The Next Step: Adulting 101

Episode 21 of the Next Step podcast begins a three-part series on insurance basics with guest Steve, an “insurance guy” with nearly 20 years in the industry. The discussion explains why insurance feels like a “necessary evil” and traces its origins to ancient merchants spreading cargo risk, defining insurance as transferring risk to a larger pool. Key terms are clarified: premium, term, policy, claim/loss, and adjuster/adjustment. They stress the value of talking to an agent, gap insurance, rental/roadside coverage, and storm-related claims. 

Brittany Heard, a financial advisor at Foster Group in Des Moines, shares how a Public Relations (PR) degree led her from event planning to PR work and into insurance and finance, which she enjoys for its mix of relationship-building and analytical planning.
Nikki and Brittany discuss how digital banking has changed spending habits, the importance of budgeting from net pay, and how pay frequency affects monthly calculations. Brittany introduces a simple framework—“owe, grow, give, live”—to organize debt payments, saving/retirement, philanthropy, and living expenses, emphasizing budgets must be reviewed and adjusted.

Episode 19 of the Next Step podcast concludes a conversation with Ben Anderson of empeople Credit Union about maintaining and repairing credit scores, especially for college students. He discusses student loans as a long-term burden, recommending not sacrificing current financial stability to pay them off early. For monitoring, he suggests quarterly score updates from card issuers, reviewing reports with a banker when applying for loans, and using annualcreditreport.com for free reports. He strongly urges freezing credit with all three bureaus to prevent identity theft.

In Episode 18 of the Next Step podcast, Nikki welcomes Ben Anderson (“Bad Banker Ben”), with empeople Credit Union, to discuss credit scores. Ben explains why credit scores were created to replace biased lending decisions, tracing history from the origins in the 1950s to today. He explains that what counts as a “good” score shifts with economic conditions and details how credit scores affect approval, loan size, and interest rates alongside debt-to-income ratio. A bonus episode will cover student loans, repairing credit, and monitoring scores.

Episode 17 is the final installment in the Career Services series of the Next Step podcast, features a conversation with Matt and Sarah about career fairs and how students—especially those outside business majors—can prepare and benefit from them. They explain the purpose of career fairs and how to best utilize them. They note students often struggle to present, interview, and “sell” their skills, so practicing and projecting confidence matters (even “fake the smile”) and rewarding yourself afterward can help. They describe how Career Services builds employer relationships and supports internship programs, and encourage anxious, unprepared seniors to come in without shame because staff coach students toward next steps.
 
Buy the Next Step book here! 

The third of a four-part series with University of Northern Iowa Career Services professionals Sarah and Matt, explain how academic advising and career services collaborate to help students choose majors and connect them to realistic job opportunities. They emphasize that careers are often non-linear, students should focus on transferable skills. 94% of UNI students complete at least one internship or pre-professional experience, which builds competitiveness and confidence, and describes how student employment has been reframed as a professional-development pipeline using a unified job board and career competencies. They also discuss networking as existing relationships and shared communities, encouraging students to tell others their interests and leverage alumni and everyday connections.

On the Next Step podcast, Nikki continues a conversation with Matt and Sarah from the University of Northern Iowa Career Services Office about post-graduation support, cover letters, and interviewing. They explain that UNI typically provides services for one year after graduation, but their expertise is mainly for internships and first entry-level jobs. On cover letters, they note conflicting recruiter preferences and a general decline in use, yet recommend having a strong, adaptable letter and repurposing key content for application emails or LinkedIn. They discuss how interviewing has shifted to phone, Zoom, and recorded screenings, stressing preparation through knowing one’s strengths and having ready stories, and recognizing that interviewers may be untrained or disorganized. 

On the Next Step podcast, Nikki welcomes University of Northern Iowa Career Services staff Sarah Goblirsch and Matt Nuese to discuss how career services offices are named and structured across campuses, including centralized, decentralized, and hybrid models. They emphasize that career services are generally free for students and outline key resume support, from helping students build a first resume to polishing near-final drafts. They note common student mistakes such as underselling experiences, omitting significant paid or unpaid work, and listing vague duties instead of transferable skills, and they warn against overly formatted resume templates and overly generic advice from short-form sources. The episode is the first of a four-part series.

In Episode 13 of the Next Step podcast, Nikki encourages soon-to-be graduates to initiate “breaking up with your parents” conversations to align expectations after graduation, especially around finances, taxes, insurance, vehicles, cell phones, legal documents, and medical needs.  A printable cheat sheet is provided: Conversation Guide

In Episode 12 of the Next Step podcast, Nikki finishes a conversation with Tim Bakula, Director of Financial Aid at the University of Northern Iowa, about preparing to repay student loans after graduation. They emphasize that loan repayment and financial systems can be confusing even for educated adults, so graduates should take time to learn, ask questions, and use trusted sources such as their bank and loan servicer. Tim warns about scams and predatory consolidation offers, advising listeners not to click links or share personal information and to verify requests directly with known sources. They also note the importance of watching for the 1098-E form to report student-loan interest at tax time. Tim encourages graduates to set personal financial goals that balance repayment with saving, investing, and life plans, and urges students to make informed college and borrowing decisions by consulting financial aid offices.