Radical Personal Finance

I spend a lot of time talking to people about their goals. But I notice that many times people confuse their goals and the means to the goals. This could be a serious setback to your plans. You might spend years chasing a goal that really isn't the true goal. Get clear! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Student loans are a way of life for much of the US American population. Often considered to be "good debt" because the college degree can lead to higher earnings, they are, nevertheless, still debt. And they're debt that must be dealt with! My guest today is Jay Fleischman. Jay is a bankruptcy attorney who specializes in handling student loan issues. He's a world-class expert in this space. You're going to love listening to this show. I took pages of notes during our conversation and I recommend you do to. We cover: Strategies for dealing with loans that will give you total flexibility with your repayment plans. What to do if you're in default on a loan. Whether it's possible to get out of a student loan with bankruptcy. And more! Enjoy! Joshua Jay's student loan podcast: http://www.studentloanshow.com/ Jay's law firm website: http://www.consumerhelpcentral.com/ If you're interested in refinancing your student loans, use this referral link to support RPF:https://www.sofi.com/refer/4/35193 Check out http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/studentloans for a discussion of refinancing options Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today I'm pleased to share with you an interview with Lauren Bowling from LBeeAndTheMoneyTree.com! Lauren has a really interesting story surrounding personal finance: After getting her degree in theater, and racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt in college, she moved to New York City with $300 in her pocket. While there she landed a sweet job on Wall Street which sparked her interest in personal finance and helped her kick her bad money habits for good. Three years, three cities, one home purchase, and nearly 2,000 blog posts later, Bowling is an expert at mastering tricky post-college finances. In addition to blogging on L Bee and the Money Tree (LBMT), Bowling is the host of the award-winning internet talk show, Awkward Money Chat. Bowling’s writing has been seen on Business Insider, Forbes.com, Learnvest, Yahoo! Finance, and The Huffington Post. As a source, Lauren’s expertise has also been featured in such notable publications as Redbook Magazine, HGTV Frontdoor.com, and Daily Worth (See here for the full list.) She spends her free time renovating her first home, enjoying good wine while avoiding the kitchen, and “killing it” at karaoke. She’s even been known to act in a musical or two. By day Bowling works full time in marketing and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Enjoy the show! Joshua Lauren's website: http://www.lbeeandthemoneytree.com/ If you'd like to attend FinCon and meet Lauren in person, please buy your tickets here: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/fincon Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Hey Radicals! Just a quick announcement show for you--our little baby girl was born early Friday morning. Baby and momma are both doing great and we are enjoying transitioning to our larger family! We're super thankful and beyond excited that she is here. I also thought it would be fun to invite my wife to chat a little bit about her childbirth experience. This isn't related to personal finance--it's just related to the RPF life! If you'd like to hear some of her comments on how we prepared for childbirth, check out the show! Rejoice with us! Joshua & Tiffany p.s., if you'd like to see pictures, please feel free to connect with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshuasheats

One of the most fundamental transformations of our modern time is taking place in the field of communication. Although it might feel like we're far into this change, we're really not. It's only just begun One of the most important effects of this change is that very small businesses--like financial advisors--can effectively market to the broader market at a very low cost. My guest today is an expert in this field. Bill Winterberg is the founder of FPPad.com. Bill founded FPPad in 2008 to be a leading source of news, insight, and thought leadership in financial planning technology. Bill has successfully leveraged his experience in the financial industry and his applied knowledge in medial creation to build a neat consulting and speaking business for himself. Pay special attention to the content of this interview if you're involved in the financial services industry. But also pay careful attention to this interview if you are involved in any business or industry! These trends are affecting you. Enjoy! Joshua Links: Bill's website: http://fppad.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Our value and contribution in this world will be directly impacted by the level of our education. It's impossible to create more value without more education. (Yes, there are many kinds of education. I'm using the word inclusively.) But, under what system and whose goals have we been educated? Unfortunately, many of us have been educated under a system that promotes someone else's goals over our own. Too few of us know how to sit down and design an educational path that will take us closer to our goals. In today's show, I share with you a number of important ideas including: The centrality of your goals in an educational plan. The connection between goals, study, and action. The costs of education in both money and time. The continuum of education from personal to impersonal and from sychronous to asynchronous. Benefits and drawbacks of different ways of acquiring education. About somoene has written 16.8 books per year over the course of a 60-year career! Enjoy the show! Joshua If you enjoy today's show, please: Share the show with a friend. Leave a review and rating in the podcast directory where you find the show. Support the show on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I welcome Doug Nordman back to the show! Doug is an early retiree (he retired at 41) and his hobby is helping other military personnel improve their financial lives. One of the more interesting aspects of Doug's financial life is his involvement in private business as an angel investor. He's not only involved with the community of investors near him in Hawaii, he's also committed a substantial amount of his savings toward his investments. In this interview you'll learn: Why Doug invests his money in private companies even though the majority of his investments are held in mutual funds. How much money he has made and how many of his investments have gone bust! How to get involved as an angel investor yourself! You'll also learn how to make the decision of rent vs. buy when considering where to live. Enjoy! Joshua Links: Doug's finance website: http://the-military-guide.com/ Doug's book recommendations: The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By by Scott Shane Angel Investing: Matching Startup Funds with Startup Companies--The Guide for Entrepreneurs and Individual Investors by Robert Robinson and Mark Van Osnabrugge Fool's Gold?: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America by Scott Shane Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron Support Radical Personal Finance by using our Amazon affiliate link: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/amazon

Many people would like to earn more money. But, few people know how to actually look at their situation to assess their opportunities to actually do so. In today's show I share with you the framework that I use to think about money. It's simple but effective. And, most importantly, it's exclusively focused on the things you can actually do and change. It's practical and immediately actionable. Listen to the show to hear: The only three variables that affect how much money you earn in a free market economy. Which variables have the most impact in the short term and which have the most impact in the long term. How to assess your personal situation to decide where to focus your efforts. Enjoy! Joshua Links: Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron Consider attending FinCon15! Buy your tickets here! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/fincon

Hey amigos! Today is my 30th birthday! I'm having an incredible day celebrating with my family and friends.30 is a big milestone for me. I've been reflecting deeply on the last decade and looking forward to the next decade.I thought about creating a "30 Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Living" for you, but I decided to simply share one of my favorite messages with you instead. This audio is a short clip from a Jim Rohn speech. I keep it on my desktop and listen to it at least a couple of times per week. This is the succinct message that I would like to share with you to celebrate my birthday. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Talk soon, Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://patreon.com/radicalpersonalfinance

Hey Radicals! Just a quick announcement episode to share that the show will be taking a quick summer break for a few days. I have some show-related work to handle and I can't get it done and still continue producing content this week. Also, please expect the shows to be slighly more sporadic during the month of June...details in the audio! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron Get your tickets for FinCon15 with my affiliate link here: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/fincon Details on the FinCon Expro are here: http://finconexpo.com/

Q&A today and I handle these four questions! Does tax-loss harvesting really offer the kind of benefit that companies like Wealthfront, Betterment, Personal Capital, et al claim? And can a person do it on their own without relying on a firm to do it for them? Thought you should know something I recently found out. California child labor laws no longer apply once you have graduated from high school. In addition, California has a method to graduate by exam (similar to a GED, but GEDs are only available to those 18 or older). The high school proficiency exam (which is easy) can be taken by anyone who is 16 or older or who has completed 10th grade or will have completed 10th grade by the end of the academic year in which they take the test. My son, who is 15 1/2 and in 10th grade, took the exam and passed it. Nothing prevents him from continuing on in high school, but he's no longer subject to child labor laws. He's seriously considering switching to community college in September, doing that for 2 years, and then transferring to a University of California campus to finish off his college. That'd get him a solid college degree by the time he's 19. During that entire time, he'd be eligible to work whatever hours he wants. Another option we're considering is self-study (with my help; I used to be a Computer Science professor), taking a bunch of AP exams, and then entering UC at age 18 with at least one year (and possibly more) of credits. Joshua, Can you weigh in on your thought about being an accredited investor and the legal limitations around it? As I understand it, I do not qualify as an accredited investor. And certain investments cannot be invested in by those who are not accredited. however, apparently the rules were supposed to have changed to allow people to make investments of these kinds without the government saying that I have to make X amount or have X amounts of savings. but, as I learned by listening to the podcast Startup (episode 7) by alex blumberg, these rules have changed with the JOBS ACT, but the FCC has been sitting on the ruling and is way overdue for implementing it so that someone like me can invest in these previously off limits investments without being told that we can't. That episode of startup really explained a lot to me, because I had wanted to invest a large amount with alex after listening to the very first episode of startup (i assumed he would be very successful because I've loved his stuff for years and he's leveraging some seriously big friends for his new venture), but I couldn't invest in something I really thought was going to be a huge success (or at least provide me with good cashflow) because of these rules. I'm also about curious why these rules exist. Were they implimented to protect people from being scammed out of their money? Joshua, As a young engineer, who is single, making a salary of over $80,000 in Texas (no state income tax): Should I max out my 401k if my goal is to become very wealthy, before age 40? Or, should I invest some in my 401k and invest the rest in REITs/other, more risky assets. Of course, along the way, I will be very frugal, and live way below my means. Thank you, love the show. Enjoy the show! Joshua Evaluating The Tax Deferral And Tax Bracket Arbitrage Benefits Of Tax Loss Harvesting by Michael Kitces: https://www.kitces.com/blog/evaluating-the-tax-deferral-and-tax-bracket-arbitrage-benefits-of-tax-loss-harvesting/ Wealthfront Tax-Loss Harvesting White Paper: https://research.wealthfront.com/whitepapers/tax-loss-harvesting/#14-comparison_of_daily_vs_one_time_i_e_end_of_year_tax_loss_harvesting Betterment's White Paper: Tax Loss Harvesting+™: https://www.betterment.com/resources/research/tax-loss-harvesting-white-paper/ The Tax Harvesting Mirage by Michael Edesess: http://www.advisorperspectives.com/newsletters14/The_Tax_Harvesting_Mirage.php The Tax Harvesting Oasis: A Response to Michael Edesess by Daniel Egan and Boris Khentov: http://www.advisorperspectives.com/newsletters14/The_Tax_Harvesting_Oasis.php The Tax Harvesting Water Hole by Michael Edesess: http://www.advisorperspectives.com/newsletters14/The_Tax_Harvesting_Water_Hole.php Accredited Investor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_investor Fixed Fortunes Article: http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/11/17/fixed-fortunes-biggest-corporate-political-interests-spend-billions-get-trillions/ Why the "Accredited Investor" Standard Fails the Average Investor: http://www.bu.edu/rbfl/files/2013/09/AccreditedInvestorStandardFails.pdf Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

One of my goals for Radical Personal Finance is to bring more transparency to the world of professional finance. Today, I'm glad to shine the light on the life insurance industry. I've invited a friend of mine onto the show to discuss his 30-year career as a life insurance broker. Todd Simpson CLU®, ChFC® is a veteran of the life insurance business. His specialty is high-risk underwriting, so he brings not only a long career's worth of experience but also a unique perspective to the difficult-to-place cases. I think you'll really enjoy this conversation. We cover: The incredible changes that have occurred in life insurance product design over the last 30 years. The most common medical problems that cause problems with life insurance underwriting. The impact of drugs and drug use on your ability to get a life insurance policy. And more! Enjoy the show, Joshua Todd's firm and website: http://www.thestammagency.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Many of find ourselves in a situation where we are concerned about the financial well-being of our parents. Obviously, we'd like to help, if possible. But, this is rarely easy. There are many, many challenges that can emerge. In essence, to truly answer these questions you'd not only have to have all of the skills of a financial planner, but also the background of a relationship counselor, a life coach, and more! It ain't easy! I created this show as an overview of ideas that may be able to help you get involved and to help your parents. Some of the ideas are technical financial suggestions, others are more practical and relationship-oriented. The show is structured around: Ideas to help create a great life of good health. Ideas to help in case of the need for long-term care. Ideas to help plan your parents' estate to make the estate settlement process smoother. I hope it's useful to you! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

My guest today is a author named Matthew Bracken. Matthew is a sailor, writer, and former Navy Seal. He's the author of four novels (all of which I've thoroughly enjoyed.) Most importantly for our purposes, he is an expert on the topic of achieving a lifestyle of freedom through sailing. He wrote an excellent essay called "Get Yourself a 30-Footer and Go!" which advocates a quick entry into the sailing world as a way to build economic opportunity for yourself. During the course of the interview, we cover three primary topics: How to go about getting started in sailing and how quickly it's possible to achieve a lifestyle of freedom. Matt's experience establishing himself as an independent, self-published novelist in the semi-dystopian genre. The potential impact of societal changes and how to prepare for them. Enjoy the show! Joshua Links: Get Yourself a 30-Footer and Go! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3095240/posts Information about Matt's novels: http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/index.php?page=books Huge Excerpts (free) from Matt's novels: http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/index.php?page=excerpts The Last Valley on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-dItSpmQtlE Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Q&A show today and I answer these two questions for you: Joshua, My parents just moved to Florida last year and got wooed by an advisor that bought them dinner, gave them a free round of golf, etc. and now they're in an annuity and I can't figure out how badly they are getting screwed (not because there's anything inherently wrong with annuities but because the advisor is sadly not a fee-only advisor so I imagine he's taking a big cut of the action). I'm trying to convince them to find a good fee-only advisor to help them get set up for retirement but I'm not sure how to go about finding a good one. Thanks for the help! Joshua, I can't thank you enough for starting Radical Personal Finance; been a fan since you did the interview with Jacob Fisker :) I have learnt so much from you and others in the personal finance community - I'm unable to quantify with an exact figure yet, but I know it's going to compound to a huge amount (possibly millions?) over my lifetime. This morning I just signed up via Patreon to support your show. It's a small amount, but one important thing I've learnt on my PF journey is learning to pay for value rather than simply focusing on cost. I have a question which relates to the investment part of building wealth. How should I invest an idle USD$20,000 that's sitting around in my savings account for maximum returns? I feel I'm sufficiently exposed to the stock market at this stage and diversified enough within and outside the publicly traded securities realm. I don't want to pour money into publicly traded stocks as due to mean reversion, future returns tend to be lower when markets are at highs. Please feel free to suggest the most radical ideas you have - that's why I love the show! Some background on myself: I'm 28 years old living in Singapore. My marginal tax rate is 7% but we are forced to contribute 20% to our own tax-free housing/medical/retirement accounts. Annual take home salary (post taxes and retirement etc contributions) is about USD$50,000. Invested USD$60,000 in semi diversified stocks, ETFs and REITs. USD$20,000 in alternative non-publicly traded investments. Have 6 months emergency fund. Have a 30 year level term insurance for USD $400,000. Time horizon: >20 years. I consider myself an aggressive investor willing to take large risk on small sums of money for the potential return, if the mathematics are in my favor (eg NO lotteries, YES to EM stocks). I know it's hard to provide investment suggestions without knowing the nuances of each individual situation. Right off the bat I know I should be focusing on: increasing my salary/earning potential and starting a side business. Should I be getting more insurance coverage? Should I be maxing out retirement accounts when my marginal tax rate is only 7%? Is there anything else I'm missing? As a goal oriented person (and my goal is to reach FI fast!), I can't stand the fact that my money is idling in my savings account earning a negative real rate of return. Keep doing great work! Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

From time to time, I receive questions from listeners about the equipment that I use to produce my show. I also get questions about the mistakes I've made and what I would do differently if I were to do it over again. Today, I share the workflow that I use to create my show and some of the lessons I've learned in 200 episodes of podcasting. This show does not contain any specific financial planning or personal finance content. It does include a discussion of my thought process in creating the show and how I selected my Unique Selling Proposition for the show. Resources mentioned: I use a Heil PR-40 Dynamic microphone. If I were to do it over again, I would simply use an Audio-Technica ATR2100 Dynamic microphone. I use a Behringer mixer and a Roland R-05 audio recorder. If I were to do it over again, I would buy the Zoom H6 audio recorder. I also have two Shure SM7B Dynamic microphones for my mobile interview kit. Cliff Ravenscraft's podcast workflow. Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patren! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, we continue the life insurance series with the valuable background of whole life insurance. Exciting stuff! This show is an introduction to the various product features and design ideas. We cover: Ordinary life insurance Limited pay life insurance Cash values Policy loans Nonforfeiture or Surrender Options: Surrender for cash value Reduced amount of paid-up whole life Paid-up term Annuity or retirement income Policy conversion Participating versus nonparticipating policies Policy dividend options Cash Applied to premium Used to purchase more insurance (fully paid up) Left with insurer to earn interest Used to purchase more insurance (term) To overpay premiums until policy is fully paid up Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I received a question from a listner which I decided to answer for you on today's show: Joshua: So, this is a "fun question" that everyone loves to fantasize about. I hope it will be fun for you to answer, but it could have a really boring answer, but I'm sure you'll surprise me somehow! What would you do if you won the lottery? As a financial planner, what advice would you give to a client who had won the lottery? What would the most optimal tax strategy be? Do you take the payments or the lump sum? Would the up-front tax hit be worth it for the long term capital gains? -Micah So, today I tackled the question! Be prepared...my answer is a bit different from many people's answers to this question. I do share very specifically with you what I would do. I share what I would buy and what I would invest in. But, I felt it was important to go ahead and address a few of the reasons why I feel the way I do. This show is very personal to me and it involves a lot of how I see the world. I hope you enjoy it! The show is divided into three parts. Feel free to pick and choose if you want to, but give it a shot listening straight through: The first 47 minutes of the show are about lotteries in general and why I'm not a fan. Starting at 47:00, I share the underpinnings of my worldview and the framework for how and why I handle money. At 1:41:00 I share specifically what I would buy and what I would invest in. Enjoy! Joshua End the Government's Lottery Monopoly - Daily Beast History of Gambling in the United States 2,350 Bible Verses on Money Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I have a tightly focused show for you with a few key points from the CFP® Board curriculum. You will need this information on the CFP® Board exam and it will be useful for you as an individual. First, I share with you how to choose between needing a 3-month emergency fund and a 6-month emergency fund. Next, I share with you the manageable percentages of your income which you can allocate to debt payments. Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I'm cleaning out the voicemail inbox for my Friday Q&A show. Here are the questions for today: What strategies for student loan payoff did I forget last week? How do we help our young kids without enabling them? Thoughts on consolidating retirement accounts. What are the limits on retirement accounts for a stay-at-home spouse? Thoughts on various retirement income distribution strategies. Do I have additional services and options to help with coaching individual people? Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

How much do you spend each year on fuel costs for your car? What is your current mileage per gallon? Before you rush out and buy a new hybrid to save money on gas, consider improving your driving techniques. It doesn't cost you anything except attention and focus and it can make a substantial difference. As an example, check out this guy who got his 3/4 ton pickup truck from an EPA estimate of 15 mpg to almost 60 mpg! In today's show I feature 109 tips for more efficient driving. These tips come from the good folks at the Ecomodder forum. Listen to (or read) the list, choose a couple of techniques and start practicing! Enjoy the savings and put the money to work elsewhere in your life! Joshua Almost 60 MPG on a Diesel Pickup! "2,009.6 mi on one 35 gal tank ('07 Dodge Ram 2500 quad" cab) http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/double-kilotank-2-009-6-mi-one-35-a-26259.html 109 hypermiling / ecodriving tips http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php 68 vehicle mods for better fuel economy ... http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, we finish out the 3-part series on preparing for layoffs in the coming recession. Today's show will be useful to you, even if you just got notice of your layoff and didn't do anything to prepare for it beforehand. The major theme of today's show is that you need to take appropriate action with appropriate speed. If you're stuck with little savings and no preparation, that means take massive action, now! If you've planned a bit better in advance, it means be strategic and thoughtful. We discuss: The impact of self-confidence on your job hunt. The importance of having work now and not being unemployed for a long time. How to take massive action on your job hunt for quicker results. What types of approaches are most successful for job hunters. Some radical strategies you can plan for that will enable you to simply wait out and enjoy the recession instead of being stressed by it! Enjoy! Joshua Many If Not Most Employers Hunt for Job-Hunters in the Exact Opposite Way from How Most Job-Hunters Hunt for Them http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/jobs/view/what-to-beware-of-in-searching-for-job-vacan-2 Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Yesterday, we talked about ways to avoid losing your job in the coming recession. But obviously there are factors beyond your control which might result in your being laid off, even though you've done everything "right." So, you need a backup plan. Don't wait and wonder what you'll do. Make a simple plan now for what you'll do. Think about some different scenarios and play some mental games with yourself. That way, you'll be able to better respond to events instead of being shell-shocked by them. Today's show covers: The importance of planning to avoid emotional stress when you get laid off. The direct impact of losing your income and how to plan for it. The impact that losing your group benefits can have on your financial life. Why you should consider establishing lines of credit before you need them. How you can stockpile both money and the simple necessities of life. The simple things you can do that will make it much easier to get your next job. The importance of proactively building and maintaining a network. How thinking like a consultant will help you now and help you later. Enjoy! Joshua The Queen of Versailles Living On Our Food Storage: One Family's Experience Of Living Without Income For A Year Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

For most of us, our jobs are the economic engine that drive every aspect of our financial plan. One of the worst things that can happen is to lose a job. If the engine on your car dies, you're going to be stuck by the side of the road for a while. That's not pleasant for anyone, even if you're stuck in a safe area. But, if you're driving up a mountain (paying off debt and digging yourself out of a hole), having your engine die can be disastrous. And, if you have a destination in mind (financial independence), losing the engine in your car will at least delay you from reaching your destination. So, the key is plan in advance to not lose the engine. Make sure you're doing the things you need to be doing now to avoid being laid off. Obviously, you can't guarantee that you'll never be laid off, but you can do a lot to improve your possibilities! On today's show, we cover: The need to proactively improve your position within your company, your company's position within the industry, and your industry's overall prospects in advance. Some ways to know if you've got a big target on your back or a small target on your back with the HR people are figuring out who to cut. The importance of competing with your fellow employees and of collaborating and cooperating with them and why both are valuable. Ways to stand out and produce up to 4x the output of your fellow employees. Enjoy the show! Joshua Business Insider: 13 Things Everyone Does At Work That They Don't Want Bosses To Know About Federal Reserve: Average Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United States Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I handle these four questions: 3:02 Joshua, I just started listening to your show and I've learned a lot already. I originally started listening because I have an interest in one day becoming a personal finance consultant, but that's a long way off, for now I just need help with a crazy student loan issue! I am currently paying almost $600 a month for a $102k student loan at 7%, couple of key things, credit is shot due to bk filed last year, the loan is with the nelnet through dept of Ed, the question is should I pay down the loan, or find an investment that will pay me $600 to offset payment? Right now the $600 is preventing me from moving forward on anything financial, I'm expecting a lump some of money in February, like $60k, I would love to invest it where I can earn $600 or more a month to offset the payment! Any ideas? 28:56 Joshua, I recently stumbled upon your podcast and just started listening to it from the very beginning. Your approach to each podcast has been a from a very practical point of view which I really appreciate and hence enjoy listening to it! Please keep up the great work! At the time of writing this, I just finished with the episode "rfp-0009 - Why is your house a terrible investment." I myself am in the stage of having signed a contract on a home and waiting for closing date. All through the show James and yourself have made many, many valid points. I myself have already tracked down my cost (also factoring in an average monthly maintenance expense) to owning a home in an excel spreadsheet and even-though most often than not, one usually tends to buy a home which is slightly bigger in area that the what one was renting (same with me), the numbers for buying a home vs renting still look better (to me) in the long run. I live in the slightly expensive Northern VA area. I have been renting for the last 7.5 years (in various capacities from being a full-time student to full-time employee to full-time employee + part-time student) and can definitely say that annual rent increase adds up over each year. In order to keep the rents at a reasonable rates you will have to move every 2 or 3 years. This would add moving expenses, cleaning expenses, security deposits and a peace-less mind to your rent calculations. But this has not been factored into the James' calculations. Yes, when you own a home your property taxes may also go up as the home appreciates, but this won't be as much as how much the rent would increase year-in year-out. Also your home may or may not appreciate every year for this to happen. Would like to know what your comments are to this. 36:09 Joshua, I have a 1 year old son and am married. My wife is in school earning her PhD. Can my wife and I create two separate 529 plans to double our tax benefits (one in my son's name and one for my wife)? Indiana's benefit is 20% tax credit ($1000 max credit). If not should we create a 529 anyway? We have the money to pay for her $30,000 education already saved to be spread over the next 3 years. Thoughts? 40:06 Joshua, My parents just recently started working with a fee-only financial adviser after their recent retirement. She has been doing a nice job with them so far helping them come up with their financial goals, seeing if they are able to achieve them with their current assets, and choosing the most appropriate Social Security choice for their needs and goals. I have been attending the meetings with them. Either in the next meeting or the meeting after, the question of converting their traditional IRA to a Roth IRA will come up. Other than their paid-off house, most of their portfolio is in traditional IRAs. She is of the belief that it doesn't make sense to convert any of the traditional IRA to Roth because they don't have the taxable funds to pay the necessary taxes. I'm of the opinion that since the income they currently receive from their IRAs is well under the $74,900 limit (filing jointly) keeping them in the 25% bracket, that they should convert some of it and pay the 25% tax rate before they have to start taking much larger RMDs in the future at higher tax rates. Of course that also ignores future potential tax hikes. They understand the benefits of having some flexibility for the future as well as the benefits of passing a Roth to me and my sister on their deaths (another one of their goals). The question I have is: What are the appropriate questions to ask the financial advisor as to how to look into whether converting makes sense outside of the generalities that you shouldn't because you don't have taxable funds? How do you 'run the numbers' so to speak to determine if converting is in their best interest? And also, how do you come up with that sweet spot amount in order to stay inside the 25% tax bracket and not pay taxes outside that bracket? Is that a question for a tax accountant or should a financial adviser be able to answer that question as well? Thanks for all you do. Enjoy the show! Joshua How to Evalua

Today we dig into the topic of trading stocks. And who better to speak with than the guy who started a "university" to teach the subject? My guest today is Steve Burns, founder of www.NewTraderU.com. Here's some background about Steve, directly from his About page: "After a lifelong fascination with financial markets, Steve Burns started investing in 1993, and trading his own accounts in 1995. It was love at first trade. A natural teacher with a unique ability to cut through the bull and make complex ideas simple, Steve took to blogging and social media by founding New Trader U in 2011. "Since then, New Trader U has attracted hundreds of thousands of visits a month, becoming the go-to resource for people wanting to build a strong, trading foundation. New Trader U offers an extensive blog resource with more than 1,000 original articles (Steve posts daily). "Asked daily if he could mentor, Steve realized that there weren’t enough hours in the day to give everyone the attention they deserved, so New Trader 101 was born. Developed to help beginning traders survive their first year in the markets, New Trader 101 quickly became Steve’s passion." The interview covers: Steve's personal story as it relates to financial independence His suggestions for individual investors to protect their portfolios Learning to manage the psychology of investing Teaching kids the skills of investing Enjoy the show! Joshua Steve's website and blog, New Trader University and his course "New Trader 101." Support Radical Personal Finance: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today we continue our life insurance series dig into the topic of term life insurance. Term life insurance is an incredible financial product and extremely useful. It also has some options that are not commonly understood or explored. We discuss: What is term life insurance useful for? Normal life insurance policy designs: level term insurance annual renewable term insurance decreasing term insurance increasing term insurance Key policy features: renewability convertibility disability waiver of premium reentry term insurance return of premium rider Group term insurance How to analyze costs What about those who say term insurance is the only appropriate solution? How to find a policy How to get insurance with a medical condition Enjoy! Joshua If you'd like access to the spreadsheet with return of premium rate of return calculations and the annual renewable term vs. level term discussion, support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm not able to record and release a show for you today so I'm releasing an interview that I gave on the Work Strong America podcast with Rick Seigmund. This interview was originally released on Rick's show on February 4, 2015. Enjoy the show! Joshua Links: Rick's Work Strong America site: http://workstrongamerica.com The original post of this interview on Rick's site: http://workstrongamerica.com/wsa-episode-005-joshua-sheats-interview/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Years ago, I learned an extremely valuable thinking process from Brian Tracy called Zero-Based Thinking. Today, I share it with you. Here's the question: Is there anything in your life that, knowning what you now know, you wouldn't get into again today if you had to do it over? If the answer is yes, then you follow up with these questions: How do I get out? How fast do I get out? By consistently applying this question to every area of our lives, we can avoid much of the impact of the sunk cost fallacy. As humans, we tend to want to keep doing something because we've invested a lot of time, money, or emtion into it in the past. But, for the most part, those costs are gone. They're sunk. You can't recover them. Rather, you have to zero the decision out, ignore the past, take the information you have today and determine if you want to continue what you're doing. This type of thinking can be extremely challenging and freeing. I hope it's a useful concept to you! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, we continue the Q&A blitz! Here are the questions I cover today: Do you have any tips or feedback about how to factor a special needs child when planning for retirement, college, etc?. The typical advice usually is that, typical, once you have a special needs child things change as you dwell into the wonderful world of early intervention, therapies, IEPs, tax planning, etc, I used to think I would just need to change my assumptions in terms of planning for our son to be with us long way past his 18th birthday, as well as making sure we plan for after we are gone. But I’m sure I’m missing other strategies. I've been working at a major package delivery company for almost 26 years. I was just inducted into the circle of honor. Which means that I have gone accident free for over 25 years. Mind you I drive in New York City. I am highly trained, and pretty good at what I do. Since listening to you, and some other podcasts. I was thinking of starting my own podcast. Driving is something almost everyone does and there really aren't any podcasts on safe driving. Trust me most people don't know what they're doing. The problem I have is exactly what you went through after episode 181. I don't want to argue with people over everything that I say. I don't understand why people can't take the good, and credible information out of a conversation, and leave the bad behind. I don't agree with everything you said, but that doesn't mean I didn't pause, and think about what you were saying. Kudos to you. I'll be retiring in four years, maybe by then I won't care what anybody thinks. Since I have your attention I have a question. I have a 15 year old son. Who works for his mothers company from home. He he takes home takes home $225 every two weeks. In which she saves about 75% of that. I opened up a brokerage account for him to separate the money from savings, and checking. I spread the money out into four different ETFs. I'm trying to teach him to invest and diversify. The problem I have is he maybe using some of this money, or all of it for college. I'm afraid the stock portion could be a problem, since I know you shouldn't have money in the market you're going to need within 3 to 5 years. Would like to know your thoughts on this situation. During episode 181 you mentioned that you don’t have your money in the markets for moral reasons. Where do you put your money and have it grow in line with inflation or better yet beat it? I very much enjoy your show. I took in the marathon of show #181. Thank you for using such controversial material to make your point. There is not enough genuine debate and too much simplified propaganda from all sides in this country. One point that stood out to me from this particular show is your personal approach to investment for your own family. My question is, if your position on investing in large “Evil” public companies is so strong that you would not personally invest in them, how do you justify working in the financial industry, advising individuals on their investments in those same publicly traded companies? I’m assuming that you are or will be engaged in that financial advisory role. Could you also please touch on the investment categories that you are or will consider for your family's financial plan (generally speaking of course). Keep up the good work. Your show continues to be a source of excellent information and your delivery continues to improve! Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm continuing my Q&A blitz today. I set out to answer five questions and wound up answering two. Oh well. At least I think you'll enjoy them! Here are the two questions I cover: What are your opinions regarding real estate investing? Should people invest in real estate? What percentage of the portfolio should it be? Thoughts on wholesaling? Flipping? Etc.? My question is can you walk us through your typical financial planning process with an average client of yours. From the initial conversation to the presentation and implementation. How do you prioritize your recommendations? Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I do Q&A and answer these four questions: Joshua, I absolutely cannot get enough of your show. Thank you very much for the effort you put in and the thought provoking product you create! It is worth the voluntary money!I've got a very open ended question: You often talk about journaling and writing to help develop thoughts, ideas, and plans. How does one get started doing this? What should your listeners focus on when getting into the habit of journaling? How often do you write in your journal? Without any framework or place to start, I find myself wanting to move on to other activities. I know it's not a direct financial topic but I believe there is a huge amount of value to the idea of putting your thoughts down on paper and developing them and it is something I'd like to start as soon as possible. It'd be great to hear your thoughts and maybe some tactics you employ to get the most out of your journaling time. Keep up the great work, -Chris 19:52 Joshua, One of the biggest goals I have in my life is to become financially independent. Which is why I came across your Podcast in the first place but I am having a hard time figuring out where exactly to go from here. I just started keeping track of every penny I make and spend so that I can start to budget and plan accordingly (I know I should have done this years ago but I gotta start somewhere!) I am 26 years old and have very little experience saving. I am a compulsive spender but I know I can change my habits with the right motivation and I know that I am still young enough to make a very significant change in my life. I have tried to find something "from the beginning" in your podcast but I havn't yet found one that fits my needs. The questions that I have are things that may seem really basic to anyone who has been financially planning for a while. What do I do with my first savings? Say its only $100 dollars, do I keep it in cash at my house? Do I open a savings account and keep it there? How much should I have saved before I start looking at other options, retirement accounts, etc. Sincerely, Garion. 29:45 Joshua, With regard to "Your Money or Your Life" (I have been reading the book for the past few days.), is the strategy for investment/FI that the author's put forth in Chapter Nine still valid today, in your opinion. (I apologize if you have covered this already; I am still trying to get caught up with all of your podcasts.) Please keep up the awesome work. -Daniel 36:35 Joshua, First off I just wanted to say I'm a huge fan of the show and your format. It's so refreshing to actually listen to an in-depth discussion of personal finance rather than all the surface level junk online:"The one easy tip for financial freedom." So I hope you never question your long format in the landscape of quick tips and 3 easy steps posts. I've been growing more interested in personal finance/investing. I'm curious if you've ever encountered or heard of families that invest together. Whether it be siblings or siblings and parents investing together. This is something I've been pondering lately. It seems this would be a smart way for families to invest and take advantage of strength in numbers. Perhaps it's not discussed because it's taboo to talk about money at that level of detail. I really have 0 experience in this area so it'd be interesting to hear what some of the benefits/challenges would be of this kind of thing or if you've personally heard of families doing this. Keep up the good work, and know that your work has had an impact on me.Regards, -Ryan Resources: Jukes-Edwards, A Study in Education and Heredity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jukes_family Support Radical Personal Finance: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I enjoy looking for financial planning tips from odd corners of the world. Recently, I stumbled across the book Financial Freedom aFloat: How to Pocket a Paycheck in Paradise by Charles Tuller as I was browsing the finance section in my local library. Written for the cruising community, the book lays out some specific ideas and strategies for sailors who either need or want to earn some money to be able to afford to stay out on the water for the long-term. I'm most intrigued by the challenge of the problem: how do you live a "dream lifestyle" without a lot of money? The answer is multi-fold: Own your shelter. Minimize your ongoing expenses. Work while you travel. The last item is the most interesting to me right now. How do you conveniently integrate work and life without feeling like an indentured servant? How do you earn and enjoy life at the same time? The book does a good job of laying out some ideas. And, it gets better all the time. There are so many more options availalbe now in 2015 than there were in 2000, when the book was written. Enjoy the ideas we draw and apply them to your own lifestyle--whether you'd like to cruise or not! Enjoy! Joshua Financial Freedom aFloat: How to Pocket a Paycheck in Paradise by Charles Tuller Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today I handle your questions and comments. Right off the bat, I respond to some of the sharp criticism of Episode 181. Perhaps it will be useful to clarify my intention with the show material. Then, I answer these questions: 35:48 Dear Joshua, I have a question regarding a specific method for paying for my children's college education. Putting aside the merits of a college education in general; and putting aside thoughts that I have no obligation to pay for my children's school....let's assume that I would like to pay nearly all tuition expenses for my three daughters (ages 12, 10, 5). I see 529 plans as piggy banks that I fund, will one day need to break, spend, and never see again. However, striving to create a large enough portfolio of dividend paying stocks seems like a option in which I could pay tuition with the money strictly generated from my investments. Assuming (still a moderately big assumption on my end) that I can create the principal to generate ~$25,000 in dividends at a 4% yield, does this seem like a viable option? -Brian 44:04 Joshua, I am 42 years old and currently have life insurance from my employer. I'm trying to buy life insurance from one of the providers but have the following questions: Should I continue the life insurance at work even after I get from outside? Will the 2 ever be mutually exclusive? Should I search for an agent? If so, are there any websites that can help me find one? Are websites like Accuquote reliable? How else should I compare the products of various providers? -Vikram 1:01:52 Joshua, I wanted to ask you to consider a podcast show around radical ways to lower the cost of owning a home. Not the typical advice out there, but more along the lines of buying a property that meets your families needs but that could provide rental income to offset your mortgage too. Cash flow around homes is a large percent of take home for most families - just seems like an area that most people are not considering and could be a significant win. -Todd 1:20:16 Joshua, While listening to Podcast #36 you mentioned changing a 401K plan to be able to defer more than the $17.5K. Can you let me know where I can learn more about this? -Harout Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm fascinated by the topic of asset protection planning. It engages my personal enjoyment of complicated, intricate planning. It's in important area of planning. But it's also one of the most over-hyped areas filled with sleazy marketing and sleazy business practices. How do we work through this? Today, I introduce the topic to you in a down-to-earth, accessible way. We'll keep a healthy sense of paranoia and a healthy sense of reality firmly together as we traipse through these topics. Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Every single aspect of personal finance is influenced politics, religion, and philosophy. Every law and every decision has a moral and ethical component to it. In modern conversation, we're unaccustomed to talking about philosophy and ethics. We steer away from discussing politics and religion because we're uncomfortable with how we can have a positive relationship with another person even when we disagree. Or, we might feel unequipped to battle in the world of philosophical or religious ideas. The problem is that our lives are continuously influenced by others who are battling in the world of politics, religion, and philosophy. And, we're subject to the same moral/ethical code as everyone else is regardless if we want to admit it or not! Worse still, we don't have the choice of non-participation. Every dollar of tax we pay, every item we buy, every hour we work affects the larger system in some way. By our actions we are supporting or tearing down various systems and causes. We are either moving the systems that surround us in a certain direction or we are being moved by them. The final horrific reality is that most of us are untrained in the fine art of sniffing out propaganda and influence. So, we are subject to it. Most of us would be content to simply sit by and live our lives quietly; it's not possible. Because you are in important pawn in others' plans for you.Today's show is a unique experiment for me in a teaching style. Essentially, I'm trying to accomplish a few objectives in an interesting and challenging way. I want you to understand the impact that your worldview has on all of your decisions. I want to demonstrate how one specific worldview (in this case formal secular humanism) impacts the broader culture with its stated objectives. I want to demonstrate how all of the broader agendas within a governmental system tie back to worldview. Politics are driven by worldview. I want to demonstrate how propoganda and media are used to promote an idea in the general culture and how incredibly effective that can be. I want you to see an example of a propaganda effort that has achieved massive cultural change over your lifetime so that you can learn the skills to sniff out other agendas--specifically other agendas that are closely related to finance. I want you to see and understand that it's completely impossible to disconnect the social aspects of life and their associated moral questions from the daily, practical & financial aspects of life. You've got to be a consistent human being with a clear and consistent framework. I want you to see and understand how theories change and adjust over time and how society changes throughout history. I hope you enjoy the show. It's an unusual discussion but it's an important one. I will be building on the content of this show in future episodes as we sort our way through the swamps of financial movements, theories, and conspiracies in the future. Let the critical thinking skills commence! Joshua p.s., I've tagged this show with the [EXPLICIT] label because of the content and some of the words used. This show is most appropriate for adult audiences, not for children. Links: Tax Freedom Day http://taxfoundation.org/article/tax-freedom-day-2015-april-24th Humanist Manifesto II: http://americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_II Humanist Manifesto III: http://americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III The Overhauling of Straight America http://library.gayhomeland.org/0018/EN/EN_Overhauling_Straight.htm Pedophilia: A Disorder, Not a Crime: http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/10/06/pedophilia-not-a-crime-rutgers-margo-kaplan/#Aoo1WrpEBhxWmZHb.01 Detailed outline of "After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s" http://www.parentsofgaychildren.org/uploads/After_the_Ball_-_outline_by_Richard_Cohen.pdf

Today, I share with you the framework knowledge of how life insurnace policies actually work. Once you understand these basic concepts you'll be able to look at any type of insurance policy and more easily understand its use. Topics include: Assessment life insurance Yearly renewable term life insuance Level premium life insurance The factors that affect life insurance policy pricing The five types of life insurance policies Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm not able to record and release a new show for you today due to the rather pressing deadline of the April 15 tax filing date. I'm finishing up my return today so I'm releasing an interview I gave on the Anarcho-Yakitalism Podcast with Nick Hazelton. Nick is a young man who raises yaks and pigs on his farm in the Pacific Northwest. He is 16 years old. I shared a bit of my story with him and gave him a bit of life coaching on how I think about financial planning and life planning for young people. This show was originally released on February 24, 2015 on Nick's website. Enjoy! Joshua Links: Nick's website: http://an-yak.com/ Original post on Nick's site: http://an-yak.com/ep-21-financial-advice-with-joshua-sheats-anarcho-yakitalist-podcast/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

This morning, I put out a note on the Patreon page for questions from the patrons and I received four: 02:38 I'm currently in the "Financial Stability" stage of building wealth. Where do you recommend keeping an emergency fund &/or savings for large purchases? 17:36 My only major financial goal is to buy a small condo in Hollywood in about 6-7 years. I am 33 years old, single and don't plan on starting a family. I have about $170K in investments/retirement and am on track to have an additional 80-90K saved for the condo in about six years. I want to make a 50% down payment on a $200K condo (so basically a 100K down payment). My dream is to have a super low monthly mortgage payment (around $500 - 600 per month). That would be very freeing for me! I want the flexibility in life + career that low monthly expenses would give me. Am I crazy to make such a big down payment? I know its almost half of my net worth, but it feels right for my lifestyle choices. I'm tired of being stuck in the super-high trendy-city apartment renting hamster wheel ;) 30:19 I have a 529 for my oldest son. I am planning on transferring that to my wife as she will be going back to school in August of 2016. She is a teacher, once she graduates with a specialist degree she will receive an automatic $5,000 annual pay raise. We estimate the program will cost $15,000 and can be completed in 18 months-24 months. The 529 plan is currently invested very aggressively (based on our oldest son's age of 6). I am planning on immediately changing the investment to the guaranteed option (1-1.25%). Am I missing any other investment options? We use Georgia's 529 plan which is TIAA-CREF based. It seems an easy choice to me. What else am I missing? Any other thoughts? The current value is $12,700 and we contribute $600 per year. If we are short during the last semester or two, we plan on paying with excess cash flow we hope to save up by then. 40:34 If you were at a "Financial Stability" stage 3.5 in the US (debt is eliminated and about 50% of basic items are addressed) and were planning on moving overseas for 2 years (in 2 years), what steps would you take to secure your financial future? Enjoy the show! Joshua New Charter University http://new.edu/info/tuition/ Become a Patron of the show! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today's show gives you the tools you need to sit down and calculate an appropriate amount of life insurance coverage for you to own. On Episode 173, I discussed the three primary ways of calculating an appropriate amount of insurance: Human Life Value approach Needs Analysis approach (the best) Rule of Thumb approach This show teaches you how to calculate a Needs Analysis. The process is simple: What You Want - What You've Got = What You Need In order to figure out what you want, simply make a list of everything you want for your family in case of your death. Divide that list into: Lump Sum needs (immediate cash) Income needs (ongoing cash) For the income needs, decide: How much? For how long? Liquidating approach or a non-liquidating approach? Enjoy the show! Joshua Links: Episode 173: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/173-economic-basis-of-life-insurance-and-individualfamily-uses-of-life-insurance/ Episode 101: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/how-to-calculate-how-much-you-need-to-save-for-your-kids-college-rpf0101/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

By popular request, I've invited Meb Faber on the show for an interview. Meb is well known in the investment world for his contributions on tactical asset allocation and trend-following. In the interview we cover: Meb's background and accidental path into the investment world The philosophy of business behind Cambria Funds How to construct an investment process for individuals True historical rates of return for various asset classes The impact of asset allocation over the long-term How to protect yourself from your behavioral biases Enjoy the show! Joshua p.s., listen to the show for an opportunity to get Meb's most recent book for free! Links: Meb's website: http://mebfaber.com/ Cambria Funds: http://www.cambriafunds.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today I want to share a very simple concept with you regarding practical asset allocation. If you plot your goals on a simple matrix and plot all of your investments on the same matrix, you'll more easily be able to select an appropriate investment to fund each goal. Here's the matrix: home-run dollars aggressive dollars safer dollars -------------------> short-term -----> mid-term -----> long-term Enjoy the show! Joshua Support the show as a patron: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Friday Q&A shows are fun and today is no exception. Today I answer five questions: Is there any academic support for the value of financial advisors? What is the best way to prepare to pass the CFP exam? What is the fastest way to become a 1%er? How do you learn to trust insurance people? What is the role of an IPO within a broader investment portfolio? Enjoy my answers! Joshua Links: Research on investors' actual returns with DFA funds. Vanguard's paper on the value that an advisor brings. Morningstar's paper on the value of an advisor. "Route to an $8 Million Portfolio Started with Frugal Living" "How Much Money Does it Take to Be in the Top 1% of Wealth and Net Worth in the United States?" "How Much Money Does It Take to Be In the Top 1% by State?" Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

You can’t go from broke to rich in a single step. There’s no magic fairy who will suddenly transform your financial life for you. You have to do it yourself. But you can work your way through a path that leads to financial independence and complete abundance. That path has stages and you should celebrate your progress at every stage! In today's show, I share with you my ideas regarding the stages of financial independence. I believe this is a useful roadmap to help you navigate from where you are to total Financial Abundance. Stage 0: Financial Dependence Stage 1: Financial Solvency Stage 2: Financial Stability Stage 3: Debt Freedom Stage 4: Financial Security Stage 5: Financial Independence Stage 6: Financial Freedom Stage 7: Financial Abundance My challenge to you is to take these stages, understand where you are, and lay out the numbers of your own situation. How much do you need to be financially stable? What's your number for financial independence? Financial freedom? Write it down clearly for yourself and then keep working on it! Enjoy the show, Joshua Links: Here is the new page on the website: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/finance-topics/stages-of-financial-independence/ Become a Patron of Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

At long last, we enter into the oft-requested topic of life insurance! Today's show is an introduction to the economic basis and justification for life insurance and it's also an outline of some of the uses of life insurance for individuals and families. (We'll cover business uses another day.) You also get the joy of a bit of a sales pitch on why I love life insurance planning so much. It's truly an incredible financial product. Life insurance is founded on the economic value that each of us provide to others and on our moral obligation to provide for our dependents. Because each of us has an economic value that can be estimated, we can come up with some formulas to understand how much life insurance is appropriate. The three major approaches to determining an appropriate amount of life insurance are: Human life value approach Needs analysis approach Rule of thumb approach (most popular is the multiple of income approach) The best of these methods is the needs analysis approach. It balances the need for precision and the need for simplicity quite effectively. Life insurance can have many uses for individuals and families: Immediate funds: Cash to meet daily living needs Cash to pay expenses associated with death Cash for emergencies, repairs, or replacements Ongoing income: Spouse Children Parents Nondependents Funds to pay debts Funds for death taxes Funds for dependents' education Funds for trusts Funds for charities Funds for gifts Funds to supplement retirement income Funds for home health care or nursing home care Funds to transfer assets to a younger generation Funds to discreetly provide for confidential needs Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Retirement planning is at the core of the financial planning profession. But, it's a very complex subject and it's tough to wrap your head around the process. I've invited Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, AIF®, financial advisor and host of the Retirement Answer Man Podcast on the show today to chat about retirement from his perspective. Roger specializes in working with retirees and prospective retirees in a formal financial planning capacity. I think you'll be intrigued by some of his perspectives. Show topics include: Roger's path through the financial planning profession How to create a retirement plan How to plan for retirement when you don't have enough money What to do if you can't retire...or simply don't want to The impact of podcasting on Roger's financial planning practice Enjoy! Joshua Roger's "Retirement Answer Man" podcast: http://www.rogerwhitney.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

One of the challenges of personal finance math is the relevance of a particular scale. Sometimes you can get a massive benefit by switching to a different scale. One famous example is the daily latte. $4 for a latte sounds about right in today's world. But if you do it every day, it adds up. To fully appreciate the impact of the seemingly small expenditure you can change the scale from daily to annual. $4/day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year is $1,040/year spent on coffee. That's a lot of money! If you're scared that I'm trying to take away your latte, don't be. I'm not! But I do want you to use and apply that tactic to the actual numbers from your financial life. In today's show: Updates from my canceling the show last week so I could launch the new website! It still needs plenty of work (especially for me to go back through and properly categorize all of the past episodes) but it's functional! Why we need to convert to a different scale to appreciate the meaning of a number. Why we have problems understanding very large numbers. Why we have problems understanding compound interest. Converting from annual/monthly numbers into daily numbers. Converting from daily/weekly/monthly numbers into annual numbers. How to create factors to quickly convert numbers to a 10-year number for both one-time epenses and ongoing expenses. Stretching to a 40-year time period and a lifetime time period. Using the financial independence math based upon the 4% rule. (Multiply monthly numbers by 300 and annual numbers by 25 to know how much you need to have saved.) How I apply this concept to my income as well. Enjoy the show! Joshua Links: Support the show financially! http://.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I've got a double problem this week that is keeping me from releasing shows: No internet at my house. Launching the new site. So, I'm releasing a couple of interviews that have been recorded with me in the past. This one is very good. Rob is a great interviewer and he was able to get very in-depth. This show has an in-depth discussion of the benefits and problems of financial advisors. Rob was also able to pull some pretty personal stuff out of me from my past! Joshua Links: The original post on Rob's site: http://www.doughroller.net/personal-finance/interview-of-joshua-sheats-cfp-of-radical-personal-finance/ Subscribe to Rob's show: http://www.doughroller.net/thepodcast/ Support RPF on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm not able to record a normal show today, so I'm releasing a copy of an interview I conducted with Nick Loper from Side Hustle Nation. This interview was released on February 19, 2015 on Nick's show, just in time for tax-time! This show is a good overview of some general tax tips: When and why you should incorporate your business, and why most beginning side hustlers should NOT. How to set up a business name even as a sole proprietor. The types of expenses you can deduct as a side hustler. 3 overlooked tax savings opportunities that will get your gears turning. How to audit-proof your side hustle. A free business idea for people who get a kick out of helping people save money. Enjoy! Joshua Links: The original post on Nick's site: http://www.sidehustlenation.com/tax-saving-tips-for-side-hustlers/ Subscribe to Nick's show is you're interested in more ideas on making money on the side: http://www.sidehustlenation.com/itunes Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

My guest today is a veteran of financial reporting. Fred Gabriel has spent the last 17 years reporting on the financial advice industry. He began his career as a mutual fund reporter and progressed to be named the editor of Investment News in 2012. I spoke with Fred at the Technology Tools for Today Conference and we focused our conversation on the changing landscape of financial advice. Due to the nature of his job, Fred has a front-row seat on all of the changes happening in the industry. The interview focuses primarily on the investment advice industry but does have ideas and content which can be applied to other industries. Topics include: History of the investment industry and the changing appearance of financial advisory firms. The changing role of marketing for financial services businesses. The transition from large investment firm marketing to individual financial advisor marketing. How large firms can appeal to millenial advisors. How trusted are financial advisors? How advisors can build more trust with the general public. The marketing of commission-based financial advice, fee-based financial advice, and fee-only financial advice. The increasing transparency of the marketplace. Enjoy the interview! Joshua Links: Fred's recent articles on Investment News: http://www.investmentnews.com/staff/fgabriel Support Radical Personal Finance: http://www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron