70: How Becky Holmes Exposed Romance Scammers And Fraudsters Who Steal Millions From Lonely Hearts

70: How Becky Holmes Exposed Romance Scammers And Fraudsters Who Steal Millions From Lonely Hearts

Romance scammers are getting bolder — and more convincing. In this episode, Marina sits down with Becky Holmes, author of Keanu Reeves Is Not in Love with You and the sharp wit behind the viral Twitter account @deathtospinach. What started in 2020 as a personal mission to waste scammers' time has turned Becky into one of the most recognized experts on online relationship fraud, sought out by media and professionals alike. This is a must-listen for every woman — and every mom raising a daughter — navigating the digital world. What We Cover: * What online relationship fraud actually is, and how Becky went from target to expert * Whether women are more vulnerable than men — and what the data shows * The staggering sums of money that can be lost to romance scams * The personas scammers use most often: doctors, pilots, and other high-status disguises * Whether there's a "type" who falls for these scams — or whether anyone can be fooled * Solo bad actors vs. organized crime networks: what's really behind these schemes * The red flags to watch for before you get in too deep * Practical steps to protect yourself online * What moms — especially those with teenage daughters — can do right now About Becky Holmes Becky Holmes is the author of Keanu Reeves Is Not in Love with You, a no-nonsense guide to exposing online relationship fraud. She is also the creator of the popular Twitter account @deathtospinach, where she publicly outs romance scammers and documents her encounters with them. Since 2020, Becky has become a go-to voice on romance fraud for media outlets and professionals around the world

69: Women, Wealth & The Work Ahead: Inside Gloria Steinem's Living Room

In this personal episode, I recount an extraordinary evening at the Manhattan brownstone of iconic feminist and activist Gloria Steinem — the very home where Ms. Magazine was founded in the 1970s. The dinner was organized as part of the Milken Women's Financial Security Initiative, led by Cheryl Evans, and brought together 20 remarkable women from across the United States to discuss one of the most pressing issues of our time: women's financial security. To learn about Banking On Girls Mother Daughter Workshops: Mother-Daughter Financial Literacy Workshop [https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/] For the referenced Architectural Digest feature on Gloria Steinem's Brownstone: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/visiting-gloria-steinem-in-her-longtime-manhattan-brownstone [https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/visiting-gloria-steinem-in-her-longtime-manhattan-brownstone]

68: Mom, Teach Me About Money!

To celebrate Mother's Day, I surveyed six college women on the best financial advice their moms gave them, the worst financial advice they had received — and what they still wish they knew. The results are honest, eye-opening, and full of heart. This one is for every mom and daughter ready to take the next step together. What We Cover * Why budgeting and credit are the lessons moms teach the most often * The $27.40/day compound interest rule every teenager needs to hear (David Bach, Mel Robbins Podcast) * Why investing is the conversation most moms aren't having — and why it matters * The "money comes and goes" mindset and why it can quietly cost young women their financial agency * Small, confident first steps any young woman can take today This Week's Challenge: Moms — start the investing conversation, even if you're still learning. Daughters — pick one thing and do it this week. One step is all it takes. Learn more about Banking On Girls Mother Daughter Workshops: https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/ [https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/] This podcast does not provide financial, tax, legal or investment advice. It is for educational purposes only.

67: Why Women Are Better Investors Than They Think — And The Data That Proves It (With Stanford Associate Professor Saumitra Jha)

Why Women Are Better Investors Than They Think — And The Data That Proves It | With Professor Saumitra Jha Most of us have heard of the gender wage gap. But there's another gap that gets far less attention — the gender investing gap. And according to new research from Stanford, the fix might be simpler than anyone expected. In this episode, we sit down with Professor Saumitra Jha, Associate Professor of Political Economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Affairs. He joins us to share findings from his groundbreaking study published in The Economic Journal (January 2025), co-authored with Moses Shayo, which reveals that simply participating in stock trading — even in a study setting — measurably closes the gender confidence gap in finance. WHAT WE COVER — How the gender gap shows up in investing: lower participation, lower confidence, and less financial risk-taking — even among women with strong educational and career credentials. — Why the confidence gap may matter more than the knowledge gap. Confidence, participation, and knowledge are mutually reinforcing — and breaking into any one of them can shift all three. — The surprising findings from the study: women who participated in the trading experiment were more engaged, answered more factual questions correctly, and ended up with at least comparable — if not slightly better — investment returns than men. — Why men in the study actually became more reserved in their self-assessments over time, while women grew in confidence. — How women can take their first steps into investing: practical, low-pressure ways to build familiarity, knowledge, and confidence with markets. Access Professor Jha's paper here: https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/working-paper/trading-stocks-builds-financial-confidence-and-compresses-gender-gap [https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/working-paper/trading-stocks-builds-financial-confidence-and-compresses-gender-gap] Learn more about Banking On Girls Mother-Daughter Workshops here: https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/ [https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/] This podcast does not provide financial, tax, legal or investment advice. It is for educational purposes only.

66: She Invests Better Than Him — So Why Is She 25% Poorer?

This International Women's Month, we're zooming out and looking at the bigger picture of where women stand financially, what's holding them back, and what each of us can do about it. The numbers are sobering. The World Economic Forum estimates it will take 123 years to close the gender economic gap at the current pace. Women are expected to accumulate just 74% of the wealth men do over a full working lifetime. And yet — when women do invest, research shows they can achieve better returns than men. The gap isn't ability. It's access, knowledge, and confidence. In this episode, we explore: * Why financial literacy is the lever — and why the gender gap in investing is one-third a confidence problem, not just a knowledge problem * The age-seven finding — research from the University of Cambridge showing that many money habits form before age seven, and what that means for how we raise financially capable children * The silence that has a cost — why money being treated as taboo in so many households hits girls hardest, and what happens when we break that silence * The generational ripple effect — why financial literacy in one woman doesn't stay with one woman This episode is for anyone who believes the 123-year timeline is unacceptable, and wants to understand the role they can play in shortening it. For more information on Banking On Girls Mother-Daughter Workshops go to: https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/ [https://mom-daughter-workshop.lovable.app/]