The Stacking Benjamins Show

What does it really mean to be poor? We're not talking about poverty...that's a whole different issue, when compared to one article we're discussing today, which covers the difference between people who are "poor" but own lots of stuff and people who are "rich" and own very little. What do we mean? We'll dive in to this topic today with our roundtable group of bloggers and podcasters, including Cody Berman, co-host of the FI Show; Len Penzo of LenPenzo.com; and from our own Stacking Benjamins podcast, OG. Plus, we'll take a call from Tyler, who has some stock market questions about 2019. Can the Magic 8 Ball possibly help him with his issue? And, if that isn't enough, we'll also answer a question from the mailbag!Halfway through the show we'll take a break and talk tax prep with Katherine Pomerantz of The Bookkeeping Artist. Katherine brings some great information on how to get your books organized for this year's tax season, and some advice that'll hopefully keep a bit of your hair on your head through April's filing season. ...and of course, we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to OnDeck for sponsoring the show. For a free consultation with one of their US-based loan specialists, go to OnDeck.com/SB.Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring the show. Start your two months of unlimited access to Skillshare by visiting SkillShare.com/SB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With all of the news dominated lately by the government shutdown and Washington politics, it's easy to focus on things outside of your control. But if you're going to become a millionaire, it's time today to refocus your energy on YOU and what you need to do personally to find your way toward financial success. The perfect person to talk to about personal responsibility comes down to the basement today, Chris Hogan. We'll dispel some of the myths around who's a millionaire and help you set up your plan of attack to join the ranks yourself....sooner rather than later.In today's headlines: will the government shutdown impact this year's tax return season? Even with a partial recall of IRS employees, there's still plenty of potential issues if the agency doesn't return to full strength. We'll discuss one piece today that takes a look at all the possible problems for individuals and businesses alike.Plus, we'll be throwing out the Haven Life Line to Matt, who is recently married. What are some resources available for newlyweds going through their first tax season? After that we'll take some time to answer a letter from Jon, who wonders if his wife should ditch her whole life policy for term life insurance, and invest the difference in a Roth.And don't worry... we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring the show. Start your two months of unlimited access to Skillshare by visiting SkillShare.com/SB.Thanks to OnDeck for sponsoring the show. For a free consultation with one of their US-based loan specialists, go to OnDeck.com/SB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're dedicating this episode to a very special guest: YOU. Our mailbag is overflowing, so today we realized it was time to devote a whole episode to answering your burning questions. Scott has cash left over after he pays bills and maxes out his regularly scheduled savings contributions... should he open up a Roth IRA? How should Laura prioritize her savings goals: pay down debt, add to retirement accounts, or build her emergency funds? Tyler has been recruited by his local Edward Jones agent. Should he begin his career with them?In our headlines segment, one recent piece asks the question, "Is your debt the driving factor behind your savings discussions?" We'll tackle why that's an issue, and how it can harm your long term plans. In our second headline we'll look at some changes coming this year to health savings accounts (HSAs).Later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to John, who wants to know how to invest his lump sum. Should he dollar cost average over the next year or dump his stash of money into his account at one time?And don't worry... we'll still take some time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins. MagnifyMoney.com saves users on average $450 when they compare, ditch, switch and save on credit cards, student loan refinancing, checking, savings and more. Check out MagnifyMoney.com for your savings.Thanks to Grammarly for supporting Stacking Benjamins. For 20% off a Grammarly premium account, go to Grammarly.com/sb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you put the brakes on spending so much money? ....... Our special guest today is Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, author of The Thirty Day Money Cleanse, and she's an expert in cleaning up your budget. We'll talk with her and our team about a recent Budgets Are Sexy blog post in which blogger J. Money lays out how he avoids spending money. What games do you play with yourself to distract yourself from spending money. Plus, two contributors you know and love, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and from Afford Anything, Paula Pant.Halfway through the roundtable we'll take a break for our Friday Fintech segment and talk to DeAnn O'Donovan from AHP Servicing. AHP Servicing is a company that's setting out to help people who are struggling with their mortgages find ways to stay in their homes.We'll also answer a MagnifyMoney.com question from Paul, who has the opportunity to buy shares of a new company. He's sure the price is going to jump up. Should he use he cash he has on hand to buy shares, or take out a loan to get even more shares?And of course, we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Masterworks for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Visit Masterworks.io and reserve your shares now. See disclaimer at Masterworks.io/disclaimer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could you go a few days without spending any money? A few weeks? How about a few months? Starving your wallet might be simpler than you've previously thought. Jen Smith, co-host of the Frugal Friends podcast, joins us today to talk about gifting yourself a "No Spend Challenge." How does it work? We'll cover her story of spending little to no money to cure her debt issues, and then how she refined the concept to create a plan worthy of talking about on our show and elsewhere!And in our headlines segment of the podcast, some great news! Long term care benefits have been added to the new crop of Medicare Advantage plans. We'll invite Danielle Kunkle Roberts from Boomer Benefits over so we can all learn more. Plus, we'll take a look at recent changes in the annuity industry. Annuity providers are making a combined effort to bring the industry into the 21st century to speed up the exchange process from months to a week. What does that mean for you? We'll dive in more during our headlines segment.Later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Sean, who's a minority stakeholder in a corporation. The majority stakeholder wants to buy him out... what questions should Sean be asking?And don't worry... we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Omax Health for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Visit TryOmax.com/sb for your free box of Omax3 Ultra-Pure with your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ever wonder how someone decides to aggressively attack a goal, like paying down your mortgage? Talaat McNeely and his spouse Tai decided to think HUGE thoughts when they set out to pay off their house in five years. They didn't know how they'd do it, but they set out anyway and took action, and ultimately accomplished their goal. Today Talaat will tell their family's fantastic story from start to finish. He'll share what they did well and also how they could have maybe paid the house off even faster. He'll share their feelings and emotions along the way that sometimes came near sabotaging their goal...and at other times that helped spur them on to victory.Plus, in our headlines segment, we'll detail a great list of questions you should ask a financial advisor. Do you have questions ready when you go in to see an advisor? We'll share some of our favorites before jumping over to our second headline: one California man learns ten million reasons why you shouldn't tell your roommates about hitting the jackpot... see where this is going? Yeah, it's a cautionary tale. Later on we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Colin, who wants to know our thoughts on target date funds. He's been dollar-cost averaging into a Vanguard target date retirement fund for the past 10 years. Should Colin change his investment strategy? What are out thoughts? We'll also get through TWO letters today. First, Shaun is a financial advisor and wants to know what type of data he should be presenting his clients. Next, will take on a letter from Christy, who writes in to address our answer to a letter asking about individual life insurance.And don't worry... we'll still take some time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Masterworks for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Visit Masterworks.io and reserve your shares now. See disclaimer at Masterworks.io/disclaimer.Thanks to Omax Health for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Visit Tryomax.com/sb for you free box of Omax3 Ultra-Pure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you spend too during the holiday season? Studies showed that many of us WAY overspent this year, to the tune of over $1,200 more spending than we could truly afford. Add that to the huge amount of debt people are already carrying, and this year's problem can easily become next year's problem. To help you wash away your debt problems, today we're talking to Nick Clements on the psychology behind debt management, and the many different ways you can get your year started on the right foot in our annual holiday debt cleanse episode.Plus, if you're looking to make some extra money on the side to pay down your holiday bills, we've got you covered. We're calling our old friend Harry Campbell, founder of The Rideshare Guy blog and podcast. He'll share lots of ways to help you quickly raise hundreds (and maybe thousands) of dollars. Later on we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Bryan, who took out a 401k loan to buy a rental property. Bryan has extra cash coming in and could pay off the loan pretty quickly. Should he do it? What would be the downsides of choosing to make minimum payments?And don't worry... we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring the show. Start your two months of unlimited access to Skillshare by visiting SkillShare.com/SB.Thanks to Slack for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this tumultuous market, how certain are you about your investment strategy? Larry Swedroe joins us today to talk retirement planning, but especially to talk about weathering the storm of risk and uncertainty in this market. We'll talk about what's normal for the market, why so many people fail, how an all-stock portfolio might or might not work for you, and more. Plus, in our headlines segment, lots of people moved their money to treasures to start 2019. Could this foreshadow upcoming negative market conditions this year? We'll share our feelings on today's podcast. Plus, one major publication piece shares how much money you should have in stocks at every age. Is this good advice, or could it be guiding people down the wrong path? We'll talk about appropriate investment advice for people who are far from retirement, middle aged, and nearing or in their retirement years. Later on we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Joseph and his wife. They're looking to get a home loan but don't really like their options. Could raising their credit score open up better choices for them? We're also answering a letter from Matt, who wants to know more about his 401k options: Roth, traditional, and after-tax. He's also using part of his 401k at a quasi-emergency fund. Is he setting himself up for failure?And don't worry... we'll still take some time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins. MagnifyMoney.com saves users on average $450 when they compare, ditch, switch and save on credit cards, student loan refinancing, checking, savings and more. Check out MagnifyMoney.com for your savings.Thanks to Slack for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's on tap for 2019? We don't know what you have planned personally, but we CAN tell you what our Magic 8 Ball says is going to happen. We'll ask it all the important questions, like, "What will the stock market do in 2019?" and "Will the price of oil be higher next year than now?" plus heavy hitters like, "Will Harry and Meghan have a boy?"...important stuff like that. But that's not all. We'll also share how the 8 Ball fared last year. Did it predict the future? In our Friday FinTech segment we'll talk to Sean Harper, CEO of Kin, an innovative company disrupting, of all things, homeowners insurance. We'll talk about some of the ideas that they're using to make homeowners insurance easier and more consumer friendly.We'll also take some time to answer our Magnify Money hotline. Laura has had to retire earlier than expected due to medical reasons. She wants to start a home business to create a new income stream started. Should she use some of her emergency savings, or maybe tap her IRA? And of course, we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring the show. Start your two months of unlimited access to Skillshare by visiting SkillShare.com/SB.Thanks to LinkedIn for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to LinkedIn.com/sb and get a $50 credit toward your first job post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do you want from 2019? How about becoming a badass? Our guest today says you're already a badass and just might not know it. Jen Sincero has written TWO New York Times bestsellers, but today she's here with us teaching you how to kick off a new year by bringing out the best in yourself and your wallet.Plus, in our headlines segment, why should employers be worried about employee financial stress? We'll tackle one article on the impact that financial stress has on employees while they're at the workplace. Plus, in our second headline, can advisors use behavioral science to guide their clients to making better financial choices?Later on we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Mike, who calls in to see what he can do to help his mom manage her portfolio.And don't worry... we'll still have time for Doug's trivia.Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring the show. Start your two months of unlimited access to Skillshare by visiting SkillShare.com/SB.Thanks to LinkedIn for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to LinkedIn.com/sb and get a $50 credit toward your first job post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.