Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Employment attorney Ryan Stygar joins Nicole to hand us the playbook our employers hope they never find. He breaks down what "at-will employment" actually means and the exact moves to make the moment you get that dreaded out-of-nowhere email from HR. He also reveals everything that's negotiable in a severance package: the cash amount, COBRA coverage, equity vesting schedules, and non-disparagement clauses, and shares how he turned a $6,000 severance offer into over $60,000 for one client.

Then Nicole and Ryan role-play a firing from both sides of the table — so you know exactly what to say and what never to say. They dig into the issues that disproportionately affect women at work: pregnancy discrimination (the number one form Ryan sees in his practice), his controversial-but-legally-sound advice to disclose your pregnancy early, what rights you have if you miscarry, and how return-to-office mandates are quietly being weaponized as stealth layoffs. 

Plus: AI keystroke monitoring, non-competes in the current legal landscape, and the interview questions that are totally illegal — that you're probably being asked right now.

Check out Nicole's financial literacy course ⁠The Money School⁠ Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole's company ⁠Private Wealth Collective⁠ Watch video clips from the pod on ⁠Money Rehab's Instagram⁠ and ⁠Nicole Lapin's Instagram⁠ 

Get Ryan's book ⁠Get It in Writing⁠

Here's what Nicole covers with Ryan: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

02:01 Ryan's Path: From Firefighter to Workers' Rights Lawyer 

02:52 Nicole Gets Let Go From CNN 

03:44 Why HR Is Not Your Friend 

05:34 The Right (and Wrong) Way to Fire Someone 

06:41 It's Illegal to Fire Someone for Discussing Their Pay 

08:44 Building Your Paper Trail From Day One 

20:07 At-Will Employment, Explained 

24:50 What to Do the Moment You Get That HR Email 

26:31 Don't Sign Anything When You're Fired 

29:14 Severance Is Negotiable 

31:54 How Contingency Lawyers Can Help (Even When You're Broke) 

33:38 What Else Is on the Table: COBRA, Equity, and Non-Disparagement Clauses 

37:38 Role Play: Getting Fired (What Not to Do) 

39:23 Role Play: Getting Laid Off (The Right Way to Handle It) 

44:09 How a Good Employer Handles the Conversation 

46:34 Freelancers and the 1099 vs. W-2 Trap 

49:59 The Fear of Getting Blacklisted for Asserting Your Rights 

50:19 Sexual Harassment: Who's Most at Risk and What to Do 

52:44 Maternity Leave and Pregnancy Discrimination 

55:28 Controversial Advice: Disclose Your Pregnancy Early 

59:14 What to Get in Writing When You're Pregnant 

01:02:16 Your Rights If You Miscarry 

01:04:59 Return to Office as a Stealth Layoff Strategy 

01:08:10 AI Tracking and Keystroke Monitoring 

01:12:25 Non-Competes: What You Need to Know in 2026 

01:17:09 Illegal Interview Questions (Role Play) 

01:23:00 Ryan Stygar's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor or attorney before making any financial or legal decisions.

Nicole used to think insurance was a boring subject.... until she lost her home in the Palisades fire.

Today, she is teaming up with the ⁠Coalition for an Insurable Future⁠ to tell you about what you need to know about the insurance issue that could become the next great American financial crisis, and how to protect yourself.

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Chloe Demrovsky, one of the nation's leading voices on disaster risk and resilience. Nicole and Chloe break down the numbers: homeowners insurance premiums are up 74% since 2008, 40% faster than inflation, and 95% of American homeowners are already feeling it. Then they get tactical: what "uninsurable" actually means, the coverage gaps that catch most people off guard (spoiler: flood is not in your standard homeowners policy), and the exact steps to take before a disaster strikes.

Learn more about ⁠the Coalition for an Insurable Future⁠ and ⁠follow⁠ their work. 

Learn more about ⁠Chloe Demrovsky⁠ and ⁠follow⁠ her work.

#CoalitionForAnInsurableFuturePartner

Allie K. Miller is the number one most-followed voice in AI business and an advisor to Fortune 500 companies , and she's on Money Rehab to tell us that most people are leaving serious money on the table by treating AI like a productivity tool. Today, Allie joins Nicole to break down exactly how to use AI as a wealth strategy in 2026 and beyond.

Allie pulls back the curtain on her AI workforce (34 agents named after Friends characters) and explains why delegation is now a financial strategy, not just a productivity hack. She and Nicole dig into the most important question everyone has right now: what's safe to share with AI, and what isn't? From feeding Claude your insurance policy after a disaster, to connecting AI directly to your investment accounts, Allie lays out how to think about risk and leverage when it comes to your financial data.

They also tackle the hard questions about kids and AI: AI companionship dangers, AI toys, age limits, whether college is even coming back, and why "AI scams are the new white vans." Finally, Allie shares her honest, unfiltered take on investing in AI companies, why she's long-term bullish, and the bold predictions people are calling her crazy for making today.

Check out Nicole's financial literacy course The Money School

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole's company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab's Instagram and Nicole Lapin's Instagram

Follow Allie Miller on LinkedIn and Instagram

Here's what Nicole covers with Allie: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?

01:13 Allie's AI Workforce Explained

04:00 How to Build Your Own AI Workforce (No Coding Required)

06:40 What AI Still Can't Replace

10:00 Meet Simon, Rachel, Phoebe and the Rest of the Team

12:03 What to Always (and Never) Outsource to AI

18:30 AI Data Privacy

22:48 Customizing AI With Your Personal Context

31:43 Kids and AI: Raising a '90s Kid in 2026

38:10 What Age Should Kids Start Using ChatGPT or Claude?

44:52 How to Hack AI Sycophancy

47:25 Where Allie Draws the Line on AI Companionship

52:20 Using AI to Manage Investments

57:00 Will AI Replace Financial Advisors?

01:00:13 When Will We Be Working With Humanoids?

01:05:15 Investing in AI Companies and the Bubble Debate

01:09:45 Allie's Boldest Predictions

01:14:22 Allie Miller's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Stand-up comedian and writer Josh Johnson returns to Money Rehab nearly two years after his first time on the show. Since then, he has become a hosting correspondent on The Daily Show, reached millions of followers on socials and continued to post a new stand up set to YouTube (he’s done this for 156 consecutive weeks). He talks about how he’s avoided lifestyle creep as his career has flourished, the best money advice he’s received, and why being broke is like drowning in a swimming pool.    

Then, Nicole gets Josh’s take on some of the strangest recent money headlines, including a woman who reportedly saved $15,000 on groceries by going on dates, Victoria’s Secret stock jumping 48% after changing its ticker to “VSXY,” and why taxes are apparently making Gen Z cry.

Check out Nicole's financial literacy course The Money School

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole's company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab's Instagram and Nicole Lapin's Instagram

Follow Josh Johnson’s incredible work and see him live!

Listen to Josh’s first interview on Money Rehab

Here's what Nicole covers with Josh:

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?

01:46 What's Changed Since Last Time

04:10 The Ownership Illusion

06:28 Why Even Billionaires Never Feel Safe

08:00 How to Stop Moving the Goalpost on Financial Safety

09:18 Lifestyle Creep

12:00 Selling Shoes on eBay and Wikifeet

14:03 The Poisoned Pizza Story

15:18 Why Being Broke Is Like Drowning

19:00 Money-Saving Extremes

24:40 The Culture of Greed and “Good Business”

26:39 Food Insecurity in America

32:17 Cheap Corruption and Political Money

33:03 Structured Notes

37:38 Are We Doing NFTs Again?

40:37 Why Josh Is Skipping AI IPOs He Doesn't Understand

43:00 Funny Money

43:12 The Guy Who Asked His Date for a Venmo Refund

44:53 The Woman Who Saved $15K in Groceries by Going on Dates

46:22 Victoria's Secret's 48% Stock Surge From a Ticker Change

49:00 The $80K AI Deepfake Soap Opera Scam

51:39 Have Taxes Ever Made You Cry?

55:31 Trump's Face on a $250 Bill

59:23 Josh Johnson's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Inflation just hit 3.8%, the highest it's been since 2023. That means that $100 you had in January? It's worth about $96.30 today.

So today, Nicole breaks down three tools that protect your money when inflation runs hot: I bonds, TIPS, and gold. She explains exactly how each one works, who each is best for, and the critical differences between them — including why gold didn't spike during the pandemic inflation surge the way everyone expected, and why right now might actually be different.

Plus, Nicole shares a little-known strategy called the "gift box" method that lets couples legally stack up to $40,000 in I bond purchases in a single calendar year.

Here is a Money Rehab episode about how to invest in gold

Check out Nicole's financial literacy course ⁠The Money School⁠ Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole's company ⁠Private Wealth Collective⁠ Watch video clips from the pod on ⁠Money Rehab's Instagram⁠ and ⁠Nicole Lapin's Instagram⁠

Here's what Nicole covers today: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

00:18 Inflation Is Back — And We're All Feeling It 

01:33 What's Driving the Surge (It's Not Just Gas) 

02:30 What 3.8% Inflation Actually Does to Your Dollars 

02:56 I Bonds: The Inflation-Fighting Investment Nicole Loves 

04:34 I Bonds

05:06 TIPS 

08:04 Gold: Flight to Safety or Inflation Hedge? 

10:00 Why Gold Thrives When the Economy Is a Dumpster Fire 

11:40 Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank: The Gift Box Strategy

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.