Stacking Benjamins: Your Gateway To Money And Personal Finance

Have a difficult time separating good financial advice from the bad? Today our contributors tackle everything from budgeting and credit utilization myths, to discussions on trade schools and the rent vs mortgage debate. Joining us on today's round table is Lauryn Williams from the Worth Listening podcast, Paula Pant from the Afford Anything Podcast, and Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog. Friday Fintech: FarmTogether After the constant reminders to diversify, you eventually decided to invest a portion of your portfolio into something like bonds, right? Ever consider farmland? Joining us from the FarmTogether investment platform, we welcome founder Artem Milinchuk to learn more about farmland investing. Joe and Artem discuss how farmland's low correlation with the stock market provides better diversification, how advances in the farming industry align with ESG values, and how farmland can provide bond-like stable returns while still providing equity-level value. Listener Voicemail: What Happens To Your Stock

We thought women have been doctors for a long, long time. That's clearly not been the case, and also it's a path that's hard-won. If you were fans of the women in Hidden Figures, watch out, because today we're introducing you to three more trailblazers. In honor of Women's History month we invited Olivia Campbell, the author of the new book Women in White Coats, to share with us some fascinating (and sometimes horrifying) stories of the challenges these incredible women faced during their fight with the status quo. These women had limited funds, little to no support system, no government assistance, and they persevered in spite of it all. Financial Advisor Alex Reffet In our headlines segment, we'll go back again for another look to a year ago. How should a good financial advisor have encouraged you at the time when the sky was falling, and the market was experiencing its worst days in history? We'll talk to Alex Reffet from East Paces Group in Atlanta to get his perspective. Tax Day Pushed Back...BUT With On

How many mistakes did YOU make buying your last home? Before you make another, Scott Trench and Mindy Jensen from Bigger Pockets Money join us to drop the knowledge you should know before making your next home purchase. They'll discuss the cost tradeoff you need to consider between renting and buying, the exit strategies you have to weigh before making any purchase, and detail how to set yourself up for a rock-solid home buying experience. Plus, you'll see how Mindy pocketed a $300k profit off her home renovations, tax-free. Cryptocurrency illegal? We'll start our headlines discussing India's possible banning of cryptocurrency. While nothing is yet set in stone, it's a good example of why it's important to keep your retirement funds diversified, no matter how lucrative one type of investment may appear. The only thing that's for certain is that if there's a way to make money off of it, you can bet Uncle Sam (or any government) is going to find a way to share in the pie. 2021 - The Year of the CFO We'll start

Whether you are a parent, have parents, or find yourself at the Thanksgiving table sandwiched between generations, honest money conversations are crucial to your financial journey. Single investors with no kids need to know the late-life plans of their parents before they're surprised with care costs. Kids themselves need financial education and the best way to do that is by showing them firsthand. Parents, especially those supporting two generations, have all the more reason to make sure everyone is on the same page. Joining us today to share the strategies and conversations inside of their own families, we welcome Pam Andrews from The Scholarship Shark; Doc G from the Earn & Invest podcast, and OG from our own Stacking Benjamins. Friday Fintech: Ethical Investing with Seeds Investor Remember 15 years ago (or even five) when investing in ESG's was considered principally an ethical move? While you could invest according to your morals people would tell you about the market returns you'd miss out on. That's n

Today's show includes two fantastic guests: first Allison Baggerly, who not only paid off $100k on two teacher salaries but who also has become a ninja at budgets. She'll share tips from her Inspired Budget courses and website that you can use to begin setting up your own budget today. But that's not all! We also spoke with the host of Struggle Meals, Frankie Celenza, about how he's able to make great-tasting food for less money AND with less waste. He'll share tips about spices, salt, organizing your refrigerator, and more. NOTE: On the live replay we experienced a few issues. We'll share one right at the top of the show (Doug's power went out immediately as we began--that stuff ONLY happens when you're live). We also realized while editing that you are hearing also Joe's channel, which includes links to backstage discussions. We've cleaned it up a ton and unfortunately, that meant cutting some discussions. Check out the YouTube video to see the entire show. As always, you'll find show notes and links to Str

You calculate returns on your investments, but what's your ROI when you're actually being nice to people? It turns out, reams of data show that kindness pays, and today, America's Breakthrough Coach, Brian Biro joins us to talk about how to become a Chief Kindness Officer. While Brian's all about holding the door open for someone, the philosophy of kindness actually goes much deeper than that. Sometimes being kind means telling a worker, "Go figure this out on your own, then come back to me with your thoughts." It's a wide-ranging interview that we know you're going to enjoy. Bad Idea of the Year: Investing Because A Celebrity Said So The Securities and Exchange Commission has a new warning you'll want to know about. If you didn't know this already - you shouldn't invest in any company only because you heard something on the internet and the news. That includes Stacking Benjamins, Facebook, CNBC, Fox Business, and anyone else you want to throw on this list. That's not to say no one ever has good endorsements,

Spend less than you earn, invest, Stack Benjamins, and retire to a beach for the rest of your life, (or insert personal retirement fantasy here). It sounds simple... right? As a set of guidelines, sure it's simple. BUT in reality, it's not so easy, and as studies have shown time and time again, doing your dream retirement activity (like golf) every day gets old very quickly. While money is obviously the most important component to any retirement, the "to-do" list doesn't stop there. Helping us fill in the blanks, and joining us for our round table today, we welcome CFP Dana Anspach from Sensible Money, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and our very own OG. EverPlans: Introducing a company helping you plan for the worst. After our contributors get their fill on retirement advice, Joe sits down with the founders of Everplans, a company designed to help you store key information in one place in case of the worst happening. During our Friday Fintech interview, company founders Abby Schneiderman and Adam Seife

You've felt it. You're going over the side...and it's all crashing down. You'd better believe that Heather Chauvin has also felt it. She's both a leadership coach and host of the Mom Is In Control podcast, and today she joins us in the basement to share her personal story of leaving a job she hated, all while maxing out her credit cards to get her side business off the ground - and by the way....also while she was battling cancer. While sitting down with Joe, Heather also shares how she stayed motivated and shifted her life priorities from taking care of others first, to taking care of herself first - and then others. Putting her own "mask" on first (talking airline warnings here) changed her life, and it'll do great things for you too. Financial Lessons From Sky-Rocketing Lumber Prices.In our first piece, we share lessons learned from rising lumber prices across the country. Much like how we love to wait until the day before a cold front to make necessary preparations, lumber runs on a "just in time" system.

There's a time-bomb waiting in your IRA. Tax and IRA expert Ed Slott joins us today to share what the death of the Stretch IRA means for your retirement, and how the SECURE Act has made some big changes to the way your money is treated long after you're gone. Whether you have a partner, children, family, or any other dependents depending on your support, the last thing you need is complicated tax rules funneling money out of your portfolio. If you're the type of person who runs at the sound of a tax discussion, you may want to stick around for this one. Ed Slott breaks down what is often a monotonous subject into funny, easy-to-understand material. GME Resurgence, Cathie Wood, Stocks, and more. What in the world is going on with GameStop? No, that's not a misplaced sentence. Did you think the move three weeks ago was the end? Check the chart and be prepared for a surprise. Joining us today to talk GameStop's second resurgence, we welcome Spencer Israel from Benzinga. We'll also discuss Cathie Wood, the CEO of

No matter if it's 2017 or 2021, $1 million dollars is still a nice stack of Benjamins. That's why to finish our rewind week, we're bringing a round table episode featuring our contributors sharing their top strategies to save your own million. Regular contributors Paula Pant and Len Penzo were joined by Hip Hop's Financial Advisor Rob Wilson on this episode. You can read the original show description below: How do you save a million dollars (we said in our coolest Austin Powers voice….). We’ll discuss a recent online piece that goes over that on our Friday round table! Special guest, and Hip Hop’s Financial Advisor Rob Wilson joins Paula Pant and Len Penzo in a no-holds-barred conversation on saving more money. Of course, we don’t stop there. We also tackle a recent Time story about millennials. Apparently, ONE trick is helping them save more money. We’ll share not only what it is but also additional tricks to save more money. Finally, we review a Moneyologist column question about taking care of a brother’s

For many families college is right around the corner, and so is that first Business Office payment. Fortunately for you, we have some great advice on hand from a financial aid wizard. While specific policies may change, the strategies and mindset behind lowering the bottom line and getting more aid in your pocket tend to stick around. That's why we're replaying our interview with financial aid wizard and UC San Diego instructor, Jodi Okun. Here's our original description: College planning expert Jodi Okun stops by the basement to help college-bound students save a TON of money. She has advice for students, parents, and for people thinking about possibly going back to college. How will you pay for it? She has many great suggestions. In our headlines....beware when an expert shares their opinion, and it just happens to correlate with EXACTLY the items they sell. Plus, ever wonder why nobody makes money in the stock market? We'll share the real reason. Then we take a hotline call from Amy about moving to Canada

With stimulus checks hopefully on the way, it's a good time to get your debt payment strategy in place. That's why we're replaying this episode from 2019 with Laura Adams, more commonly known as Money Girl from the popular podcast by the same name. Here's the original description: Are you having trouble climbing out of debt? Or maybe you're tired of daily calls from debt collectors? Whether you have serious debt or just need to refresh your plan, today we're kickstarting your 2019 journey to financial independence with the host of the Money Girl podcast, Laura Adams. Plus, speaking of 2019, what does the next year have in store for the world of credit? We're talking to Senior Vice President of Research and Consulting at Transunion, Matthew Komos, during our headlines segment. And later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Alex, who wants to know if he should pull some cash out of his account and reinvest when the market drops. He's also finishing his residency to become a physician, and his tax liabilit

Whether you've been investing for a week, for years, or anything in between, it's always a good idea to keep the fundamentals in mind. BUT....on the other hand, we love to have fun, and it's Friday after all! That's why today we're treating you to a Stacking Benjamins game-show version of "Guess the 10 Habits to Become a Better Investor!" We pulled a piece from M1 Finance listing their top 10 habits, and on this episode, we'll quiz our contributors on which strategies made the list. Not only do you get great investing tips from each of our three contributors, you'll find yourself laughing so much you won't realize you've learned a thing... until it's too late. Playing the game-show with us, we welcome Don McDonald from TalkingRealMoney.com, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, and Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog. Think it's too late to make a career change? After we crown our game-show champion, we'll talk big career moves with the Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas. Are you anxious about making an industry change?

John Warrillow has built and sold many businesses, and has created a business value builder system used by thousands of businesses worldwide. With many, many years of experience under his belt, John knows a thing or two on how to bring value to a business. Today, he brings that wealth of knowledge with him to help make better financial sense for your family. Tune in for an insightful discussion featuring case studies, interesting stories, and maybe a new way of looking at your family's financial picture. Hot take incoming: every time you make a bad financial decision and lose big (let's say shorting GameStop to the tune of $200,000), maybe you should blame someone else and sue them to recoup your losses! Sound crazy to you? Tell that to Christian Iovin, the man suing leading Reddit investor "DeepF$%kingValue" over his part in the short squeeze. During our headlines, Joe and OG give a thorough deconstruction detailing how the "get-rich-quick" mindset can lead a person down some strange paths - including thinki

What's the next step after you finally "make it"? While it's easy to scoff at the problems of people who are financially set, it's not uncommon to lose a sense of purpose once you jump out of the rat race. Bigger questions start to come up: what's your real purpose in life? What type of legacy are you leaving behind? How will your personal relationships be impacted by your new-found financial status? What type of impact do you want to make on the world? Shining a new light on these ideas that often don't receive enough attention is Jennifer Risher, author of We Need To Talk: A Memoir About Wealth. We'll talk to her today! Taxes, taxes, taxes. It's that time of year again. Joining us to talk all things taxes during our headlines segment, we welcome tax software expert extraordinaire, Hannah Rounds from The College Investor. Whether you're a landlord, charitable giver, paying off college debt, contributing to an HSA, or anything in between, Hannah has great advice ensuring you won't be leaving any cash on the t

Feeling stuck? Maybe it's time to move. Of course, it's a lot easier to write about moving than actually planning and doing it. And while a move may pay off in the long run, there could be a hit initially to your finances. With that in mind, today we ask our round table contributors: what exactly would encourage you to move? Better location? Pay? Maybe you want to escape the harsh Detroit winters? (I'll let you guess who had that complaint). It's a fun conversation that covers a breadth of topics in true Stacking Benjamins fashion. Helping us out today are our round table regulars: Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast, Len Penzo from the LenPenzo.com blog, and our very own OG. Halfway through the show, we'll give our contributors a break while Joe talks everything alternative investments with Michael Weisz, co-founder of alternative investments company Yieldstreet. During their interview, Michael covers everything from the company origin stories - a shocking reality check that a large percentage of eve

How do you have money conversations with the people in your life without making things awkward? From asking the boss for a raise to having a tricky money chat you'd rather not have with a family member, and even to opening honest lines of communication with your partner - money can be a scary topic to broach. We bring good news: it doesn't have to be. Erin Lowry, the mind behind the Broke Millennial series, joins us today to share how you can move beyond the "pit in your stomach" feeling when it comes to money conversations, and the answer (really) is easier than you'd think. Plus, during our headlines... let's just say the local Texarkana Chamber of Commerce isn't too happy with how we've been portraying the small quaint town of Texarkana. Chamber of Commerce President, Bubba "Tex" Mext had a few words he wanted to share with us, and - lucky for you - we caught it all on tape, and we're sharing it here today. Of course, we won't leave you high and dry either. When we find some clean airtime, we'll also discu

Think you can't network like a pro because you're an introvert? Better put your party hat on and take a shot of liquid courage, because our guest today is coming in with strategies and techniques that'll turn anyone into a lean, green, networking machine. (Without resorting to sending out hundreds of spam emails). Our guest, Matthew Pollard, has helped multiple businesses become million-dollar ideas, and he assures us it has a lot less to do with having the skills of a smooth talker, and a whole lot more with honest connection and preparation. Having trouble with the law? While the long arm of the government may be able to seize your bitcoins, today's piece shows that by forgetting a key piece of information, you don't have to worry about your bitcoins ever really going goodbye - but good luck cashing anything in for your retirement. Plus, we'll cover why everyone's favorite mortgage strategy, velocity banking, is an off-the-rails fun way of paying down your debt... until it all comes crashing down around you

Love is in the air, and today, no matter your relationship status, you're gonna LOVE our discussion on your relationship with money. How is it? Is it healthy? Growing? Worrying? We'll discuss all of the emotions around money on today's show, featuring a cast of financial media peeps including Paul Ollinger from the Crazy Money podcast; Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast; and our very own OG. Plus, just in time for Valentine's Day, there's big news from the financial app for couples called Zeta. The founder of Zeta, Aditi Shekar is back, to share all of the details. If you have a relationship with someone AND you're trying to mix money in any way, you'll want to hear their news. Of course we'll still all have opinions for a lucky listener on today's MagnifyMoney.com call AND we'll battle it out over Doug's Valentine's Day themed trivia question. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well, we went and added a comma. You weren't counting, but mom was. Today we'll share the money lessons we've learned over our first 1,000 (wow, have we really made that many?) episodes. Plus, we'll hear from many of our friends you'll recognize from the financial community. We'll share a monster list of our favorite books and resources, but all of the things that we've learned on our journey over the past (near) decade. During our headlines, we'll double up on the experts. First, we'll talk to Dirk Izzo, president and GM of Hospitality at NCR, who'll share how restaurants embraced innovation and kept revenue flowing in the face of unprecedented challenges. In our second piece, we'll invite the man who literally wrote the book on silver investing to explain the craze in the silver markets hitting the news lately. What was happening while we were all watching Gamestop? It turns out, a TON. David Morgan will share his best tips on today's show. As always, we'll save some time for Doug's trivia. Finally, thank y