The Stacking Benjamins Show

What does your financial dream house look like? Financial planner Greg Powell says that he always has trouble convincing people to complete a financial plan because it sounds like a ton of work. But a financial dream house? That’s a much easier sell, and he’s going to help you sell yourself on that concept in today’s episode. We’ll talk about where investments fit into the overall structure (not as far up the priority list as you’d think), how to work through building your “plans,” and then how to build a team that effectively helps you finally create the “structure” of the house.Happy Hump Day! We're keeping our rewind week going strong with today's show featuring our time with Greg Powell. We thought his unique approach to financial planning was interesting then, and we think it's interesting now. Also from our original show notes:On the Haven Life line, Garrett asks about company stock inside of his 401k. Should he dump it? If you have company stock inside of YOUR 401k, this’ll be helpful for you…and if you own LOTS of one company’s stock, you’ll also like this segment. We also answer a letter from Andrew, who wonders about his target date fund. As you know (if you’ve listened to us before), we’ve been pretty critical of target date funds. What is his next best move? Do YOU have a target date fund? Maybe today’s letter segment will help you, too!Of course we have Doug’s trivia, some bad jokes, and lots more…. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of us have been at home a lot more than normal, which led us to realize that this week may be high time for a discussion about "stuff." Too many of us have too much clutter. Clutter not just in our house, but in our minds, in our thoughts, and in our goals. That's why today's episode is super important to us.Happy rewind week! While Joe and OG are hanging up at the beach sipping mojitos (okay, maybe not really), I’m turning back the clock to visit some of our favorite past interviews. We're kicking this week off strong with one of our favorite interviews in the catalogue: Vicki Robin, author of bestselling book, Your Money or Your Life. You can read our original show notes below:Why are you saving money? How much joy are you receiving from that “stuff” you own? You may rethink your financial plan after today’s show, because our guest is the co-author of the HUGE bestselling book, Your Money or Your Life. Vicki Robin helped shape the financial independence/retire early movement, and she’s on her way down to the basement today to talk to us about re-examining your beliefs around your life and your money. Your money or your life, indeed.In our headlines segment we’ll talk about student loans with Robert Farrington from The College Investor. He’ll talk about how over 3,000 people just took part in an event to pay off a TON of student loan debt. We’ll share best practices, how best to apply to lower interest rates on your debt, and how to pay them down in a way that makes sense for your situation. We’ll also discuss the new SEC proposed fiduciary rule. Is THIS finally the rule we’ve been looking for? Will it replace the mostly knocked-down rule from the Department of Labor? We’ll review the rule and discuss what you need to know about it on today’s show. Plus, we throw out the Haven Life line to Karen, who’s contributing to a brand spankin’ new health savings account. How should she best use it? We’ll share how these plans work on today’s show. We’ll also answer another listener letter, throw out Doug’s trivia question, and watch him try to juggle….one ball.Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins as well. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big houses, fast cars, and flashy boats... are we all destined to hit the "what do I really want with life anyway" crisis? While everyone's therapy comes in different forms, does it have to mean burning obscene amounts of cash budgeted for things like, "life savings" just to reclaim your life? On today's show we'll share what YOU can do when you're second guessing your goals and your life's direction...so that you can keep the sportscar money in your pocket. Helping us out on the roundtable today is Kathe Kline, from the Rock Your Retirement podcast, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, and OG. Plus, we're helped today by our special celebrity reader: Tom Schwab, founder and CEO of Interview Valet. We're happy to have him reading our focus piece today!Curious about what your friends and other influential people you follow are investing in? After our discussion on making sure your mid-life crisis doesn't turn into a disaster, we'll ring up Katie Perry, VP of social investing platform Public.We'll round out the show with a question from Martin, who's interested in house hacking. Martin is 17 doesn't have much cash to throw around. He asks: what can he do to have his cash work for him? So far he's been reading up on stocks in the Motley Fool, but what else could he be doing?And of course with it being Friday... we'll make some time for Doug's game show.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it take to work as a Hollywood designer for major rock and roll bands? Lindsay Hearts started with a sewing machine at age 16, worked her way up to fashion week in New York, and finally decided it was time to make a move to reach her dream: creating a brand of her own in LA. She moved west with the goal of NOT working for someone else, but to build her own business. Today we'll hear her inspiring story, plus how she's helped out during the time of COVID, how she manages a team, and much more.While interest rates remain near all-time lows, the cost to actually refinance just got more expensive. We'll share that during our headlines segment, and also dive into the "fun" happening at Eastman Kodak. What does that have to do with your money? Maybe more than you think.Of course, we'll still throw out the Haven Life line AND we'll also share some of Doug's amazing trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles Duhigg is a guy who knows a lot about habits. His book on the topic was on the New York Times bestseller list forever, his second book is also a bestseller, and now he has a new podcast called "How To!" that talks about the habits needed to perform specific tasks. Want to be funnier? Lose weight? Get a promotion? He covers it. Today we cover HIM and the topic of habits on today's episode!Also today we ask the question, "How much skill is involved when a day trader wins?" Apparently, according to a recent piece, the statistics ain't good (as mom says). We'll cover that in our headlines segment, plus what Amazon plans to do with the huge stores left behind by Sears and JCPenny. Of course, they have plans...We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to Brock, who writes in with a dilemma on student loans. He's running low on funds to pay for college, but he has about $3,500 invested in the stock market. Should Brock take out subsidized loans, or cash in some of his investments? We'll share our answer with you AND him, AND save time for some of Doug's delicious trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re super happy to present to you this year’s Plutus Award finalists. There are 30 categories this year and you’ll hear ALL of the commentary about these awards plus the complete rundown.Joining us for the award presentation are Harlan Landes, creator of the Plutus Awards, and Miranda Marquit from Planting Money Seeds AND Plutus Awards director. For the commentary roundtable, we welcome the author of Mindful Millionaire, Leisa Peterson, the woman behind the Fioneers blog, Jess, and Mr. Do You Even Blog, Pete McPherson.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can you become better with money? The good news: it's simple! The bad news? Just like anything else it will require a bit of work. Lucky for you, we're covering some of our favorite exercises (call them whatever you want if the word "exercise" isn't doing it for you) to make you better with your money. On that note, we want to give a big thanks to Eric and Kali Roberge for today's piece! Eric wrote it on the Beyond Your Hammock blog, and Kali has so nicely agreed to be our celebrity reader. To tackle the topic, this week's roundtable guests include Natalie Torres-Haddad, author of Financially Savvy in 20 minutes, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and OG from our very own podcast.Taking vacation could be hard enough BEFORE most of us started to work from home. Either from company culture, a disorganized office, or simply grinding to pull ahead of the pack - there are a ton of reasons people don't feel comfortable asking for time off. Now you can add working from home and becoming virtually connected to the office all day to your list of problems. What's an employee to do? Helping us navigate the new waters is our (not so physically) near and dear friend, Suzanne Lucas from the Evil HR Lady blog.We'll finish the show with our MagnifyMoney segment. Kelvin calls in with what he admits is a great problem to have: him and his wife are set and well on the way to early retirement if they choose to do so. Now the problem... how in the world do they get out of the hustle and save mindset? Once someone "makes" it, how do they start enjoying their money?Of course, halfway through the show we'll carve out some time for Doug's game show trivia.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looking to save more cash, but don't know where to look? Today we welcome Dan Ariely, Chief Behavioral Economist with Qapital, and professor and expert on psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. According to Dan, the best strategy may not necessarily be about adding more cash to your bottom line but reprioritizing the money you already have. Instead of trying to out-earn your spending habits, realign your focus to make the cash you earn go further for you each week.Plus, every week it seems like another online bank cuts their rate and super-savers are upset at the loss of "free cash." During our headlines, we'll discuss why recent rate drops shouldn't be the end of the world AND we'll also cover the reasons behind a recent surge in new accounts with robo-advisors.When it comes to saving your cash, should you stack more Benjamins in your wedding fund or your IRA? Our anonymous caller lets us know that he's putting away $1000 a month for his wedding, but only $500 into his Roth. He won't have any extra cash available when he becomes eligible to contribute to his 401k. Our caller asks: should he pull back on his wedding savings?Of course, we'll save some time for Doug's trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk often on the show about growth-oriented investments, but what if you wanted higher income-paying tools for your portfolio? Will Rhind, CEO of GraniteShares, is a guy who knows income, his HIPS ETF is specifically engineered to create high income streams. Today we'll talk with Will about many of the different types of investments that go into his ETF. We'll dive into how they work, what could make income streams expand and contract, and also what could make an income-producing portfolio volatile. Also, because his background is also in commodities, we'll ask him about gold in a portfolio and his view of current markets.Plus, have you been giving out your social security number in exchange for free cruise trips? Admittedly that may not seem like such an attractive offer in the current environment, but non-cruise related financial scams are on the rise. From pyramid schemes to nefarious bank activity, you'll find yourself double-checking you finances after listening to today's headlines.During our Haven Life Line we'll answer a question from Derek, who is wondering if he should switch to his company's workplace health plan. He says the workplace health insurance seems worse than what he already has. Is there any reason to switch? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's a shock (or not....): LOTS of people are feeling stress right now - so if you're feeling overwhelmed, you aren't alone. Admittedly there aren't answers for everything, but that doesn't mean it's time to throw priorities, goals, and self-care out the window. In the words of Lin Manuel's Arron Burr: "I am the one thing in life I can control." (Thanks J.D. Roth, for reminding me there's a Hamilton line for everything!) During today's show, we'll ask our roundtable: when life becomes stressful, what's your emergency plan to take back the reins? How do you get life back on track? A big thanks to our contributors today: CFP Katie Brewer from Your Richest Life, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast. Another special thanks to today's celebrity reader: Jason Vitug. You can find more from Jason at his site JasonVitug.comHalfway through the show we'll give our roundtable a break while Joe rings up Kelly Lannan, VP of Young Investors at Fidelity. The financial company has released a new investing app, Fidelity Inspire, and is designed to help young adults plan, save, and invest for their financial goals. We'll dive into all the different offerings and features the app brings during our interview with Kelly.After our fintech segment we'll keep Doug's Friday gameshow going strong. Tune in to see who wins it this week!We'll finish off today's show with an all-too real question posed to Peter Dunn: when your adult kid is laid off and needs help paying the bills, what do you do? We'll ask our roundtable for their take before rolling the end credits.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices