302. Self-Directed IRAs: The Retirement Strategy Nobody Told You About with Kaaren Hall
The Game On Girlfriend Podcast
Release Date: 10/14/2025
The Game On Girlfriend Podcast
"Balance is a myth." It's one of the most repeated messages out there — and Dr. Anokhi Kapasi thinks it's doing women serious harm. In this episode of the Game On Girlfriend® podcast, I sit down with Dr. Anokhi Kapasi, founder of Solve for Mom and host of the Science Careers for Moms podcast. With a PhD in Molecular Pathology and 15 years of experience in scientific research and consulting, Anokhi built a six-step framework she called CLIP — Career Life Integration Protocol™ — to help women make clear, confident career decisions that actually fit their whole lives. We talk about why...
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Most of us aren't stuck. We're cluttered. That's one of the first things Diana Firth said in this conversation. Diana is an Intuitive Guide, Author, and Speaker, and one of my closest friends for over 25 years. She's also one of the clearest, most grounded people I know when it comes to helping people cut through the noise and actually hear themselves again. In this episode of the Game On Girlfriend® podcast, I sit down with Diana to talk about spiritual simplicity — what it really means, what spiritual clutter actually looks and feels like, and why the feeling of being stuck is almost...
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There's a moment Erin Bradley has never forgotten. It's July 2008. She's just ridden her bike five miles to meet a client — because she doesn't have gas money — and gotten there early so the sweat has time to dry. She steps up to the coffee counter. Her credit card gets declined for $2. She keeps her face completely neutral, tells him it's her debit card, and says she'll call the bank. He buys her coffee. She walks out mortified — and calls her dad. Her dad asked her one simple question: " Do you think you're going to be good at this someday?” She said yes. He said, "Then you do...
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Most women I know have asked some version of this question at some point in their primary relationship. And if you haven't, you almost certainly have a friend who has. In this episode, I sit down with Karyn Spetz — a licensed clinical social worker and certified relationship coach — to talk honestly about what's really happening beneath the 'should I stay or should I go?' question. Not the dramatic version. The quiet, lingering, exhausting version that a lot of women carry alone for way too long. This conversation isn't about pushing anyone to leave or convincing anyone to stay. It's about...
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Building a business from your story doesn't always start with a business plan. For Shelby Perry, it started with a snowboarding accident, months of surgeries, and a forced stillness that turned into the most productive season of her life. Shelby is the founder of Eyehesive — a global, women-led platform dedicated to empowering people living with one eye. After losing her right eye in a snowboarding accident, she built a community, launched a physical product line of sleek adhesive eye patches, and is now hosting a retreat in Tulum. She did all of this while navigating sobriety, surgeries,...
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Are online courses dead? It's the question everyone in the online business world has been asking — especially after some very big names stepped away from courses over the past couple of years. In this episode, I sit down with Jasmine Jonte — founder of CRE8TION and one of the sharpest minds in course creation — to talk about what's actually happening, what it means for the rest of us, and what it takes to build a course that delivers real results for students. Jasmine has built over 140 programs and 1,600+ lessons for clients. She started her career teaching kindergarten and first grade...
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You know that feeling when you're in the middle of something — a project, a launch, a life transition — and everything feels like pushing water uphill? Like nothing is working, nothing is moving, and you're the only one who can't seem to get it together? In this episode, I sit down with Amber Richardson — life coach, speaker, and author of Seasonal Syncing: A Woman's Guide to Harmony and Wholeness One Season at a Time — to talk about why that feeling isn't a sign that something is wrong with you. It's a sign that you might be fighting your season instead of working with it. Amber...
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There are three questions every human being is asking: Do you see me? Do you hear me? And do I matter? When the voice you're putting out into the world doesn't actually sound like you — when it's been sanded down into something professional and polished and unrecognizable — those three questions go unanswered for the very people you are trying to reach. In this episode, I sit down with Patricia Viscount — brand voice strategist, former Canadian Army Public Affairs Officer with NATO tours in Bosnia and Kosovo, and Communication Specialist in the international energy sector — to...
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Parenting. Just that one word is enough to make your shoulders tighten, isn’t it? In this episode, I sit down with Randi Crawford — certified life coach, speaker, author, and mom — to talk honestly about what it actually takes to raise kids who can handle life when you’re not there to fix it for them. Randi spent years coaching young women before she realized the real work needed to happen one generation up — with the moms. What she found, over and over, was that the struggle these girls were experiencing traced directly back to one thing: parents who loved their kids so much they...
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You did the hard part. You sorted through the closets, cleared out the garage, and made the piles. Now you are standing there looking at all of it, wondering what actually comes next. That is exactly the problem Jessica James built Madilyn James to solve. In this episode, I sit down with Jessica — serial entrepreneur, tech founder, and the woman behind a brand new e-commerce platform built specifically for people who want to sell secondhand items online without juggling multiple platforms, paying anything upfront, or figuring out a marketing strategy on top of everything else. Jessica walks...
info_outlineOnly 4% of people know about self-directed IRAs—accounts that let YOU control your retirement investments instead of a financial advisor.
Kaaren Hall, CEO of UDirect IRA Services, explains how your IRA can invest in real estate, private lending, local businesses, and things you actually believe in. For women entrepreneurs struggling to access capital, this $40 trillion pool of retirement money changes everything.
Learn what self-directed IRAs are, how to get started, and why this matters for your financial future.
Pop in those earphones. Let's talk retirement.
What You'll Learn
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What makes a self-directed IRA different from a "regular" retirement account
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Why only 4% of retirement funds are self-directed—and how you can join the movement
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How to invest in real estate, gold, crypto, and private deals tax-advantaged
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Where women entrepreneurs can find capital for their businesses
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Why legal compliance matters when raising funds—and how to do it right
Related Episodes You Might Love
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Ep. 95: When Your Life Falls Apart Because of Money (And Your Career Is Born) https://sarahwalton.com/michelle/
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Ep. 227: How to Clear a Money Fog with Mikelann Valterra https://sarahwalton.com/clear-money-fog/
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Ep. 109: Help! I'm Trapped In a Job I Hate! https://sarahwalton.com/trapped-job-i-hate/
Free gift from Kaaren Hall
Grab Kaaren's free report on self-directed IRA asset classes and start taking control of your retirement today! https://udirectira.com/free-report/
Connect with Kaaren Hall
About Kaaren Hall
Kaaren Hall is the founder and CEO of uDirect IRA Services, LLC, a leading provider of self-directed IRA accounts since 2009. With over two decades of experience in real estate, mortgage lending, and property management (and especially Self-Directed IRAs), Kaaren has empowered thousands of people to take control of their retirement funds and invest in alternative assets, such as real estate, private lending, precious metals, and more.
Her expertise in self-directed retirement accounts has made her a sought-after speaker, and she has been a featured panelist and presenter at industry-leading conferences, including BiggerPockets' BPCON22, 23 & 24.
Kaaren is also the founder of OCREIA (Orange County Real Estate Investors Association), where she fosters a vibrant community of real estate investors through education and networking since 2012.
Adding to her accolades, Kaaren is now the author of the newly published Self-Directed IRA Investing: A BiggerPockets Guide, the definitive resource for investors looking to unlock the power of self-directed IRAs to build wealth. Published by BiggerPockets Publishing, this comprehensive guide combines actionable insights, real-world examples, and Kaaren's extensive industry knowledge to help investors confidently navigate the world of self-directed retirement accounts.
Beyond her professional achievements, Kaaren's entrepreneurial journey has enabled her to support meaningful charitable giving and inspire others to take control of their financial futures. She also serves on the Board of Directors for The Council on Aging Southern California as well as the board for RITA (the Retirement Industry Trust Association), where she continues to advocate for transparency and education in the retirement industry.
Free gift from Sarah
Book a free 15-minute call to explore working together: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=13047670&appointmentType=34706781
Ready to shift from chasing to receiving in your business? Book your call with Sarah today and discover how The Abundance Academy can help you scale with soul, strategy, and sanity.
Want to go deeper?
Join us inside The Abundance Academy — where high-achieving, heart-led women scale their dreams without burning out. (link: https://sarahwalton.com/abundance-academy/)
Connect with Sarah
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Website: https://sarahwalton.com/
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahwalton/
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You can check out our podcast interviews on YouTube, too! http://bit.ly/YouTubeSWalton
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About Sarah Walton
Sarah Walton is a business coach specializing in helping women entrepreneurs overcome internal barriers to success. With a background in trauma-informed coaching and nervous system regulation, she takes a holistic approach that addresses both mindset and tactical business skills. Featured on The Today Show and speaking at women's conferences worldwide, Sarah has helped hundreds of women build profitable, sustainable businesses aligned with their values while healing the deeper blocks that keep them playing small. She's the creator of The Money Mindset Course, The Abundance Academy, and Effortless Sales, and the host of the 5-star-rated Game On Girlfriend® Podcast, becoming the go-to source for women who want to build businesses that honor both their ambition and their nervous system's need for safety.