose are not at odds. And Eboo Patel reflects on building an institution rooted in pluralism, drawing inspiration from the Prophet Muhammad’s example of market-building as an act of community-building. Across traditions and sectors, a shared thread emerges: faith is not just a personal belief – it’s a blueprint for action. These conversations offer a look at how spiritual values can shape not only what we believe but what we build. About the Guests: Tim Busch is a businessman, lawyer, and Catholic philanthropist. Learn more about his projects with the Napa Institute and the Pacific Hospitality Group. Jenna Nicholas is an investor, entrepreneur, advisor, author, coach, and speaker. Find Jenna on LinkedIn, Instagram, and on her website. Recognized as “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo Patel is the Founder and President of Interfaith America, the nation’s leading interfaith organization. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After their conversation with Amy Butler, Amber and Tom turn to an emotionally charged question facing many faith communities today: Is it more faithful to preserve a dying congregation – or to repurpose its financial assets for new life? They explore what’s really at stake when institutions decline: not just budgets and buildings, but memory, identity, and the stories held in stained glass, pews, and potluck halls. Drawing on personal stories from their own lives, listener responses, and Pastor Amy’s idea of “holy disruption,” Amber and Tom wrestle with whether closure can sometimes be an act of faith, rather than failure. Along the way, they imagine creative alternatives – shared spaces, affordable housing, selling air rights, renting during the week – that honor both sacred history and present-day needs. It’s a thoughtful conversation about grief, stewardship, and what it means to believe in resurrection – not just preservation. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices