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NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Is Your Portfolio Ready for Energy Price Swings? Plus, Tackling Debt on a High Income

Apr 16, 2026 · 48m

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On this episode

About this episode

Learn what rising oil prices mean for your investments and how to make savings work on a high income with heavy debt. How worried should you be about oil market swings? With global energy prices reacting to geopolitical conflict, senior news writer Anna Helhoski joins hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola to speak with NerdWallet investing writer Sam Taub about what rising crude oil means for your investments, which portfolio sectors are holding steady, and whether the current calm around a fragile ceasefire is masking deeper volatility ahead. Then, what do you do when a hard-earned PhD and a $168,000 salary still leave you feeling behind? A listener named Melise shares how decades…