Julien and Kiersten Saunders

Biography:

In 2012, Julien and Kiersten Saunders were swimming in debt. Their financial problems led the couple to do what many married couples have to do: Start having frank and serious conversations about money. When those conversations helped them pay off $200,000 in debt and increase their net worth, the pair decided to offer advice to others who might be in similar circumstances.

In 2017, The Saunderses created Rich & Regular, a blog to help people live their best financial lives. That blog turned into a podcast and a YouTube channel, and then a book deal. In 2022, the couple published “Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game By Walking Away.”

The Saunderses are especially passionate about helping the Black community build wealth that spans generations. And they’re committed to helping all of their readers stop waiting and start doing when it comes to making financial goals a reality.

Why They’re Top Money Experts:

Julien and Kiersten Saunders are two people who have been through financial hardships, gotten through them and want to help other regular people, just like themselves, prosper, too.

Q&A:

What’s the one piece of money advice you wish everyone would follow and why?

Give your income a purpose. Whether it’s paying off debt, saving for an emergency fund or investing for retirement; there should be clear long term goals for your income. Because if you don’t give your income a purpose…someone else will.

What’s the most important thing to do to build wealth?

Invest, invest, invest. The money we earn is like seeds. We can either choose to eat them or plant them. The more we plant, consistently, the greater the harvest will be over time. Building wealth works similarly and doesn’t have to be complicated.

What’s your best tip for fighting the impacts of inflation?

Learning how to cook well at home is a huge help in fighting inflation. Specifically, learning how to cross utilize ingredients, freezing foods and vacuum sealing foods helps to minimize waste and reduce the amount of money spent on food.

What’s the biggest mistake people make when it comes to money, and what should they do instead?

The biggest mistake people make with money is we assume we will always earn the same amount of money or more over the course of our careers. It’s far more likely that you’ll have periods of low or no income which make it even harder for you to save or catch up in the future. The best way to remedy this is to get comfortable living below your means early in your career, save and invest far more than you think you’ll need so that you can more easily absorb any shocks to your income in the future.