How to Money

Everybody has heard of a consumer advocate before- someone who helps to make sure that individuals are getting the best deal possible. Or to make sure that the quality of the products is up to snuff. For instance think of Consumer Reports and the countless reporting and tests they perform on the different items we use as consumers. But you likely haven’t heard of a ‘non-consumer advocate’ before and that’s who we’re talking with today; our friend Katy Wolk-Stanley! Katy’s site is TheNonConsumerAdvocate.com and she helps people learn to live on less, and to do so in a way that lessens their environmental impact. She’s an uber-frugalite who hardly ever buys anything new, and she uses that superpower to help others to live on as little income as possible. In this episode we discuss some of the different tactics that anyone can deploy: prioritizing lower tech solutions that last, how Katy easily fixes her broken household items, how minimalism and frugalism compliment each other, selling items on eBay, getting tax breaks for donating to Goodwill, and more! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Cloudscape IPA by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: entrepreneurship everywhere all at once, student loan drama, more paid apprenticeships, degrees overseas, soft skills supreme, proliferating perks of credit cards, gift cards galore, revenge spending, as well as rapidly rising car debt and delinquencies. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who is the greatest actor of all time? You might have an opinion- maybe it’s Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis, but this would likely lead to a pretty fierce debate. And the same could be said about athletes- who is the greatest? Is it Michael Jordan or Michael Phelps? Well it depends on who you’re asking because it’s in the eye of the beholder to a certain extent. We all want to know what sets the greatest in their given field apart from the ones who were just really good. Luckily the greatest investor conversation isn’t nearly as fraught. Warren Buffett is the GOAT in our eyes and we’re certainly not alone in that assumption. And it’s not only due to the returns he’s garnered- his longevity, consistency, and humility are admirable as well. So today we’re going to talk about the GOAT investor and what financial, and life lessons we can learn from him. How you should approach your investments, how long you should be holding them, and what you should be investing in are just a few questions we’ll answer today. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Blender Black-Ras by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - My family vacations are getting too expensive and I’m not sure I can attend- what should I do? 2 - As an 11 year old, how should I save or spend $2,000 that I have in my bank account? 3 - What is the most optimal way to make extra payments and pay off my mortgage early? 4 - Am I paying off my credit card too soon in order to receive the points and rewards? 5 - How much money do I need to have invested in order to retire? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Double Coud IPA by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: Google Lens to snag a deal, junking fees, reduced monthly insurance costs for FHA backed mortgages, costly casas due to low inventory, HGTVification of the housing market, renting on standby, the death of customer service, our favorite wireless provider takes home gold, the rise of 4-day workweeks, breaking the fever of workism, investing procrastination penalties, & screaming tooth fairy payouts. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cinderella is such an absurd story! Seriously, when you stop and think- it’s pretty messed up: a prince dances with a girl he’s never met before for one night, and then he sends his goons around town to find her so they can get married. There’s a reason you go on dates for at least a few weeks before proposing. You’ve gotta kick the tires and perform some due diligence! Similarly, you might be completely obsessed with the idea of early retirement upon first hearing about it. And articles out there on the web sure do make it sound enticing. And it might be the right move for some folks, but not before thinking it through on a bunch of fronts. So we’re going to offer our thoughts on how to decide if retiring sooner than your peers is a good goal. We’re going to tackle a number of questions both financial in nature (like sequence of returns risk and ‘one more year syndrome’) but also some personal questions as well (like hobbies and how you’ll spend your days), that’ll help you decide if early retirement is a goal worth pursuing. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Ferrous by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virtually all conventional wisdom points folks in the direction of paying off their debt. “Debt is dumb” is a line you’ll hear after listening to most personal finance podcasts for about 30 seconds. It's the mantra and driving force behind many money experts out there. But our guest today wants money savvy folks to take another look, and to reconsider debt. Tom Anderson is the author of the NYT best seller “The Value of Debt” and he has actually written multiple books on the different ways that we can utilize debt to build wealth. While most financial planning experts are only looking at debt as something to be eliminated, Tom advocates for the strategic use of debt. Listen as we discuss optimal debt ratios, the importance of liquidity, the psychological reality of debt, and plenty more on today’s episode! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Helles Lager by New Park Brewing- thanks, Matthieu!! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: a helpful Apple Card feature, apprenticeships that pay, prepping for student loans, Rivian bikes, e-bike rebates, expensive babysitters, end of life plans for your electronics, scammy high interest savings, erupting equity, & disappearing flexible spending dollars. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know something that we’re all currently doing? Breathing. It’s something we rarely actively think about, but it turns out that there are ways to improve our technique- by breathing through our nose instead of our mouths, or by taking deeper slower breaths. Well we’re talking about another basic subject today: buying groceries. This elementary practice seems simple on the surface, but just like breathing there are tactics that you can implement in order to save more money at the supermarket. The cost of food has always been a big deal as it’s typically our third largest expense. But it’s a bigger deal than ever with grocery prices up nearly 12% in December compared to a year ago. Inflation is making it more expensive to eat! Listen for how much you should be spending every month, our take on meal delivery services, and many other money saving tips that you can implement in order to butcher your grocery bill today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Darken by Upland Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - I took out personal loans to start a BTC mining business: should I use Roth contributions to pay them off? 2 - Should I pursue travel nursing in order to double my salary? 3 - As a teacher, can I afford to invest more aggressively since I have a pension? 4 - Investing via Acorns: smart move or should I consider other providers? 5 - What are some benefits or tax write-offs as we’ve started a new business? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Lindemans Framboise! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: newsletter referral program rewards and shoutouts, tax-free state relief payments, free money for home improvements, how to appeal your property tax assessment, the worst way to invest, using or losing your points, cheating charities, starving to save, sketchy retailer tactics, & the myth of the informed consumer. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cults are fascinating. The amount of gaslighting and denial of reality that takes place in order to perpetuate the movement is simply mind boggling. And one of the most interesting parts is to see interviews with the folks who finally got out. For years they couldn’t see clearly as they were essentially brainwashed, but now they look back on everything they experienced in a completely different light. When you’re in the midst of something so enveloping and all-consuming it can be difficult to know your right from your left, to know the difference between truth and lies. And similarly it can be difficult to discern the magnitude and scope of the impact of something like a global pandemic on our lives until some time has passed. But now that we had a few years between us and lockdowns, we wanted to discuss the specific ways in which Covid 19 has jolted personal finance and how we should respond to those changes. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Mango Funk Yoself by Meddlesome Brewing- thanks Ben & Rachael for donating this one to the podcast! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s more to successfully handling your money than just figuring out the financial nuts and bolts. Money has emotional and psychological components to it as well, which is at the core of what our guest today focuses on. We’re happy to be joined by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, who happens to be the first financial therapist in the state of Michigan. She is a social worker-turned-financial therapist. She’s also the author of the book, The Financial Anxiety Solution, which is a workbook to help folks stop stressing about money by applying therapy techniques to their relationship with money. We’re excited to talk about how having more knowledge may not be the solution to your financial woes, how procrastination and perfectionism are tied at the hip, the value of understanding your financial archetype, how to have productive money conversations with a partner, & much more today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Mexican Lager by High Cotton Brewing- thanks Ben & Rachael for donating this one to the podcast! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: newsletter referral program rewards and shoutouts, Netflix crackdown, movie theater priority seating, investing through a bear market, 401k raiders, ESG funds falling short, avoiding the officejet shakedown, big game gambling, Valentine’s Day outlay, financial infidelity, & reduced tax refunds. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato If you’ve been listening for any length of time you know that we like craft beer. But booze can be a polarizing subject. We’ve had emails from folks who say they like our show, but just can’t continue to listen because of our stance on alcohol. At least in some circles, beer can be polarizing and the same thing is true when it comes to the use of credit cards. There isn’t much logical, nuanced, or balanced conversation when it comes to credit cards- they’re either the greatest thing since sliced bread or they’ll ruin you overnight. But the reality is a bit more nuanced. Yes, there are certainly a number of downsides to using credit cards like paying interest and how they might encourage overspending which we’ll discuss today. We’ll also cover if we think using credit cards is ethical. But simultaneously you can’t deny the many benefits that come with responsible credit card use: the ability to help establish a solid credit score, the additional consumer protections they offer, the bountiful rewards, and much more. Plus we’ll explain a basic three card optimization strategy that will work for most folks- have a listen! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed The Judge by Memphis Made Brewing- thanks Ben & Rachael for donating this one to the podcast! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - How do I get my reluctant spouse on board with a plan to budget? 2 - What should I do with an old 529 Plan that I was planning on transferring to my kids? 3 - Am I being frugal or cheap by blending my beers myself at a local brewery in order to save? 4 - Should I max out my Roth IRA or my 403b if both are available options? 5 - Is it a good idea to be a landlord while living abroad? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Thyyk Hydra by Mortalis Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: where to find your missing money, Super Bowl investing indicators, frugal NFL’ers, celebrity crypto accountability, Madonna v. Munger, rich renters, spring housing market rebound, living paycheck to paycheck with 6 figures, avoiding pointless bank fees, poor credit = expensive insurance, & the empty promises of passive income. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We love nerdy board games! And one of the things that makes them fun, besides getting to play them with friends and family, is the competition for scarce resources. For instance with the Settlers of Catan, it takes a few rounds of play to get the resources you need to build the settlements, cities, and development cards that help you rack up victory points in Catan. It’s a classic that still holds up, and like most games it's all about tradeoffs. Should you focus on building a road or upgrading to a city? You can’t do it all and you can’t get everything you want all at once. And it turns out that our financial lives are kind of like a game of Catan as we’re always making tradeoffs as well- in particular when it comes to our expenses. We’re torn between the decision of spending big money on an item that we know is going to last, versus an inferior item that will get the job done- at least for a little while, before inevitably breaking. Today we talk about the pros and cons of planned obsolescence, the culture of disposability, the buy it for life movement, as well as changing the way we think to ensure that we’re allocating our dollars to maximize satisfaction! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Song of Winter by Hill Farmstead- a big thanks to Michael and Emily for sending this one our way! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone loves to travel! Who doesn’t enjoy exploring a new country, tasting new and interesting foods, diving into the history and culture of a new city? Or if you’re less adventurous, at the very least kicking back and living like a local might sound appealing to you. But the problem is that it’s too expensive to travel!... Or so you think. This is why we’re excited to have Elaine Glusac, who is also known as The Frugal Traveler over at the NYT, joining us on the podcast today. We’re going to discuss the tricks to book the most affordable flights, if it’s frugal or cheap to go with the discount airlines, Elaine’s favorite under the radar destinations, her advice for traveling with kids, and plenty more today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Society & Solitude #6 by Hill Farmstead- a big thanks to Michael and Emily for sending this one our way! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: saving $200 a month on car insurance, negotiating down major appliances, Prime prescriptions, financial planner predicaments, gold digging dinner dates, stellar customer service, living in a scamsters paradise, 72 minute daily commutes, & remote jobs on the decline. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Focusing only on cutting your expenses in order to invest more money, is just like only focusing on cutting out sweets in order to lose weight. It’s a great start, but there’s more to it than that! Because not only do you need to adjust how many calories you’re consuming everyday, but you’ll also need to address how many calories you’re burning- yes indeed, we’re talking about exercise! It takes a two pronged approach to see the most impactful change on your weight and overall health. And similarly it takes addressing both your expenses and your income in order to see the biggest changes when it comes to your personal finances. So during this episode we focus on why 2023 is the perfect time to boost your income, how to determine if you’re underpaid, the single factor that will lead to higher pay, assessing more than just your annual salary, and many more ways to maximize your income this year! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Painting Dreams Citra by Fidens Brewing- a big thanks to Michael and Emily for sending this one our way! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - How should my fiancé and I go about combining our bank accounts, credit cards, and investments? 2 - Should I stop contributing to my Roth IRA until I’m able to fully replenish my six month emergency fund? 3 - Are REITs inferior to investing in actual real estate? 4 - When should I consider opening a specific business checking account? 5 - Daycare and other kid expenses are quite large- what are some ways to cut those bills? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Jasper with Peacharine by Fidens Brewing- a big thanks to Michael and Emily for sending this one our way! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: the cheapest hot dog combo, tax season is upon us and where to file for free, tax loopholes or deductions, the total cost of being a ‘pet parent’, budgeting to maintain your home, smaller down payments on the rise, traffic is costing you real money, the solution to city congestion, shopper revolts, savers’ paradise, & boosting your income with higher wages. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sitting on your butt is killing you! According to the Heart Foundation, folks who sit the most are 90% more susceptible to dying from cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. And while taking a load off and having a seat isn’t going to immediately harm you, the accumulation of years and decades of a more sedentary lifestyle could lead to an earlier death! And we feel similarly when it comes to consumer debt. Paying a little interest this month isn’t going to completely wreck your financial future, but it’s a real problem if it becomes a permanent fixture in your life. Not to mention the fact that credit card interest rates are rising and millions of Americans made their holiday purchases with money they don’t have. Listen as we discuss the straightforward steps to create a foolproof plan, where we land on the debt snowball vs debt avalanche approach, as well as some additional helpful tips that will allow you to ditch debt for good. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Perpetual Composition by Southern Grist Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re going all-in today on budgeting with our special guest- Jesse Mecham! There are a number of folks listening who might recognize his name, but I’m guessing even more folks are familiar with the company he started in 2003 while he was still in college- You Need A Budget, or YNAB as it’s commonly known. Millions of individuals have used YNAB to get on a budget which has allowed them to achieve their life-changing financial goals- whether that’s simply paying off debt or the complicated endeavor of getting on the same page as their partner. Jesse has likely thought more about budgeting over the past 20 years than anyone else out there, so we’re excited to talk with him about all the things that he’s learned over the years. Listen as we discuss why you need a budget in the first place, Jesse’s 4 rules of budgeting, how often you should spend on your budget every month, as well as his approach to credit cards and debt. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed an Igneous IPA by Hutton & Smith! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: more potential student loan forgiveness on the horizon, egg fights in the aisles, cutting food waste, the high risk of single stock investing, doubling down on a down market, Disney in real life, & non-competes might be on the road to defeat. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you eat boiled buffalo testicles like they did on the old show Fear Factor? Or walk between two high-rises on a cable? Or allow tarantulas to be dumped on your face while strapped to a table? I’m guessing you’re not interested in doing this for funsies, but you might be singing a different tune iif a million bucks is on the line. And that’s because incentives change everything. When the rules of the game have changed, we need to adjust our behavior accordingly. And at the end of last year the SECURE Act 2.0 was signed into law which effectively changed the rules on a lot of the different retirement accounts that we have access to. There are many provisions in this Act that changed the incentives for how, when, and where we invest for the future. Roth, 529, and self employed retirement accounts were all impacted and so today we discuss many of the changes, and talk about what you should do during today’s episode. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed an Imperial Strawberry White Ale by Cascade Moon! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - I want to switch to an online bank but how do you go about depositing and withdrawing cash? 2 - Should I own my first investment property as an individual or as a business operating as an LLC? 3 - How important is the revenue credit that I receive from my target date fund in my 401k? 4 - Are I bonds still a good place to park money for my one-year-old? 5 - Do I have to pay taxes on income generated by a hobby? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a St. Bernardus Wit! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: setting financial goals, new 1099K forms delayed for a year, return windows for holiday gifts, WTD with unused gift cards, backbreaking car payments, minimal EV maintenance costs, popular sources for investing advice, stranded by Southwest, the temporary relief of mortgage rate buydowns, & home seller concessions on the rise. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Close your eyes and think back to high school. No matter if those were the best years of your life or if you were more of a wallflower, you were likely told that you needed to get good grades- but why? Was it because you knew that you needed a particular GPA in order to get into a specific school? Maybe, but a lot of high schoolers just know that it’s generally a good idea to get high marks because it’s going to give you more options down the road (not to mention personal development, growth, yada yada). And in the same way that not all students know exactly what college they’re going to attend, not everyone has figured out what their big financial goals are going to be this year. But it’s about moving in the right direction with your finances, getting that momentum started even if the end goal is subject to change. And developing the right financial habits will help you start moving in the right direction, even if you don’t know what your ultimate destination will be. That’s what we’re talking about today- the essential habits for financial success! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Liquid Hop Magma by Mutation Brewing- a big thanks to Jack and our friends there at the brewery! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re talking all about how we can make positive money changes in 2023! And we can think of no better guest to have on the show than Katy Milkman, author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Katy is a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she explores ways that insights from economics and psychology can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good, such as exercise and vaccination, but also behaviors like saving more money which is a topic we’re very interested in. She’s advised organizations ranging from the White House to 24 Hr Fitness, her op-eds appear in publications like the New York Times and the Economist, & we’re excited to be discussing making money changes that stick today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Hefeweiz Guy by Mutation Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During this special year-end Friday Flight, we’re discussing the major stories from the entire year and their impact on your personal finances! There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off 2023 informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain: the inescapable creep of higher prices, the impact of inflation on groceries, gas, and housing. The Fed’s response to those rising prices by raising interest rates and what that means for debtors and savers. The cratering of the stock market and the depths of the ‘crypto winter’. A red hot job market and how much more workers were able to make if they switched employers. Student loan borrowers and the whiplash they experienced as those loan payments are still on hold. The rise of ‘buy now pay later’ and how a seemingly silver lining has turned out to be a false promise. Plus a few lessons that hopefully we can all takeaway, regardless of where we are on our financial journey- it’s not all bad news! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Happy New Year- best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We hope that you’re having a wonderful holiday season. And if you celebrate Christmas, or any holiday that involves the exchange of gifts- isn’t it so much fun giving presents and seeing the faces of your loved ones light up? And while that might be the case on Christmas morning, it’s a different story later in the day for many adults and kiddos alike. There’s frequently a post present letdown that many of us experience. Either there was something we wanted that we didn’t get, or the gifts that we did receive aren’t quite as awesome as expected. They don’t make us happy and we easily fall into the trap of pursuing happiness in all the wrong ways. Of course on the surface this is something that you already know, but while many of us would say that we agree with this sentiment, we actually end up living our lives in contradictory ways. In this episode we detail some of the different ways that we’re chasing after happiness, but then we discuss two different types of happiness and how we can make sure that we’re pursuing the kind that will last. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Mile High Salute by Mutation Brewing- a big thanks to Jack and our friends there at the brewery! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - We’ve already purchased investment properties together- should we get a prenup before getting married? 2 - Should I skip Money Gear #1 in order to go ahead and get my 401k company match? 3 - Where can my teenager find the best interest rates on a savings account? 4 - Is Mainvest a good option if I want to invest in local small businesses? 5 - Are Treasuries a good option for short-term investing- for money I’ll need to pay for medical school? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a She’s My Berry Pie by Mutation Brewing- a big thanks to Jack and our friends there at the brewery! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: big bank blues, store brand surges, SECURE 2.0 leading to 401k changes, 529 plan grandparent loopholes and rollovers, inconvenient conveniences, o holy crap, inundated inboxes, & letdowns for landlords. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out, and Merry Christmas!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear about Matt’s new favorite holiday cocktail, and then for our Bestie Episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Meg Nordmann who is the author of “Have Yourself a Minimalist Christmas: Slow Down, Save Money, & Enjoy a More Intentional Holiday”. Being smack in the middle of the holidays, we can often find ourselves wondering where all of our time, and money is running off to- but Meg wants to change that with her approach to minimalism. Her book presents strategies to help us to resist the clever marketing and cultural expectations that this season often brings. We talk about Meg’s own history with consumption, the relatively new history of Santa, how she approaches gift giving with her children, convincing extended family to give fewer gifts, and how she creates a minimalist calendar around the holidays. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed an Empire of Eternal Nothingness by Burial! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you really know if you’re making the right decision? It’s difficult to know- especially when relationships and careers are on the line. And at a time when we might be experiencing one of the biggest shifts in work-life balance, it’s more important than ever to ensure that we’re making informed and thoughtful decisions. Enter Abby Davisson and the new book that she’s co-authored, Money & Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions. And in the book Abby lays out a framework to help empower folks to make the best strategic decisions without having to sacrifice their professional or personal lives. It’s the combination of the rational with the emotional as so many of the biggest decisions we’re faced with require both. Listen as Abby explains the 5 Cs method and we’ll dive into some of the practical, real-life examples that many of us are facing. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Narwhal 2022 by Sierra Nevada! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: SBFraudster, mortgage rates mellowing out, shopping around for your mortgage, cars that last, shop till you TikTok, brutal losses for retail traders, actively managed funds (under)performance, preparing for retirement at 25, & tricky tax forms. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s party! In what felt like a bummer of a financial year, it’s important to spend some time remembering the positives. We’ve experienced a market that hasn't been this bad for nearly 15 years, crypto is fully on the ropes, inflation is still problematic, and student loan forgiveness is in limbo like we talked about last week. But a massive number of How To Money listeners have, despite the economic headwinds of 2022, been able to make significant advances with their own personal finances. We love creating this episode, hearing what y’all have been able to accomplish, and sharing it with your fellow listeners. It’s inspiring and motivating. Y’all were able to do everything from decluttering and cutting back on regular expenses to massive goals like saving up for a down payment and even completely paying of mortgages! Hopefully we can all learn something from each other today and we’re also hoping that this episode might be the spark for some epic 2023 money moves. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Christmas Ale by St Bernardus! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - As I’m entering retirement, should I consider a financial advisor and how do I go about finding one? 2 - Why was I declined for a new credit card even though my score is over 800? 3 - What are some tips to keep me from busting my budget every single month? 4 - Should I consider financing a medical expense with a provider like CareCredit? 5 - Is an employer match worth it when a variable annuity is the only investment option? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a 2 Turtle Doves by The Bruery! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: the results of Matt’s Aldi vs Costco experiment, expensive real Christmas trees, plummeting savings rates, the $42 billion question, Robinhood recommending retirement, Roth coming out on top, ludicrous litigation, the cable comeback, illegitimate identity theft claims, a credit score that’s good enough, & keeping your energy bill low this winter. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Check out our first ever AMA: an ‘ask me anything’ where we focused on personal questions as opposed to personal finance related content! Typically we’re either interviewing someone in the personal finance space, answering listeners’ money questions, doing a deep dive on a particular topic, or covering the latest personal finance news- but we thought it’d be fun for y’all to get to know us more on a personal level. These are the kinds of topics you might hear us talking about if we were grabbing a bear at a local brewery! So have a listen as we answer questions having to do with how we met, how our faith impacts our finances, other careers we’ve considered, long-term fitness goals, the biggest decisions we’ve ever made, favorite bands or genres, finding work-life balance, where we want to travel, and more! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Double Top by Akademia Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How To Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re joined by student loan repayment expert, Meagan McGuire! I don’t think there is anyone else we know who understands the intricacies of student loans more than Meagan. She’s been in the finance industry for more than 13 years and she has the bragging rights of being the first Certified Student Loan Professional in the state of Georgia back when we met several years ago. And the timing couldn’t be better to have an in depth conversation with Meagan as there have been so many changes, new laws, and guidelines in the student loan space- where are things with forgiveness, or what is the current status of the payment pause? We’re lucky to have Meagan answer those questions, plus many more today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a N’Ice Chouffe by Brasserie d'Achouffe! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: $600 for 600 episodes, free Christmas decor, dumpster diving for Dior, sponsored results in your shopping cart, the rise of BNPL, new employee bonuses, degrees might be for dummies, tech company transgressions, your Benz is over a barrel, housing hellscapes, & smart HELOC use. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flexibility is a characteristic that will serve you well! This reminded Joel of his summer beach trip with his family to Tybee Island. Shortly after they left, there was a massive swarm of jellyfish that meant beachgoers couldn’t even get in the water. Lifeguards treated around 300 visitors for jellyfish stings in a single weekend. And while that would’ve been a bummer if you were wanting to spend some time in the ocean, it didn’t mean that you couldn’t have any fun in the sun. It just would’ve meant more time playing bocce or spikeball! And we believe the same is true when it comes to our money. Just like you might need to adapt your vacation plans if jellyfish have taken over the water, seeing the current trends can help us optimize our decisions and avoid unnecessary financial pain. And while it’s always good to strive for financial flexibility, we think this is even more important today given the incredible amount of change that we’ve seen impact markets over the past two years. So listen as we lay out some scenarios that highlight the benefits of flexibility, as well as practical steps that’ll allow you to achieve a higher degree of financial flexibility. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Six by Upright Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How To Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - Should I completely pay off my student loans or instead use my year-end bonus to invest in the stock market? 2 - Is it possible to get my personal, business, and kids accounts all with the same bank? 3 - What are the real differences between Verizon and Visible and should I switch to save? 4 - How can I protect my money when I pass the $250,000 FDIC limit? 5 - With the US dollar strong, it means my AU dollars I’m earning in Australia are taking a serious hit here in the US- how do I hedge my currency risk? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! Maximize your rewards by getting the best credit card for how you spend. Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Wednesday Cat by YO-HO Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: student loan pause extension, scammers targeting student loan holders, new guidelines for student loans in bankruptcy, EV reliability in the dumps, avoiding the new car depreciation hit, easily estimating the cost of healthcare, credit card balances on the rise, cards with the worst benefits, fewer folks unbanked, reaching your financial goals with CDs, & tighter lending standards making it difficult to move. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farming has to be one of the most difficult careers if our (lack of) success at gardening is any indicator. By no means are we farmers, but from what we do know about growing food, it’s important to periodically let your fields lie fallow. This allows the soil a chance to rest and restore some nutrient balance. It’s counterintuitive, it certainly feels like taking time off from growing crops is going to hurt your bottom line but it’s incredibly necessary for the long-term health of the soil, as well as the success of the farmer. And we think the same is true when it comes to giving our money away. It sure doesn’t sound like a vital ingredient in a wealth-building formula, but we think that it actually is. And when we constantly talk about the different ways that we can work to have more money- whether that’s through spending less or earning more, we think it’s important to hit pause to encourage folks to do the opposite. We truly do believe that by giving away our money- even by starting out with small amounts, that we’re going to end up better off in the end. Listen as we discuss why we believe this to be true, who should be donating their money, how much we should be giving away, and some practical tips to help you to part with more of your money! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Peach Cobbler American-Style Sour by Shades Brewing- thanks Andy for donating this one to the pod! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How To Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve listened to the show for more than a couple episodes then you know that we’re big fans of index funds. Specifically, low-cost widely diversified index funds are what the vast majority of our portfolios consist of. But how did index funds come to be? And sure, we’re all for them but what does everyone else say? That’s why we’re pumped to take a deep dive into index funds today with Robin Wigglesworth who is editor of Alphaville over at the Financial Times. Robin is a financial journalist and he’s also the author of the book “Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever.” Passive investing is something we take for granted- for us, index funds have always been an option but that wasn’t always the case. It was a heretical idea in the past, so we’re excited to get into the history of one of the most important modern-day investing innovations: who was responsible for their creation, why hedge funds still exist if index funds are the path to wealth, potential downsides to passive investing, & much more! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Kveik 1 Golden Sour Ale by Shades Brewing- thanks Andy for donating this one to the pod! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: higher fees for robo advisors, forgiveness freeze, DeFi debacle, cash stuffing to get ahead, sunsetting credit card benefits, college degree displeasure, streamlining college with direct admissions, states with the best 529 plans, and fine art vs the S&P. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.