Anne Lester is the author of Your Best Financial Life: Save Smart Now for the Future You Want, and a leading voice on retirement and financial wellness, especially for those under 45. She spent two decades as Head of Retirement Solutions at JP Morgan and co-founded the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings.

In this episode of Mindful Money, I talk with Anne about how our emotions shape our financial choices. We unpack her personal journey with money shame, the lessons she taught her kids about saving, and the traps many fall into with impulse spending and DIY investing. Anne shares why defining “good enough” can lead to financial peace, why advisors need to stop sounding like “Charlie Brown’s teacher,” and what Gen Z should prioritize right now. It’s an honest, empowering look at money, mindset, and sustainable success.

In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(03:06) - Anne's early life and financial lessons
(07:04) - Raising financially savvy kids
(14:17) - Anne's road from Princeton to Wall Street
(17:21) - Rethinking how we talk about money in America
(26:58) - The power of automation in financial planning
(29:04) - Smarter ways to approach saving for retirement
(33:10) - Why emotions play a bigger role in money decisions than we think
(35:02) - Helping clients navigate fear, shame, and uncertainty around finances
(36:13) - How Gen Z can make sense of money and the modern economy
(39:49) - The emotional traps of online shopping vs in-store shopping
(43:06) - Anne’s new book and where to connect with her online

Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY:
Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.

Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration, it becomes destructive.

The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.

Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.

If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time than it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.

Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy but do NOT improve outcomes.

CONNECT WITH ANNE:
Website: https://annelester.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savesmartwanne/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savesmartwanne
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savesmartwanne

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES:
Website: https://mindful.money
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🎙️Podcast Production by Turncast: https://turncast.com.