Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Trading Options 101 with NFL Linebacker Turned Wall Street MVP Pete Najarian

Pete Najarian is an NFL linebacker turned successful options trader and today he joins Money Rehab to break down exactly what's happening in the markets right now, where the big opportunities are hiding, and how to read the signals that the pros don't talk about on TV. Then Pete walks Nicole through a complete options crash course: calls vs. puts, covered calls, naked positions, spreads, and how Warren Buffett secretly uses options to build his biggest positions. He even pulls up Nicole's actual options account live and breaks down what he sees. Then the conversation gets deeper. Pete opens up about losing his dream home, whether he’d run for governor of Minnesota, and the surprisingly simple investing philosophy that's driven all of his success. 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 Pete and learn more at Market Rebellion Here's what Nicole covers with Pete:  00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?  01:33 Nicole and Pete's History on the Chicago Trading Floor  03:13 Wolf of Wall Street Era  07:20 Where Pete Is Bullish Right Now 09:30 How to Read Unusual Options Activity (UOA)  11:17 Options 101: Calls, Puts, and Plain English Explanations  12:46 How to Use Options as Portfolio Insurance  16:17 How Warren Buffett Actually Uses Options  18:18 Creating Your Own Dividend Stream with Covered Calls 22:17 Pete Reviews Nicole's Options Account  23:40 Insider Trading and Options  26:12 Are Options Just Gambling?  34:18 Pete's Rules for Protecting Yourself  42:48 Secure the Bag 49:00 Pete on Politics and the Future of Investing in Sports  52:23 Pete Najarian's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Options trading involves additional risks and is not suitable for all investors. 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.

Are We in an AI Bubble? Here's the Honest Answer

Are we in an AI bubble? It's the trillion-dollar question — and depending on who you ask, you'll get completely opposite answers. Today, Nicole cuts through the noise and takes an honest look at what's actually happening inside the AI market right now. She breaks down why sky-high valuations on AI companies are giving investors serious dot com bubble déjà vu, the circular financing deals that are inflating demand, and why the fact that Nvidia drove roughly a fifth of the S&P 500's gains in 2025 should have every investor paying attention. But she also makes the case for why this moment is fundamentally different from 1999 and what that means for your portfolio. 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?  00:24 Both Sides of the AI Bubble Debate  00:44 How Much Money Is Actually Flowing Into AI  01:12 What Sky-High PE Ratios Really Mean  02:14 Dot Com Bubble Déjà Vu  03:32 Circular Financing 03:59 The Warren Buffett Market Indicator 04:19 What's Actually Different This Time  05:10 The Real Risks 05:36 Nicole's Honest Verdict  06:33 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.

The War in Iran Is Coming for Your Wallet

Over the weekend, the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, killing the Supreme Leader and triggering a wave of retaliatory missiles across the region. This is the biggest military escalation the Middle East has seen in a generation, and it's already moving markets. Today, Nicole traces the financial chain reaction from the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal all the way to Monday's market open, and breaks down exactly what this conflict means for your portfolio right now. Oil is surging, gold is spiking, defense stocks are climbing — and travel stocks are getting crushed. Nicole explains why markets recovered faster than expected, what the historical pattern tells us about what comes next, and the one scenario that should actually worry you. She also breaks down the specific assets that go up and the ones that go down when the US is in conflict in the Middle East and makes the case for why you don't have to play offense, but you absolutely need to know how to play defense. Here's what Nicole covers today:  00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?  00:16 How We Got Here  02:32 The Ceasefire That Didn't Hold  03:02 The Strait of Hormuz: The World's Most Critical Choke Point  03:46 Will This Be a Long War?  04:36 How This Hits Your Wallet:  08:09 Why Travel and Tourism Stocks Get Hit 09:26 The Historical Pattern Every Investor Should Know  10:20 The Risks That Could Change Everything  10:50 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.

Legendary Venture Capitalist Bill Gurley on the AI Bubble, Why IPOs Feel Rigged and How to Find Your Dream Job

Bill Gurley is a Wall Street and Silicon Valley legend. He’s the analyst who led the Amazon IPO and went on to become one of the most successful VCs of all time and an early investor in Uber, Zillow, and GrubHub. Today, he joins Nicole to answer the biggest questions on investors' minds right now. Bill doesn't mince words: yes, we're in an AI bubble— and he explains exactly why, from circular spending deals that smell like Enron to the speculative behavior that always follows a real wave of innovation. He breaks down why the IPO system is rigged against retail investors, what tokenization could do to fix it, and what a SpaceX IPO would actually mean for everyday investors. He also shares the one market sector he thinks is quietly becoming a buy, and the specific Chinese battery stock he personally owns. Then the conversation shifts to Bill's new book, Runnin’ Down a Dream, and his surprisingly personal framework for building a career you actually love. He shares the question he asked himself twice that changed the entire course of his life, his research on career regret, and why chasing passion is a competitive advantage. 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 Bill's book Runnin’ Down a Dream  Here's what Nicole covers with Bill:  00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?  01:12 SpaceX + xAI: What Elon's Deal Really Means  03:18 Why Retail Investors Keep Getting Shut Out of the Best Companies  05:55 The IPO System Is Rigged  08:36 Inside the Amazon IPO 10:40 Are We in an AI Bubble?  16:30 AI vs. the Dot-Com Bubble 21:15 Which AI Tools Bill Actually Uses  22:00 Bill's Take on AGI Hype  23:30 Where Bill Sees Opportunity Outside of Tech  27:30 The Chinese Battery Stock Bill Personally Owns  28:45 How to Evaluate Stock Options as an Employee  31:50 The Hidden Value of Joining a Fast-Growing Company  33:15 Buy Side vs. Sell Side Analysts  35:40 The Question That Changed Bill's Career Twice  38:00 Why Following Your Passion Is a Competitive Advantage  42:00 How Tito's Vodka Started with a Blank Sheet of Paper  45:20 Bill's Next Chapter: A Policy Institute  48:00 Nuclear Energy, Healthcare, and the Issues Bill Wants to Fix  51:06 Bill Gurley'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.

Trump Wants to Cap Credit Card Interest at 10%. Here's What That Actually Means for You.

President Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, and if you're one of the millions of Americans drowning in credit card debt, that sounds like a dream. But Nicole breaks down why this proposal might not be the hero story it seems, and what you should actually be doing right now while Washington debates. Nicole explains the real reason a rate cap could backfire, why people with lower credit scores could end up worse off, and the actionable moves you can make today (no legislation required). From the debt avalanche method to balance transfers, personal loans, and a surprisingly simple phone call that could save you thousands, this episode is your full playbook for escaping the high-interest debt trap. 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?  00:16 Trump's 10% Credit Card Rate Cap, Explained  01:17 Why This Isn't the Win It Sounds Like  02:10 Who Could Lose Access to Credit Entirely  02:52 The Payday Loan Trap Nobody's Talking About  03:12 What You Can Do Right Now  03:53 Know Your APR  04:31 The Debt Avalanche Method  05:09 Balance Transfer Cards and Consolidation Loans  06:27 How to Negotiate Your Interest Rate  07:01 Why Even $25 Extra a Month Matters  07:41 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.