Janet Berry-Johnson, CPA, CFEI

06/10/2026

This week's confession: "My accountant asked if I had any questions. I had seventeen. I said 'nope, I think I'm good!'"

The questions are still in there. Aging like fine wine.

Drop a 🙋‍♀️ if you've ever nodded confidently at a financial professional and understood maybe 40% of what they said.

06/09/2026

Are you ready to give ChatGPT access to your bank account?

OpenAI recently launched a personal finance experience that lets ChatGPT analyze your spending, track your net worth, and help you work toward financial goals using your real bank account data, connected through Plaid.

It's interesting technology. But it's also your most sensitive financial information sitting inside a public AI platform, and the data-sharing implications are still being figured out by both the industry and regulators.

A few things to know before you decide:

ChatGPT can read your account data, but can't move money or access your actual account numbers. You can disconnect accounts and request deletion at any time, but deletion takes up to 30 days. The terms you agree to today can change. And each time you link financial accounts anywhere, you're adding another point of potential vulnerability.

If you do connect your accounts, make sure you go into your ChatGPT settings and toggle off "Improve the model for everyone." That's the setting that allows OpenAI to use your data to train future AI models. It's on by default. Turn it off before you link anything.

For now, I recommend if you want to use AI to help you think through your finances without handing over direct account access, consider exporting the info to a spreadsheet, removing all account numbers and other sensitive information, and then giving that to AI. It's not as convenient, sure. But your bank account isn't a place to beta test.

06/08/2026

The IRS is hoping nobody notices. So let’s talk about it!

06/08/2026

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. If you’re caring for an aging parent with memory loss, you know Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect memory. It impacts every part of a person’s life and every decision a caregiver makes. From medical care to financial safety, it can feel like everything is suddenly on your shoulders.

This month is a reminder to:

- Learn the early signs of cognitive decline
- Start conversations about legal and financial planning now
- Put safeguards in place to prevent fraud and missed bills
- Take care of yourself along the way

Caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s is emotional, exhausting, and often overwhelming. You don’t have to do it all alone.

If you need help getting their finances organized or building a plan to keep them secure, I’m here.

06/05/2026

A new survey confirmed what a lot of Gen X women already know in their gut: we're more anxious about retirement than our parents were. Twice as anxious, actually.

And the women in that survey already had significant savings and a financial advisor. The anxiety runs deeper for women who are also managing aging parents, launching kids, and trying to figure out their own financial future at the same time.

Often, that anxiety stems from not having a plan for what you've saved. Saving money and having a plan for it are two different problems, and only one of them gets better by putting more money into your 401(k).

If you feel that low-grade dread but aren't sure why, send me a DM. We'll set up a free Q&A call to talk about it.

06/04/2026

What's the one financial task you've been avoiding for more than six months? Drop it below. No judgment. I've heard it all!

I'll go first: canceling my Massage Envy membership. I rarely take the time to go and those credits just keep accumulating!

06/04/2026

One of my Daily Money Manager clients is almost 90. She had a big career, managed her family's finances for decades, and still knows exactly what she has and where it is.

But over the years, the system got complicated. Her Social Security and pension income deposit into an account they don't use for bills. A small brokerage account holding a few shares her father left her is sentimental and not worth much, but generating tax documents she has to chase down every year. Transfers between financial institutions are more work than they should be.

It made sense when she set it up. But now it's all harder than it needs to be.

In my latest Substack post, I wrote about what this looks like up close, what it means for anyone helping an aging parent right now, and the small things you can do today so your own finances are legible to the people who will someday need to figure them out.

If you know someone who needs to read this, I'd love it if you shared it with them.

The financial complexity that feels like competence becomes someone else's problem later.

06/04/2026

With LendingTree – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉Fitting, since I've been writing for them for a decade!

06/03/2026

This week's confession: "I said 'I'll deal with that after the holidays' in January."

After the holidays. After tax season. After the kids are back in school. After things settle down.

Drop a 📅 if "after" keeps moving.

06/02/2026

The average credit card interest rate was 23.79%, according to LendingTree. To put that in perspective, a $5,000 balance at 20% interest with minimum payments that are 3% of your balance would take more than 23 years to pay off and cost over $9,300 in interest along the way.

Meanwhile, the stock market has returned around 10% annually over the long run. You simply can’t out-invest 20% interest. Paying off credit card debt is almost always the highest-return financial move available to you.