The Stacking Benjamins Show

How would your life be different if you spent more time designing and less time winging it? Would you be where you are now, or would you be working on more fulfilling projects? Today on our show we talk with Kevin Bethune, the author of the new book Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation. He has reimagined and redesigned his career a few times over, going from working in nuclear power, to heading back to business school, to working at Nike on shoes, and then on to many other projects. We'll draw strong correlations between his work in corporate design and your work building a better life. Joe and OG discuss a piece from a very popular investment house about the value of human advice vs. robots. I think you'll be surprised when you hear not only what firm commissioned this study, but also our discussion about the future of financial advice...much more of a fusion of humans and robots than one or the other. And also, with most of us losing an hour of shuteye this weekend, Doug gives us some good tips in his trivia about taking a nap. We'll also (of course), save time to throw out the Haven Life Line on whether or not you should be available to your boss 24/7 even on vacations? Should you? Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You've probably been told to live in the present at some point in your life but does that do more harm than good when it comes to your finances? Splurging on that purchase today might feel good in the moment but is it going to make 'future you' happy too? Thinking about ourselves in the future is hard. Our roundtable today discusses this topic. Jason Hallonquist, Paula Pant and Len Penzo join our roundtable to talk about how thinking about your future self is beneficial for your finances. And don't worry, we left time for Doug's trivia! Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you checked in with your health lately? Stacking those Benjamins is awesome but it means nothing if your health holds you back from doing the things you enjoy in life. Our guest today shares an incredible story of the scary moment she realized she was constantly running at full speed ahead. Dr. Amy Shah joins us to share that story and her journey to better overall health. She explains how hormones, sleep and overall gut health contribute to every aspect of our lives. During our headline segment, we talk to Dr. Brooke Struck from The Decision Lab about consumer spending habits, specifically millennials. Are millennials' spending habits different from other generations and what struggles do they face that other generations might not have? Dr. Brooke Struck shares his research findings. We also answer a question from our basement Facebook group about HSA's and Doug shares his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You'd never fall for it, right? Scams can look so obvious from the outside. "How could they have let that happen?" we ask. Reading about Bernie Madoff or some of these other big "scammers" from history, it's easy to think of how gullible the victims must have been. Being in the midst of it, though, leads to the true, deeper, and disturbing story. Radhia Gleis knows how scams work because she was in a cult for over 20 years. Today she shares the story of how she sunk deep into a con and then also explains the pain and immense disappointment she experienced when she realized it was all a lie. It's a fascinating story about searching for meaning and how scammers maintain their power. We'll help by giving you tips to avoid being scammed as well. During our headline segment, we dive into another troubling situation: the current situation in Ukraine. While there are far more important aspects of this conflict than your money, the only one we're qualified to comment on is the effect on your portfolio, so we'll do that today. Market volatility has ticked up again and we talk about while it signals some horrible events happening in the world, why this might not be as bad as it sounds for your investments. We'll also answer Lacey's question about saving for nieces and nephews (what should she use to save some money for them?) and also, Doug will share his amazing trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can you tell if someone is rich or poor? It's not as simple as looking at what someone buys or where they live. Being rich is about more than the size of your wallet. To round out our rewind week, today our roundtable discusses this topic. They share their thoughts on what it means to be rich and what that really means. This episode originally aired in 2019 so ignore and mention of giveaways or current events. See our original show notes here. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever been overwhelmed by all the choices that come with employee benefits? From health insurance to retirement savings, child care and an HSA vs FSA, there's can be no shortage of benefits to choose from. Amanda Lannert joined us to share the details on some popular employee benefits. This episode aired in 2020 so be sure to ignore any mention of current giveaways or events. See our original show notes here. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you looking to spring clean your finances? Get organized and on the right track to crush your goals this year. We've got Gary Burnison here to help you clean up your resume and land your dream job. It's the start of our rewind week, and this episode originally aired in 2018, so ignore any mention of current giveaways or events. See our original show notes here. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you have a family money philosophy? A money philosophy can simply be an idea of what you do and don't value. Or it can be as complex as a charitable giving strategy or a very specific spending plan. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to a money philosophy. Today our roundtable is sharing their money philosophy and they talk about mapping goals, spending based on values, how they taught their kids about money, and more. Listen in to hear Chelsea Brennan, Len Penzo, and Doc G share their thoughts. Doug will also share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you ever feel like you just don't have much influence over others? Not in a negative way, but in a way where you wish people would truly hear you. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and re-evaluate what we are trying to accomplish. Zoe Chance is an expert in influence, the author of the new hit book Influence Is Your Superpower, and also teaches the most popular class on the topic at Yale. She joins us today to share her secrets to positive influence and happiness. She talks about the power of 'no', charisma, and my favorite, the Kindly Brontosaurus technique. During our headline segment, we dive into longevity in financial planning. As people start living longer, what adjustments need to be made to financial plans? We talk about retirement planning and allocations as it relates to living longer lives. We also help answer Jenna's question about saving or spending HSA dollars and Doug shares his influential trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looking for a few quick money wins? Personal finance, and developing a complete financial plan can be overwhelming, but you don't have to start by climbing that mountain. Today Joe and OG are sharing their top five easy money tips. They talk about automating your financial life, writing down your debts, reviewing subscriptions and our favorite, HSA accounts. They're giving you easy tips to get started that can help change your mindset and get you on track to reach bigger goals. During our headline segment, we look at USA Today's Super Bowl ad winner. Anna Kendrick and a dream house took the top spot this year, with a segment all about this ultra-hot real estate market. Will the easy wins continue? We'll also answer Matthew's question about opening a brokerage account and Doug will share his sticky bun-themed trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you seen -- or used -- those popular buy now, pay later apps? They seem to be on almost every website as an easy way to split your purchase into several payments, all interest-free. As tempting as it may be, the downsides might hurt your wallet in the long run. While paying in installments with no interest might work out for the best for some purchases, it can also lead to a habit of overspending. Today our roundtable discusses a piece about these popular apps. Our roundtable consists of Tom Cock from Talking Real Money, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, and Doc G from Earn & Invest. They share their thoughts on buy now, pay later, and offer advice to skip these all together. Diania Merriam is filling in for Doug and she's sharing her spectacular trivia today. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How important is spending less on what you don't need? Today our guest will share why you may want to rethink your laisse-faire attitude about minimalism. We'll tackle a big a-ha for savers with a tax strategy you haven't heard, plus, it's Joe's birthday, and he's looking to be inspired. So today, we're excited to hear from YOU and some of the great things you all are working on. We have three great guests for you today: the Stackers who host the Fat and Broke podcast are celebrating a huge milestone, Maggie, a travel blogger will share some tips for national parks jaunts, and TJ, a leadership blogger, will share a homeowners story for the ages. Let's just say that we won't be asking him where to place our bonfire. It's all Sean Mullaney, the FI Tax Guy, sharing tax planning tips for this year, inspirational stories and we'll round out the show by including Doug's famous trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're chucking the expensive flowers and chocolates that go right to your hips this Valentine's Day. Instead, let's share the love by bringing on the Benjamins! Are you looking to up your finance game? Maybe you have debt you'd like to pay off, an expensive soon-to-be ex-spouse, or you're looking to just be more intentional with your money. On the love side of the equation, Anjie and RJ from the hit new Rich by Intention podcast join us to share their incredible story of debt payoff, teamwork, and negotiation. They paid off over $100k of debt in just one year on salaries of less than $100k each. They negotiated raises of over 15% each, and they lowered their rent payment. How? They'll share all their strategies and how you can get your finances in order too. During our headline segment, Kelly Frawley and Emily Pollock protect your downside, by joining us to talk about lessons we can all learn from some recent celebrity divorces. What's more romantic than that for Valentine's Day? They'll share problems with prenups and how to know if you might need one or how to make sure it works. But that's not all. We'll also answer a Haven Life line question about 401k investments, and Doug will share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wish there were small changes you could make that would have big impacts on your money situation? We've heard the big ideas such as start a side job or max out your retirement accounts, but what if that's just not in the cards? Today our roundtable is lining up a bunch of ideas that aren't huge, but that collectively can help you get the ball rolling with your financial picture. They discuss a piece from The Penny Saver about small ways to make an impact on your finances. It's our gameshow episode, so we're putting our contributors to the test, asking them to guess which tips are mentioned in this piece. Because they share lots of not-listed ideas as well, you can be sure you'll find out some great and not so great savings strategies. Our roundtable is made up of our regulars today: Paula Pant, Len Penzo and OG. The winner of our gameshow will earn an extra point in our year-ling trivia challenge. Speaking of, Doug will share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What financial mistakes could you have avoided? Most of us learned personal finance the hard way, by stumbling through life without training and learning from our mistakes. Unfortunately, most schools don't have a personal finance class that teaches students about budgeting, saving, or what the word "taxes" actually means. Peter Lazaroff is chief investment officer at Plancorp and a CFP® who shares our passion for personal financial literacy. He's here today (don't tell OG, he might get jealous) to share his first experiences with money AND how you can make money topics more simple for yourself and those around you. He also shares some of the golden personal finance basics we should all familiarize ourselves with, and dishes out resources to help us all further our own financial education. During our headline segment, we dive into ETFs. A seasoned firm is entering the game (better late than never!) of ETFs years after their competitors. We talk about active vs passive funds and the future of the ETF industry. We're also answering Dave's question about reward credit cards. Are they really as good as they sound? And of course, Doug will share his amazing trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did the founding fathers of the United States make a living after the Revolutionary War? Believe it or not, they had to make some choices similar to ones you may have had to make when struggling with money. Washington took a job just because it paid well. Franklin juggled many "side gigs" to bring in money. Sound familiar? Today is our 10 year podcasting anniversary, so we are throwing it back to Ben Franklin himself (well, not really him, but someone who can tell his story!) and learning from his career. He, along with George Washington, worked hard to find new ways to make money after the Revolutionary War. Willard Sterne Randall is a writer-turned-historian who'll share the stories of Washington and Franklin. We ask him to dive into the success and failures of each and share lessons we can all take away. During our headline segment, we dive into the stock market. What should you do when there's a drop in the stock market? While the initial reaction might be to panic, we'll share sound advice for keeping your cool. We look to Reddit today for an ugly letter to share during our Haven Life line portion of the show. One young investor made several HUGE mistakes trading options and SPACs and he turned to the internet for advice. We share our advice on how to avoid the same mistakes he made. And of course, Doug will share his Stacking Benjamins-themed trivia for our 10 year anniversary. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you prefer in-person interactions or using apps for things like banking and personal finance? We're giving you both sides of the coin today. Banking has evolved and apps give us almost the same capabilities as walking into the bank, so do we still need physical bank branches? Our roundtable today shares their thoughts on banking and what banks can do to excel in this world of technology. Harlan Landes from the Plutus Foundation, Paula Pant and Len Penzo make up our contributors today. They talk about online apps, customer service and more in the banking world. Don't you worry, we also saved some time for Doug's trivia contest! Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will more money make you happier? If you've never heard the phrase 'more money, more problems,' today's episode is for you. Money CAN buy you independence, but only if you know how to use it. Nicole Lapin is a New York Times best-selling author and joins us to talk about being intentional with our money. Having loads of cash is great but it goes bye-bye quickly without concrete goals and values. She shares how to set yourself up for success to meet your financial goals. During our headline segment, we're talking about robots taking over the world! Or, in this case, a gigantic brokerage firm swallowing a robot (I'd love to see that TikTok). We're talking robo advisors today. They've gained massive popularity in the last decade and now one, Wealthfront, is being acquired by UBS. We discuss what this might mean for robo advisors moving f. We'll also answer Jay's question about the rule of 55 with 401k distributions and Doug will share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you participate in the Gamestop trading craze last year? If you didn't -- and had FOMO while small traders banded together and took down "the man" -- we're going to help you feel better today by diving into what really went down. From short selling to Reddit and Robinhood, our guest today shares it all. Spencer Jakab's interest in Gamestop was piqued when his son was talking about Reddit threads. It led him to dive in and write a book explaining the behind-the-scenes story. He's sharing his findings today and I'd bet there's some details that will surprise you. During our headline, we're looking at auto loans. Banks posted record auto loan originations in 2021. We dive into why and the psychology behind car buying. We're also answering Sarah's question about finding the best bank accounts and Doug shares his trivia. Enjoy! Full show notes are available at http://stackingbenjamins.com A deeper dive into all these topics went out this morning to our newsletter subscribers. You can join too, for free! http://stackingbenjamins.com/201 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever buy something just because of the advertising? I think everyone has at one time or another. Marketing affects our purchases. It's almost like advertisers know what we need before we know! Today we're looking at the marketing tactics behind a staple food...eggs. How does egg marketing relate to our finances? Our roundtable wasn't sure at first either but they have some great advice! Brittany Greene, Len Penzo, and OG sit down to talk about how marketing impacts our financial decisions. With tons of financial advice floating around the internet, people have come up with catchy phrases that sound smart but really mean nothing. Our roundtable shares their experience and how to tell the good egg from the bad. Diania Merriam is filling in for Doug today while he's off at the IHOP buffet so she will share some trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Has any well-meaning rich person told you to "follow your passion" when it comes to achieving your goals? Also, how comfortable are you with getting out of your comfort zone? Do you actually need to leave your comfort zone to succeed? Today's guest believes both of these ideas aren't true, and she has a Tedx talk that was watched by over 7 million people and a new hit book to prove it. Terri Trespicio joins us today to share how to reframe the idea of your comfort zone and talks about why the idea of having just one passion in life is overrated. During our headline segment, we're tackling the great resignation. An average of 3.9 million people quit their jobs each month in 2021. Why? And where are they going? Laura Troyani from PlanBeyond joined us to share her research. We're also throwing out the Haven Life line to Chris who wants to know where to keep cash that he needs for a home purchase. Doug will also share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How's the clutter around your house? Too many Amazon boxes laying around to count? Good news, we are sharing ways to help both the environment, your ability to focus, and your wallet today. Tara McKenna joins us to share her journey to living a largely zero-waste lifestyle. It wasn't always easy, but she found some surprising results, and you could too with just a few simple changes to your lifestyle. She shares tips to be more aware of the trash you create and ways to reduce the unnecessary "stuff" you have laying around. Consuming less leads to less spending, and she shares easy ways you can get started on the journey toward your own zero-waste lifestyle. During our headline segment, we're diving into the reasons behind Peloton's recent stock price drop. Is the Peloton era coming to an end? We'll share our take and recent news Peloton announced about their products. We'll also answer VJ's question about the 4% rule. How do taxes impact this? And of course, we'll leave time for Doug to share some nearly misguided trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you striving to form better habits? Start with small, daily changes that can turn into larger habits. Today we discuss a piece from the Becoming Minimalist blog that lists seven daily habits to change your life. Our roundtable includes Paula Pant, Doc G, and OG to share their thoughts and daily habits they have. Doug will also share his amazing trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you struggle with good money habits? Even people who know money mess up all the time. We all have those days or weeks where we overdo lunch at a restaurant or forget about our long-term goals. Jessi Fearon is someone who has a background and degree in financial topics and was messing up her financial life in a big way. She joins us today to share her story, how she climbed out of a debt and bad-budget hole. She'll also share how different money personalities deal with money, which is the first step in building a better future. She also shares tips to help you build a solid foundation and create a budget that aligns your values and personality. For our headline segment, we're diving into student loan debt. One company is in hot water for steering borrowers to costly repayment plans instead of cheaper options, but there's good news. They're forgiving some borrowers' debt! Is yours included? We'll share what you need to know. We also throw out the Haven Life line to Brian who has a question about taxes in an HSA account. Not sure how an HSA account works or why you'd want one? We'll dive into why this is one of the BEST ways to save for many on today's show. Of course, we'll also save time for Doug to also share his trivia. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is your personal or professional life not where it should be? While you may think that "creativity" isn't essential to success in life, today's guest will vehemently disagree. He's the former CEO and now Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of the legendary company Cirque du Soleil. Today he will share why creativity is crucial to professional and personal success and shares his own journey with Cirque du Soleil to improve in every area of his own career. During our headline, we'll pull the cover off of a new crypto scam. This time, celebrities allegedly endorsed a crypto coin, only to dump their own holdings after prices skyrocketed. Of course, this left investors with--reportedly--next to nothing. What can we learn from this? Joe and OG share their thoughts, which might not be what you expect. We also help answer Micah's question about how to further his personal finance education. Doug will also share his trivia. Enjoy! You'll find full show notes at http://stackingbenjamins.com You'll find our deeper dive into ALL of the topics we discuss today in our 201 newsletter (always free) http://stackingbenjamins.com/201 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices