Financial Bliss with Kelley Long
Financial Bliss with Kelley Long explores the psychological and practical barriers that prevent people from managing money in a way that supports their dreams. Host Kelley C. Long, a financial wellness coach and narrator of Calm's "Navigating Financial Stress" series, draws on her experience with over 2,500 individuals and couples to help listeners achieve financial bliss beyond just financial planning knowledge.
Episodes
Ep. 35: Why I'm Not Setting New Goals for 2026 & Doing This Instead
New Year, same me... One of the primary reasons we find it impossible to stick to new habits or goals or routines, especially when they are aspirational as New Year's Resolutions tend to be, is because we forget to consider a really important aspect of what it takes.In this episode, Kelley Long gets into what it is that we often forget to factor in and why sometimes it's ok to not have ANY
Ep. 34: How to Choose the Best Bank for Your Money
If you're keeping your savings at a big bank with lots of branches, there's a good chance you're losing hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars a year without realizing it. But switching banks feels overwhelming, and how do you even know which one to pick?In this episode, Kelley Long, financial coach for women, cuts through the noise around high-yield savings accounts, credit unions
Ep. 33: You'll Never Pay Off Your Debt Until You Stop Doing This One Thing
Why do so many people struggle to pay off debt—even when they're doing "everything right"? In this episode, I reveal the one habit that's sabotaging your progress (and keeping you stuck in the cycle). If you're serious about becoming debt-free for good, this is the uncomfortable truth you need to hear. It's not about budgeting harder or earning more—it's about breakin
Ep. 32: 3 Tax Strategies from the New Law You Probably Haven't Heard About Yet (That You Can Actually Use)
While everyone's debating the big-picture politics of the new tax law, financial expert Kelley Long cuts through the noise to reveal three under-the-radar changes that could actually impact your wallet this year. From a surprising shift that might bring back itemizing deductions for homeowners, to new rules about car loan interest that sound better than they actually are, to a clever 529 strat
Ep. 31: The Social Pressure Tax: What Every Childfree Woman Knows But Can't Say
Child-free and single women face unique financial pressure from constant wedding and baby shower gift-giving with no reciprocal celebrations. This isn't about financial hardship - it's about intentional spending choices and opportunity cost. Society places gendered expectations on women to be generous and nurturing, labeling those who prioritize their own goals as "selfish" - pre
Ep. 30: 3 Things Every Woman Should Know About Her Finances
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the personal finance advice out there. In this episode, Kelley Long breaks down the top 3 things she thinks every woman (and really, every person) should know about their own finances, bare minimum. You’ll learn what those three things are, why they are important and how to figure them out for yourself.Resources to support this episode:www.annualcreditrepor
Ep. 29: The Money Stories Keeping You Stuck (And How to Rewrite Them)
Are you stuck in patterns that keep you from the life you want, but can't pinpoint what's holding you back? In this eye-opening episode, host Kelley Long explores how the unconscious stories we tell ourselves—especially about money—become the invisible barriers to our dreams. Drawing from the pioneering work of financial therapy experts, she reveals how childhood beliefs about money can sa
Ep. 28: Top 3 Financial Considerations for New Parents
Based on her work with numerous new and hopeful parents, Kelley Long, CPA financial planner and unbiased money coach shares the top 3 financial considerations for new parents she hears about the most. In this episode, she covers how to think about making decisions around the best way to save for a child's future, what estate planning things you need to figure out ASAP and the new expenses that ten
Ep. 27: Building Resilience: Self-Care as More Than Maintenance
The term "self-care" has come to mean everything from taking a bubble bath to getting your bikini line waxed and is an area of spending that tends to get a free pass when modern women examine their cash flow.The truth is that self-care has nothing to do with appearance and has everything to do with building resilience as an act of political defiance.In this episode, Kelley Long, financia
Ep. 26: Credit Scores Decoded: What You Need to Know
Unpacking the mysteries of credit scores, CPA financial planner and money coach Kelley Long reveals the truth behind those three-digit numbers that can have such an impact on our financial lives. This episode explores common misconceptions, practical strategies, and insider insights about credit reporting that every listener should know.
Discover how credit scores really work, what factors truly
Ep. 25: The Secret to Crushing Your Goals: The Eisenhower Matrix Explained
In this episode of Financial Bliss with Kelley Long, we dive into one of the most powerful productivity tools out there: the Eisenhower Matrix. Named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower, this simple yet transformative framework helps you prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, ensuring you focus on what truly drives your goals forward. Whether you're overwhelmed by a never-ending to-do list o
Ep. 24: Closing Chapters: Finding Clarity in Life's Changes & What's Next
In this episode, Kelley Long opens up about the emotional and personal journey of navigating a major life transition—choosing to remain child-free after years of pursuing parenthood. Through this vulnerable storytelling, she reflects on the process of grieving an imagined future and finding peace with a new direction. Kelley explores how this personal experience has shaped her understanding of sel
Ep 23: 8 Game-Changing Facts About HSAs I Wish I Knew Sooner
In this episode, Kelley Long shares valuable insights about Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and the lessons she learned about health insurance that changed everything about her choices and, really, her whole life. Reflecting on her early experiences, she highlights common misconceptions around high-deductible healthcare plans and the potential benefits that many people overlook, particularly those
Ep 22: The Gray Area of Spending: Owning Your Choices Between Wants and Needs
This episode is all about that sticky area of money where we try to separate out our wants versus needs when making decisions around how we want to spend our dollars.
The themes include:
Understanding Wants vs. Needs: Distinguishing between wants and needs can be complex, especially when personal values and societal judgments come into play. It’s essential to recognize that our choices around spe
Ep 21: What is a Backdoor Roth IRA & How to Actually Open One
You may have heard about a back door Roth IRA, especially if you make too much money to contribute directly into one right now. While a back door Roth and a regular Roth IRA utilize the same account, performing the contribution to get around the income limits has very specific steps that you need to get right in order to avoid unnecessary taxation and issues with the IRS.
This podcast episode go
Ep 20: How to Stop Fighting About Money by Answering These 3 Questions
When you know you need to start talking with your partner about money more, but don't know where to start, these 3 questions can help. Rather than jumping right into looking at spending, budgets, balances and statements, answering these questions together can help you gain a better understanding of where the other person is coming from, particularly if you commonly have conversations about mon
Ep 19: The Surprising Reason You're Still Living Paycheck to Paycheck
If you find yourself living paycheck-to-paycheck despite earning more than enough to cover your bills and lifestyle and know that you have room to save this episode is for you.
When you find yourself always spending more than you intend, even when you know that you can easily cut back because you DO when your run out of money at the end of your pay cycle, there's a surprising habit that may
Ep 18: Shifting Perspectives on Homeownership: Reasons to Reevaluate Your Desire to Buy a Home
The reasons you think you need to buy a home ASAP may not be as valid as you think.
In this episode, Kelley Long gives a hot take on why home ownership is probably not the financial boondoggle a lot of us think it is.
There are plenty of great reasons to want to buy a home. But there are also a lot of reasons it's not exactly the Best Thing Ever, despite what the so-called American Dream say
Ep 17: The Science-Backed Way That Comparison Can Help You Improve Your Finances
It is human nature to compare ourselves to others, particularly when we are wondering whether or not we measure up. And for the most part, these types of comparisons cause us to feel like we are falling short in some way.
In this episode, Kelley Long, financial coach and money mindset advocate, shares a research-backed way that we can use comparison to actually boost the way we feel about ourselv
Ep 16 Exploring the Origins of Your Money Worries
This episode is all about self-exploration to uncover the root cause of financial anxieties. When we have a better understanding of our own origin stories and how they are showing up for us today, we can really accelerate any changes we’d like to make to our mindset and our behaviors, around money: how we earn it, how we spend it, how we save it, how we avoid it, etc.
Grab a pen and a journal, an
Ep 15: From Rollover to Cash-Out: Navigating Choices for Your Old 401k
Get a breakdown of ALL the options you might want to explore before deciding what to do with your old 401k plan.
This episode explores the pros and cons of each of the 4 options available while also touching on related retirement and tax rules at play, including:
- The rule of 55
- Net-unrealized appreciation rules for company stock
- Why a rollover IRA might be a choice you regret
- Where to go
Ep 14: Why You Can't Seem to Stay Motivated Toward Your Money Goals and What's Missing That Will Keep You on Track
Whether your goal this year is to pay off debt, reach a new savings level or achieve a specific financial-related goal, it's easy to lose motivation if working toward that goal also requires you to make trade-offs or change habits that you enjoy or are really used to.
The main reason people lose motivation toward these types of goals is because they are actually tasks that need to be complete
Ep 13: 3 Common Money Beliefs That Stand in the Way of Financial Bliss
We all carry several money beliefs, or money scripts as they are called in the financial therapy world, and those underlying beliefs influence the way we not only behave with money, but the way we make decisions in our lives.
This episode dives into three that are commonly seen among clients who work in the Financial Bliss framework, along with tips to update those beliefs to be supportive of the
Ep 12: Why Changing Your Financial Life Is About More Than Just Learning How to Budget
Ever try a new budgeting tool and experience initial success, but then quickly slip back into old habits after a month or two?
The reason so many of us struggle with changing our financial habits and situations, even when we end up making more money, is partly because there’s not a simple, one-size-fits-all solution. After all, if it were easy you’d already be doing it!
To change a financial cyc
Ep 11: Money is Morally Neutral: Banishing Shame From Your Financial Mindset
Shame has an impressive ability to rear its ugly head when it comes to money. Many of us experience money shame for a myriad of reasons: budgeting pitfalls, too much debt, not enough savings, or a failure to attain certain markers that are viewed as evidence of success, like buying a home or starting a family.
But shame has the power to keep us in a cycle of wildly unhelpful self-talk.
Many peop
Ep 10: How To Regain Control of Financial Hardships (Even When It's Not Your Fault)
What does the Serenity Prayer have to do with achieving financial bliss? For Kelley C. Long, CPA/PFS, CFP®, quite a lot.
If you’ve ever experienced financial hardship that wasn’t your fault, you’re not alone. Even the most careful and diligent individuals can become victims of their circumstances, enduring things in life that put pressure on their pocketbooks. The end of a romantic relationship,
Ep 9: What to Focus on Once You've Mastered the Financial Basics
You pay all your bills on time, you've either paid off your debt or have a plan in place to do so and you are looking at what's next, but there are so many options. How do you know which to tackle first?
The truth is, there is no definitive answer that works for everyone, which is why Kelley Long, financial coach and podcast host, created a checklist called the Post-Debt Life Checklist to
Ep 8: Want Surprisingly Flexible Savings Options? The 1 Account That Can Help You in 4 Ways
Putting money away for retirement can seem like a serious commitment, which it typically is due to rules around early withdrawal penalties and other abilities to tap your savings before your age 59 1/2.
In this episode, Kelley C. Long offers 4 reasons that one particular type of retirement savings account offers more flexibility than you might think when contributing your hard-earned money. Check
Ep 7: 5 Unexpected Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your 401k
How much do you know about your 401k plan? In this episode, Kelley C. Long, CPA/PFS, CFP® shares five things that she's found are most surprising to people about their 401ks, which she learned during her time as an unbiased financial coach working for a workplace retirement wellness provider.
Resources to support further learning on the topics presented in this episode:
Income limits to dedu
Ep 6: 6 Tips to Get Started on Optimizing Your Finances
When it comes to getting started with optimizing your finances, sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. In this episode, Kelley C. Long, CPA/PFS, CFP® shares 6 tips to help overcome the various barriers that can get in the way, whether it's fear, perfectionism, a lack of confidence or knowledge or something else.
Ep. 5: A Different Perspective on Retirement Planning
The traditional financial planning industry will tell you that there is a retirement savings crisis in the US and that most people are at risk of running out of money in retirement, but those statistics are based on outdated systems and an unrealistic idea of what retirement even is. This episode explores where the modern ideal of retirement came from and introduces a shift in perspective in how t
Ep. 4: 5 Common Money Mishaps and How to Overcome Them
In her work with over 2,500 individuals from all walks of life as a money coach, Kelley C. Long, CPA/PFS, CFP® has pretty much seen it all. But if there is one thing she could tell EVERYONE, it's that there are very few money mistakes that you can't overcome. In this episode, you'll hear 5 common mishaps she's encountered in her work as an unbiased financial wellness coach along wi
Ep. 3: The One Thing Holding You Back from Optimizing Your Finances
When Kelley asked several smart, responsible women who felt like they didn't have what it takes to optimize their money, she found a really interesting recurring theme. This episode digs into that one thing, what it really stems from, and how anyone, regardless of money in the bank, can move beyond it.
Resources mentioned:
www.financialblisscoach.com
Oriah Mountain Dreamer poem
The Alchemist, by
Ep. 2: Why You Keep Sabotaging Your Financial Goals and How to Stop for Good
This episode is geared toward those who, despite all their best efforts to "be better with money," can't seem to escape the cycle of boom or bust. It seems as soon as you get to a better place financially, BOOM, something happens to take you right back to where you were. While having a good money management system in place can help, the real fix for this goes much deeper into our money psychology.
Introduction to Financial Bliss and the Self-Exploratory Exercise That Changed My Life
In this introductory episode, host Kelley C. Long, CPA/PFS, CFP® shares her frustration with how challenging it is for everyday people to access unbiased and reliable guidance and advice around their money decisions, along with how she has worked to find a way to solve that challenge throughout her career. You'll also learn a powerful exercise that Kelley uses to make important life decisions, inc
