Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Today, Nicole unpacks the exact accounts she opened for her daughter, the math that makes starting early almost unfair, and the money script she's determined to rewrite for the next generation. Whether you have a newborn, a teenager, or you're realizing you wish someone had done this for you, this episode is a blueprint.

Nicole breaks down how a 529 plan is far more flexible than most parents realize, why a custodial brokerage account is less about returns and more about teaching kids that money grows quietly in the background, and why a retirement account for a one-year-old is not as insane as it sounds — it's one of the most powerful financial moves a parent can make. 

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?

01:13 529 Plans: More Flexible Than You Think

02:02 The Math on Starting Early vs. Waiting

02:51 Super Funding: The IRS Loophole Most Parents Miss

03:31 Lump Sum vs. Monthly: The Numbers That Will Shock You

04:00 How to Shop for the Best 529 Plan

04:17 Custodial Brokerage Accounts Explained

05:00 The Financial Aid Trade-Off

05:41 Why Nicole Really Opened This Account for Her Daughter

05:56 The Custodial Roth IRA (Yes, for a 1-Year-Old)

07:00 The Number That Changes Everything

08:00 Roth IRAs and Financial Aid: The Cleaner Vehicle

08:21 Rewriting the Money Script

09:00 Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.

You’ve probably seen the headlines about luxury investments outperforming the stock market… but is that actually true? And more importantly, is this a game only for millionaires, or is there a way for the rest of us to get in on it too?

Today, Nicole is joined by Dana Auslander, former Blackstone executive and founder of Luxus, a luxury alternative asset manager with the first dedicated Hermès Birkin fund. In this conversation, Dana unpacks the viral headlines, why her investment thesis puts Hermès bags ahead of other luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, and how to invest in a Birkin without buying a Birkin.

Then, Nicole and Dana zoom out and explain what the luxury investment trends mean for retail investors, how the macroeconomy impacts luxury investments, and what the counterfeiting problem could mean for the whole market. Then, Dana goes beyond bags and rates watches, art, wine, and jewelry as alternative investments.

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 Luxus and learn more about the Birkin Fund

Here's what Nicole covers with Dana:

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

01:27 Are Birkins Actually Better Than the S&P 500? 

02:00 What Is a Veblen Good — and Why It Matters 

04:06 How Much Is a Birkin, Really?

 04:29 The Secret to Getting One From Hermès 

05:21 Manufactured Scarcity: How Hermès Controls Demand 

06:12 The Rise of the Secondary Market 

07:35 Gross vs. Net Returns: What the Charts Don't Show You 

09:24 Jane Birkin's Bag Sold for $10.8 Million — Dana Was There 

13:00 Is Chanel Actually Investment-Grade? 

14:00 Birkin vs. Stock Market: Where Should You Put Your Money? 

16:38 How the Luxus Fund Works 

21:00 How to Invest Without Buying a Birkin 

23:36 Sourcing Bags Through Private Dealer Networks 

27:15 Storing, Authenticating, and Selling the Bags 

28:33 How to Become an Accredited Investor 

30:07 Is Buying a Birkin a Proxy for Hermès Stock? 

32:20 The K-Shaped Economy and Luxury Demand 

35:10 The Counterfeit Problem Is Getting Scary 

38:18 Luxury Investment Ratings: Watches, Art, Wine, Jewelry 

43:05 Secure the Bag: Financial Literacy for Women

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.

Jason Oppenheim (real estate broker, founder of the Oppenheim Group— the brokerage covered on Selling Sunset) starts this conversation with a take Nicole was not expecting: it's a buyer's market, and he'd know, because he's been renting for the last three years himself.

In this conversation, Jason covers every hot-button topic in real estate. He unpacks how he thinks AI will disrupt real estate and why he believes humanoid robots will be showing houses within the next two decades. He gets brutally honest about the LA market, why wealthy people are fleeing major cities in droves, and shares the cities he thinks real estate investors should avoid.

He makes the case that renting is not "throwing money away" — in fact, he argues that in many cases renting is a smarter financial move. He and Nicole also debate whether there's actually a housing affordability crisis (Jason says we're misdefining it), how he thinks about money and happiness, and why he hasn’t changed his financial goals since he was broke.

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 the Oppenheim Group and keep up with Selling Sunset on Netflix

Here's what Nicole covers with Jason: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

01:11 Is It a Buyer's Market? 

02:09 Why Wealthy People Are Leaving Major Cities 

04:10 Where Are They Going? (And Where NOT to Buy) 

05:38 Why Real Estate Is Not AI-Proof 

10:35 “At Some Point, There Is No Work.” 

17:43 Why Jason Loves 30-Year Treasuries 

19:00 The AI Deflation Thesis 

23:54 Is There Really a Housing Affordability Crisis? 

30:40 Rent vs Buy Debate 

36:21 Behind the Scenes of Selling Sunset 

37:06 Does Money Buy Happiness? 

39:24 Getting His Rolls Royce Stolen 

40:00 How Jason Thinks About Spending vs. Saving 

41:43 What Was Jason's FU Number? 

42:12 Secure the Bag: Jealousy, Googling Your Own Net Worth, Bad Investments 

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.

The SpaceX IPO will likely be the largest public offering in history... But before you get excited, Nicole breaks down how the IPO machine actually works, and why some of the smartest people in finance say the system is rigged against you.

Nicole walks through the full IPO process step by step: what underwriters actually do (and what they charge for it), how the roadshow and book-building work, and why the price you'll pay on IPO day is not the price institutional investors paid. She also covers what SpaceX employees need to know right now about their equity, stock options, RSUs, lockup periods, and the tax surprises that can blindside you before you sell a single share.

Then, Nicole shares the framework she uses to evaluate any IPO, including the two sections of the S-1 prospectus most retail investors skip, and explains how you can get in on SpaceX before the IPO.

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? 

00:04 The SpaceX IPO: Just How Historic Is It? 

01:08 How the IPO Process Actually Works 

02:12 What Underwriters Do (and What They Cost) 

03:04 The Roadshow and How IPO Pricing Works 

03:45 NYSE vs. NASDAQ: Where Will SpaceX List? 

04:25 Why Companies Go Public 

05:14 What SpaceX Employees Need to Know About Their Equity 

06:00 Lockup Periods Explained 

07:06 Three Things Every Employee Must Do Before an IPO 

08:06 Is the IPO System Rigged? Bill Gurley's Argument 

10:00 The Figma Example: How Retail Investors Got Burned 

11:19 How to Evaluate Any IPO Before You Invest 

13:27 Watch the Lockup Expiration Date 

14:09 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.

Emma Grede built a business and media empire (including brands like Good American and SKIMS) without a safety net. Today, she joins Nicole to pull back the curtain on the money mindset, negotiation tactics, and hard-won lessons that got her there.

Emma gets raw about paying herself £45K while paying a male hire £150K to do a worse job, the moment Good American sold $1 million worth of inventory on day one (and why her investors turned on her by noon), and creative strategies she’s used to close major deals. She and Nicole also dig into Emma's exact playbook for negotiating a raise, the traps women fall into with money, and why Emma never lends money — she just gives it.

Then they get into the taboos: prenups, the questions people should stop asking female founders, and whether financial planning and family planning should ever be kept separate.

Pick up Emma's amazing book Start With Yourself

Listen to Emma’s inspiring podcast Aspire

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 with Emma: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

03:39 Emma's Early Money Mistakes

06:00 The £45K vs. £150K Lesson 

07:12 Learning the Language of Business 

10:34 What Wealthy People Know About Investing 

11:48 Good American's $1M Day One — and the Investor Critique 

15:39 What Money Can't Buy (But People Think It Can) 

18:13 Does Money Buy Happiness? 

19:00 Emma's Secret to Always Asking for More 

19:48 The Natalie Portman / Dior Negotiation Story 

21:58 The Secret to Great Negotiations 

22:30 Negotiating a Prenup at a Restaurant 

24:33 Protecting What You Build During Marriage 

26:45 Raise Negotiation Role Play 

33:18 What NOT to Say When Asking for a Raise 

35:01 Questions Female Founders Get That Men Never Do 

38:20 The "Army of Help" and Financial Family Planning 

40:34 Raising Wealthy Kids Without Ruining Them 

43:59 Emma’s Early Hustle

46:00 Secure the Bag

53:15 What’s Next For Emma 

01:01:39 Emma Grede's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank