Money Feels

In this episode of Money Feels, we’re talking about something most of us don’t think twice about: comfort. Not the kind that refills you, but the kind that numbs you. The scroll, the “I’ll just order it,” the “I’ll decide later.” Somewhere along the way, we stopped using comfort to recover and started using it to escape, and we’ve built a whole world that makes escaping very, very easy.
Alyssa and Bridget dig into the psychology of why we run from discomfort, what that avoidance costs us (financially and otherwise), and who steps in to make our choices when we stop making them ourselves. 
In today’s episode, we discuss:
The study where people chose to shock themselves rather than sit alone with their thoughts
The difference between restorative comfort and avoidant comfort, and how to tell which one you’re reaching for
Experiential avoidance, a concept from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and why the strategy we use to feel better can keep us stuck
Who’s making your choices when you avoid the discomfort of deciding
Why anticipation is part of the joy, and what we lose when everything arrives tomorrow
The difference between people choosing convenience to survive and systems that profit from keeping us too tired to choose
Small, doable ways to choose meaningful discomfort this week
Resources mentioned:
Wilson et al., “Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind,” Science (2014): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250830
Thanks for listening to another episode! For bonus episodes and more, join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

In this episode of Money Feels, we talk about something that's deeply personal and also big business: fertility, IVF and egg freezing. Having a baby is expensive no matter how you do it, and this way costs even more. A lot extra.
Alyssa and Bridget look at the IVF industry through a money lens: the real costs, the odds most people don't hear about, and why "I'll do whatever it takes" is the most expensive sentence in fertility care. They also take on egg freezing as a corporate perk, and why "empowering" might be the wrong word for it.
This one comes from a place of care, not judgment. If you're going through IVF or have experienced pregnancy loss, please look after yourself, and feel free to skip this one and tune in next week.
In today's episode, we discuss:
How IVF actually works, step by step, and why there are fees at every stage
The real odds of a live birth by age, and why they're so rarely talked about
The Cut article: 11 rounds of IVF, $250,000 and no baby
Why longing is never where anyone makes a clear money decision
Add-ons, experimental treatments and clinics with no age cut-off
What would happen if a financial product had IVF's odds
Why egg freezing as a workplace perk is really an investment in not paying for maternity leave
Egg freezing as "buying an option"
Universal child care and fully paid parental leave 
What repeated loss does to your relationships
Public funding for IVF in Canada 
Thanks for listening to another episode! For bonus episodes and more, join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

In this episode of Money Feels, we're kicking off season 10 by saying something that doesn't often get said out loud: the middle class might be the loneliest group in society. Not in a "cry me a river, it must be so hard to be comfortable" way. In a structural way. When we eradicated middle-class wealth, we also got rid of middle-class community.
Alyssa and Bridget break down who the middle class actually is in Canada, why so many people in it feel stuck between "too rich for a potluck" and "can't afford a private chef," and why there's no shared rule book for how to show up for each other. 
This one is equal parts economics and feelings. Because small talk is what leads to big talk.
In today's episode, we discuss:
How Statistics Canada defines the middle class
What the K-shaped economy is 
Why a middle-class income doesn't buy the life it did 30, 40 or 50 years ago
The gap between the "average Canadian" 
How lower-income communities survive through interdependence while wealthy families outsource everything, therapy included
Why the middle class has no shared code for asking for help
Self-actualization vs. status anxiety
Whether "you don't owe anyone anything" is a personal value or a survival mechanism
The neighbourhood coffee morning experiment, and why gratitude isn't the same as reciprocity
Why building community starts with a low-stakes first move
Video mentioned: @lynn.allure on TikTok
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

In this episode of Money Feels, we break down the thing that makes most people's eyes glaze over: Canadian taxes. And actually make it make sense. Not just the numbers, but the feelings. The confusion, the resentment, the sneaking suspicion that you're being robbed. We're going there.
Alyssa and Bridget walk through every layer of the Canadian tax system, from federal income tax all the way down to the municipal mill rate, and tackle two of the most misunderstood — and politically charged — conversations happening in Canada right now: the myth that Canadians pay over 50% in taxes, and what Alberta separation would actually mean for your wallet.
This one is equal parts financial education and myth-busting. Because you deserve accurate information, not social media math.
In today's episode, we discuss:
What a progressive tax system actually means 
The four layers of Canadian taxation: federal, provincial, municipal, and GST/HST 
Why CPP and EI deductions aren't money disappearing
How Alberta compares to other provinces
The truth behind the "Canadians pay over 50% in taxes" claim
Why GST hits lower-income earners harder
What Alberta separation would actually mean
The credits and deductions most people leave on the table without realizing it
How to look at your own pay stub and actually understand where every dollar is going
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!

In this episode of Money Feels, we explore what AI actually is, and why it doesn't just change what technology can do… it can change how society functions, who holds power, and what the future of human work and life might look like.
Bridget sits down with Timo Ewalds, former Google DeepMind AI researcher and founder of Nexopia, to cut through the hype and fear around artificial intelligence. 
This conversation goes far beyond "AI is coming for your job." It's about how artificial intelligence intersects with consciousness, ethics, economics, and the environment — and why understanding it matters whether you're a tech insider or just someone trying to make sense of the world changing around you.
In today's episode, we discuss:
What AI actually is and why the definition matters more than most people think
The difference between AI, AGI, and ASI, and where we actually are on that spectrum
Why is sentience and consciousness so hard to define, even for researchers
How AI capabilities are growing exponentially and why that pace is difficult to comprehend
The societal implications of handing more decision-making power to machines
Why AI benefits individuals and society in very different, sometimes conflicting, ways
The environmental cost of data centers and AI infrastructure that rarely gets talked about
How job displacement from AI could reshape entire economies
Whether Universal Basic Income could be a realistic response to widespread automation
Why even experts at the frontier of AI disagree about where it's all heading
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you want bonus episodes and more, you can join our Patreon! Until then, follow us on Instagram @mixedupmoney, @bridgiecasey and @moneyfeelspodcast, and we’ll see you next time!