The Stacking Benjamins Show

What if you could talk about inflation in a way that actually hit home? Today we'll do just that by diving into the cost of a brown bag lunch sandwich. What does a sandwich cost? How has the price changed over time? Len Penzo has been comparing the prices of brown bag sandwiches for twelve years, and for seven of those we've been tracking it on the show with him. Today's show is one long-time fans will know and love, and one that we hope our new listeners won't miss... it's our annual fan-favorite: the Len Penzo Sandwich Survey. How much has the cost of making classic sandwiches increased year over year? What sandwich gets you the most bite for your buck? We'll compare baloney, PB&J, turkey and swiss, the BLT, and more.Plus, is your neighborhood restaurant going to stay a little quieter for good? During our headlines segment of the show, we'll dive into a piece detailing how more than half of businesses that closed on Yelp during the pandemic are shutting their doors permanently. In our second piece, Jim from the Route to Retire blog has found his Panama retirement dream ending sooner than expected after the pandemic hit. What should you do if you find your retirement going off track during YEAR ONE?Later in the show, instead of answering a listener voicemail during the Haven Life Line, we'll use a blog piece covering what financial information you should have learned so far in 2020. This year has been full of lessons, and you'll want to make sure you haven't missed any.As always, we'll make sure and save some time for Doug's trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sure, financial planners work with people, but many only work with you ONCE you have your act together and you're ready to begin working on big-money problems. What do you do if you're just learning how to set up a budget, get out of credit card debt, or save systematically? Today we'll tackle all of that with Rebecca Wiggins, the executive director of the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education, on how financial coaches (not financial advisors...that's something else!) help people like you set up a better financial life.Plus, we don't know if you've looked lately at gold prices...but if not, BAM! It's through the roof. Should you buy some? In our headlines segment, we'll share a piece that Joe and OG just might agree with on the topic.... Also, LSU football star Joe Burrows has become a rich man after signing an NFL deal. However, this star says that he only plans to live off endorsements... and his dad says Joe can finally get out of his parent's basement. (Looks like Joe should have thought twice before signing a cash-packed contract). Is living in a basement bad? Should Burrows think twice before saving all that money? We'll have some answers and takeaways today.After we break for Doug's trivia today, we'll finish up the show with the Haven Life Line. When the wealthy in-laws want to help finance your new house, do you take their money? How can you accept large sums of money without big tax implications? Should you accept a 6-figure gift from parents? We'll cover it all for Jim, who wrote in with his VERY first-world dilemma.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ah, the simple life. With all of the chaos in the world, how do we get back to basics? Today our roundtable crew are going to help you reboot, rejuvenate, and revive your live with ideas from a recent blog post about 30 tips for simple living. We'll talk about everything from diet and exercise to reading more often. That'll help you focus better, feel stronger longer, and most importantly (for our show, anyway), Stack More Benjamins.Plus, during our Friday FinTech segment, we'll speak to Jesse Meacham, creator of You Need a Budget, or YNAB, as fans of the software call it. While you may be familiar with YNAB, have you heard the origin story of this groundbreaking system? Jesse will walk Joe through the early years and how YNAB works to help more people keep better track of their money.Of course, we'll still save time for Doug's amazing trivia. Would you like a sheet to begin working on our favorite tips? Joe's mom has made an accountability sheet! Just head to stackingbenjamins.com/simpleliving. That way you can get started on actually implementing what you heard! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you make the topic of money actually fun? That's the question the Singleton Foundation asked, and CEO Shelly Miles and Executive Producer Lisa Freberg join us today to explain how they pulled it off. They not only found talented creators to bring together a video channel that resembles Netflix for money nerds, but they also thought deeply about exactly how to turn each story into a longer discussion. Today we'll talk about how they've made money discussions compelling, fun, and best of all, habit-changing.Big news happened recently in mutual fund land. Vanguard is throwing in the towel on one of its products. Plus, as they attempt to tread water, colleges have turned to mass layoffs. What does that mean for the college experience? We'll share our thoughts.And in today's Haven Life Line call, Seth has some business debt to pay off. He'd expected to make enough money on the side to pay it off but that hasn't happened. So instead, he plans to use his W2 income to wipe it out. Should he approach it like regular debt and pay off the highest interest loans first?...and of course, we'll save time for some of Doug's "working like a dog" trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we focused too much on being liked? From the workplace to our personal lives, most of us don't want to be the person who rocks the boat. Go with the flow, right? Antarctic expedition leader Rachael Robertson says that approach to leadership (or even following) couldn't be more wrong. An honest - yes that means having tough conversations! - workplace is more constructive than an office focused on making sure everyone is getting along every day.Plus, remember the 401k article going around suggesting a 401k plan doesn't make much sense anymore for savers? Yeah... hope you didn't immediately pull out your entire retirement fund after reading that because we're covering that topic today and may have a different opinion.During the Haven Life Line, how can Shawn figure out the right allocation for his portfolio? Should he go 90% stock, even 100%? When it's time to retire, how does Shawn pull out his cash? He's in his early 50s and think he has enough Benjamins to retire soon.As always, we'll also make sure and save some time for Doug's trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Treat yo' self! It's a wonderful concept with one big downside: the phrase "treat yo' self" often means burning a big stack of cash on retail therapy. Don't get me - we're human, and we've all had those days ending with an oh-so-cathartic impulse buy of computer parts and beef jerky (too specific?). BUT self-care doesn't necessarily mean spending money. With a lack of Benjamins being one of the leading stressors among U.S. adults, taking control of your money can be one of the most effective self-care methods available. While it may not provide the instant dopamine-infused gratification jolt, becoming a master of your finances will hand you a more fulfilled life without snowballing debt, revolving credit, or phone calls from debt collectors. Being able to tap your card for the occasional splurge without worry about going into the red is nice, too.Have a garage full of tools or wondering how to finish your next project? After our discussion on self-care, we'll take a break from the roundtable while Joe rings up Stefan Cordova from borrowing site FriendWithA.com. If there's one feeling even more ubiquitous than impulse buying a soda in the check-out line, it's tearing into a new home project only to realize that you don't have the right tools to finish the job. Stefan's idea aims to solve that. Everyday people (yes, like you and me), can put stuff up for rent that other people may need, and the people in need get to rent what THEY need without paying sticker price for a one time project.After we finish up our interview with Stefan, we'll crank up the music during Doug's gameshow turned trivia segment, where this week we quiz our roundtable on Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson in celebration of his birthday next week. Just how many octaves does ole Bruce have in him? We'll then round out the show by asking our roundtable: what song best describes your financial life?Thank you to the awesome contributors who made today's roundtable happen! This week's contributors include Stephanie McCullough from Sofia Financial, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and OG from our very own podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Think it's impossible to make a million dollars working a blue-collar job? Millionaire and former ditch-digger Ken Rusk might have something to say about. For decades, the college experience has been pushed as THE prioritized option for high school graduates, but with the student debt crisis becoming worse year after year should you look elsewhere? Today, Ken Rusk will show you how forgoing the college route doesn't mean you're giving up your chance of financial independence...and it just might enhance it.It may only be Wednesday, but TGIF? Sofi is now offering an ETF that... wait for it... pays you every Friday. Sound familiar? You can check out our headlines from Monday's show if you're curious about what happened with two other investments promising some quick cash. Listen closely for just how much BIG money you'll receive every week in this new fund. Cha-ching.Plus, no Haven Life Line for today! Instead, Gertrude (from our Facebook Basement group) posed this question to our members: what's YOUR side hustle? We got a bunch of feedback and we can't cover everything, but we'll share a few of our favorite responses.Even with no voicemail, we'll always save time for some of Doug's trivia, who's going classic finance with today's question.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever thought, "Maybe I should be SPENDING more money?" Our guest today thinks that maybe you should re-examine how you're living. Bill Perkins, poker star and energy trader, says that investors have too much of their mindset set on the future, and not enough energy focused on the now of life. We'll discuss over-saving, being TOO frugal, and actually spending your money on today's episode.Plus, how does an ETF that literally pays YOU to invest not gain enough attention to take off? It turns out...that free might not actually mean better. Weird, huh? We'll cover what went wrong with this ETF and others like it, during today's headlines. In our second segment, we'll cover the results of a financial retirement report showing nearly half of all retirees have to make big spending cuts after 5 years. Here's a reminder: when you're planning for retirement, your cash has to last you through ALL of retirement.During the Haven Life Line we'll take a voicemail from Jenny, who wants to know the differences between a value fund and a growth fund. How can you tell one from another, and which is better? Should a portfolio include both funds for diversification? Are there different uses for each fund? Does the amount of time until retirement matter for picking a fund type?In the spirit of Bill Perkins, we'll also save some time for Doug's gambling-themed trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FIRE, FIRE, FIRE! While we'll never disparage the basic goals of the #FIRE movement: becoming financially secure and having the option to retire early, we still have to ask the question, "Is fully subscribing to FIRE lifestyle naive?" Are we putting too much emphasis on the "Retire Early," and too little on "Financial Independence"? We ask our contributors: is it time to put the fire out? Our awesome roundtable team today includes: Don McDonald from the Talking Real Money podcast, Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast, and our very own OG.Plus, are you wondering how to teach your kids about money? Do you know someone (maybe YOU) that needs foundational knowledge about how finances work? After our FIRE discussion we'll take a break from the roundtable to introduce the new Stacking Benjamins Money Club! Aaron Velky from Ortus Academy is our head instructor at the Money Club, and he joins us to share how it all works.When we swing things back around to our roundtable, we'll break out the results of our question to the parents in our audience: how are you with finances and your children? Do you open the whole book to your kids? Do you give them basic financial advice? We'll see what the parents had to say PLUS hear a thing or two from our roundtable with their personal strategies.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we focused on the wrong priorities when it comes to elder care? While physical care is important, should our healthcare focus change to put more consideration on the emotional needs of our elders? Today we welcome Anne Basting to learn about how her strategies have been changing the eldercare experience for both healthcare workers AND families. The results are amazing and the methods she recommends aren't only easy to implement, but they solve many issues in elder care as it's currently presented.Plus, looking for a safe place to save your money? During our headlines we'll share all the reasons why investors are mistakenly pulling their money out of American markets and placing it in the last place you'd probably imagine. In our second piece we'll dive into an article covering how Richard Branson moved past some of his failed businesses.During the Haven Life line we'll take a question from Adam, who is investing for his kid's college fund. The cash is currently in a target date fund, and Adam is looking for some advice on how he can pull the money out when it's time. OG gives some great advice here on how you can transition from an all-stock plan to a safe cash-fund all by the time the kids graduate high school.As always, we'll save some time for Doug's trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices