The Tampon Aisle

What Your Life Actually Costs | Jenny Girl Friday (Part Two)

In Part One [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/p/what-it-costs-to-feel-safe-jenny], we talked about the emotional side of money. The shame, the fear, the ways our nervous systems get wrapped up in it. In this episode, we move into the practical side. What it looks like to actually sit down with your money and start working with it. We talk about: how to figure out what your life actually costs the difference between bills, household, and personal spending why most “budgeting” advice doesn’t work (and what to do instead) how to approach debt in a way that feels more manageable and less overwhelming simple ways to start organizing your money without shutting down This conversation is for anyone who has avoided looking at their numbers, felt overwhelmed by debt, or wanted a more grounded and supportive way to relate to money. If you haven’t listened to Part One yet, I’d recommend starting there for more of the emotional context. Jenny MacLeod aka Jenny Girl Friday [https://jennygirlfriday.com/] is a feminist business, tax, and money guide, and the author of How to Become Self-Employed in Seattle. For 12+ years, she’s helped clients learn the skills to confidently run their businesses and/or work with their money in a feel-good way. Her approach is trauma-informed, whole body, anti-grind, and all about empowerment. Jenny lives in Green Lake with her husband, has two grown kids. Fave pursuits include complex table-top games, astrology, olympic lifting. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

How to Stay Human While the World Is on Fire w/ Kara Hackett

We’re taking in more information than the human body was designed to process. Not just more information, but more intense information. Constantly. Rapidly. Without context or pacing. In this episode, Olivia sits down with journalist Kara Hackett to explore what it actually costs to stay informed right now and why “being informed” has quietly started to mean “taking everything in.” Together, they unpack the emotional and physiological impact of modern news consumption, the pressure to care about everything, and the reality that more information doesn’t always make us more effective, ethical, or engaged. This conversation is about finding a more sustainable way to stay connected to the world without losing your capacity to function, relate, and show up in your life. In this episode, we explore: Why the news is not neutral and how it impacts your nervous system The emotional whiplash of scrolling between light and distressing content How journalists themselves are affected by repeated exposure to traumatic material The difference between being informed and being overwhelmed Why “taking everything in” is not the same as caring How to discern what is actually yours to hold What it means to stay human in a world that feels like too much A key reframe: Someone needs to know what’s happening.But it doesn’t have to be you. And it doesn’t have to be all of it. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, or unsure how to relate to everything happening right now, this episode offers a more grounded, intentional way forward. 🎙️ The Tampon Aisle is a space for honest, nuanced conversations about the body, relationships, culture, and what it means to be human right now. -- Kara Hackett (she/hers) is Co-Founder of The Local Fort Wayne newsletter [https://www.thelocalfw.com/] with her husband Michael Metzler. Their goal is to make the news more approachable, relevant, and manageable for the citizens of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Visibility Closes the Gap

Let’s be honest. A lot of us don’t have a confidence problem. We have a visibility problem. And not because we don’t have something to say.But because being seen feels… activating. On The Tampon Aisle, I talk about the things we’re usually encouraged to shrink around. This week: microphones, rejection, and why women are still wildly underfunded. I sat down with Krista Ripma — founder and CEO of Authentic Audience [https://www.authenticaudience.co/], marketing strategist to the spiritually ambitious, and professional mic-grabber; to talk about what it actually takes to build something in public. Not the Pinterest version. The real one. The one where:You follow up seven times.You get ghosted.You post anyway.You pitch anyway.You show your face anyway. Because here’s the thing: Who gets seen gets funded. Together we get into: * Why “founder forward” is a decision, not a personality trait. * The uncomfortable truth about female founder funding. * Why rejection is a KPI :) * How fear is just excitement without the breath. * What happens when you stop making visibility about you and start making it about service. * And the mic metaphor that honestly might rewire the way you think about being seen. We also talk about: * The female friendship wound. * Why co-working might actually be co-regulation. * Why consistency is devotion in disguise. * And why your desire to take the mic might be there for a reason. This one is for the founders.The gonna-be-founders.The healers building practices.The creators with half-written Substacks.The women who feel both “too much” and somehow still underfunded. You don’t need to become louder. You might just need to become visible. We had fun with this one. And by fun I mean mildly activating in the best way. See you in the Aisle :) xo,Olivia Pssssst! Prefer to listen elsewhere? This episode is also available on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7KSZah8MqSCBBS4ygrMS4w?si=06f38ec471b14859] and Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tampon-aisle/id1711970561]. Public. Send to the group chat. Krista Ripma is the founder and CEO of Authentic Audience [https://www.authenticaudience.co/], a female-run digital advertising agency that amplifies authentic voices and fosters genuine connections. With over a decade of experience, Krista has a proven track record of building million-plus Instagram followings, tripling online awareness and engagement for brands, and guiding hundreds of business owners to find and speak their truth. As a marketing strategist, she has worked with some of the biggest brands in astrology, spirituality, health and wellness, alongside best-selling authors, business educators, and 7-8 figure entrepreneurs. Krista’s passion for community shines through her work as the host of the Authentic Audience Podcast, her annual Body Mind Business Retreats, and weekly business classes inside the Authentic Business Club. Her unique, radically honest methods promise to cut through the noise, transforming both your business and your life. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Wisdom of Your Cycle (and How to Live by It) w/ Dr. Mo Latin

Your body isn’t broken. It’s cyclical. In this episode of The Tampon Aisle, I sit down with Dr. Molly Latin to talk about periods, pelvises, and why your body might be smarter than you’ve been taught to believe. Dr. Mo is a naturopathic doctor and yoga teacher whose work blends real physiology with deep embodiment. Together, we explore how understanding your menstrual cycle can change the way you relate to your energy, emotions, intuition, and rest. We get into: • Why your cycle has four phases (and why you feel like a different person every week)• What ovulation is actually doing• Why luteal phase deserves a PR campaign• The myth of the “period” on birth control• How living in a linear world makes cyclical bodies feel broken• What shifts when you stop overriding your body and start listening There’s also talk of womb wisdom, being “in your pelvis,” fertility awareness, candlelit bleeding fantasies (yes really), and the radical idea that your body might not need fixing. It might just need attention. If you’ve ever wondered why some days you feel magnetic and clear, and other days you want to cancel everything and sit on the floor with a candle, this episode is for you. Come curious. - Dr. Molly Latin [https://naturaleza.substack.com/] (she/ her) is a naturopathic doctor and yoga teacher whose work blends science with embodied practice. She supports children, families, and people with cycles by cultivating healthy roots in community systems, elevating menstrual and cyclical wisdom, and emphasizing seasonal attunement. Her approach guides people back to the rhythms that nourish both physical and spiritual wellbeing. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

What It Costs to Feel Safe | Jenny Girl Friday (Part One)

What It Costs to Feel Safe, Part One On money, survival, and learning to want more Money carries more than numbers. It holds family stories, nervous system patterns, and quiet beliefs about what we are allowed to want. For many of us, it is not the math that’s hard. It is the feeling. In this episode, Olivia sits down with Jenny Girl Friday, a money, tax, and business strategist who has spent over a decade supporting self-employed folks, especially women, creatives, and healers. Jenny’s work bridges the practical and the emotional, helping people build financial lives that actually feel sustainable and safe. Together, they explore the emotional side of money. Why so many capable people freeze, avoid, or feel shame around it. How living paycheck to paycheck becomes a normalized state of stress. How survival skills can quietly become a ceiling. And what begins to shift when we ask different questions about safety, desire, and choice. This conversation is for anyone who feels competent in many areas of life, yet overwhelmed or tender when it comes to money. You do not need to have it figured out to listen. Curiosity is enough. In this episode, we explore: Why money often triggers the nervous system How family stories shape our relationship with money The emotional cost of living in constant survival mode What it means to partner with money instead of bracing against it Why wanting more can feel scary, and why it matters You are not bad with money. You were trained. And training can change. Learn more about Jenny:jennygirlfriday.com [http://jennygirlfriday.com] Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe [https://thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]