How can you take control of your life instead of life taking control of you? On today's special roundtable episode, we're talking about making the most of your productivity habits. How has your phone robbed you of your productivity? We're joined by Rob Berger of The Dough Roller Money Podcast, founder and CEO of the financial services firm Sensible Money Dana Anspach, and founder of Afford Anything Paula Pant. They'll dive into their top productivity tips. On the second half of the show, we're joined by MetPro's Angelo Poli. He and Joe dive into health and fitness. He breaks down top techniques to improve your wellness. Be sure to stick around for Doug's baseball-themed trivia! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/better-systems-to-improve-productivity-1508 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us today as we dive into the core principles of building a sustainable financial future with marketing professor, author and investor, Scott Galloway. We explore the essential formulas behind his book Algebra of Wealth, discussing purposeful living, effective retirement planning, and the emotional aspects of investing. Our headline today is all about AllianceBernstein 401k lawsuit that was dropped by New York US District Court. During our Better Call Saul-Sehy and OG, we unravel the complexities of early retirement, delving into specific IRS rules for accessing retirement funds. Plus, Doug wraps it all up with some modern history trivia! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/investing-with-a-life-mission-1507 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're all about the factors to help you build a better investment portfolio. Joe and OG break down their thoughts as they dole out their top five building blocks to constructing a better portfolio. Be sure to bookmark this evergreen episode, as it contains universal truths that will help you in the years to come! In our headlines, we talk about what's the best way to prepare for unexpected financial shocks, and when to get started (spoiler alert: how about now?). We dive deeper into how to protect your downside in the event of black swan events. Our TikTok Minute is all about how to get 90% of the way to your health goals by using one simple trick. Stick around for Doug's US currency history-related trivia. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/top-five-investment-building-blocks-1506 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's talk about what it takes to become a millionaire in today's day and age. We are thrilled to bring you a special roundtable episode with three outstanding contributors: we welcome CEO of BFG Financial Advisors, CFP® Eric Brotman; the force behind the website Yes, I am Cheap, Sandy Smith, and our resident doctor and host of the Earn & Invest podcast, Doc G. In the first half of the discussion, we cover two of the primary ways to reach millionaire status: saver/investor, and passion-based activities (starting a business, reaching celebrity status, etc.) In the second half of our discussion, brought to you by DepositAccounts.com, our roundtable dives into 2 more ways that people achieve millionaire status: the company-climber path and the virtuoso path. Plus, our year-long trivia game continues, with none of our roundtable regulars. Which sit-in will bring home the W for Paula, Len, or OG? Tune in to find out! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/4-paths-to-become-a-millionaire-1505 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode is all about a very important, topic that's sure to arouse interest at personal finance get togethers: risk management. Specifically, Joe and OG jump into their Top 5 risks that people don't think about enough - and what you should do ahead of time. In our headline segment, we dive into a popular personal finance website's piece about what to keep in mind when aging. Our TikTok Minute features unfathomable consequences that one might experience if living near a certain sporting location. And finally, Doug brings it all home with his trivia that's loosely related to insurance (but not really). Classic Doug! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/all-about-better-insurance-choices-1504 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've ever wondered if there's more in life and your career waiting for you than your current job, then today's mentor is someone you want to listen to! On today's show, we welcome Michael Balter to the basement to discuss his career path and how he pivoted in a big way! In our headline segment, we see some shocking (eye-roll) news about one store's credit card and how they are going to make up the lost revenue that they can charge in late fees. OG is not surprised. And, finally, stick around for Doug's trivia loosely tied to April 15th. It's a stretch, but he's going with it. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/career-pivots-for-the-win-1503 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you know when the time is right to walk away from a career? Do you even want to? Can you afford to? Our roundtable discussion centers around thinking about retirement and how to prepare yourself financially so you can stay retired. We welcome Founder/President of Capital City Wealth Management, CFP® Benjamin Brandt, to join Paula Pant and Len Penzo. How do you factor paying for health insurance into your early retirement planning? What about debt payments? When you retire, there will be greater spending in some areas that you may not think about while still working. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/why-you-should-retire-by-62-1502 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you recently come into some money? Are you expecting to in the near future? How have you treated "found money" in the past? With millions of Americans receiving their income tax refund, today we discuss what smart Stackers do with "found" money. Not only that, but we also dive deeper into tips for how to decide ahead of time what you will do with any windfalls that come your way throughout the year, so you don't have to worry about blowing investing the entire amount on a brand new El Camino. Be sure to stick around for Doug's this-day-in-baseball-history-themed trivia question! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/what-to-do-with-your-tax-refund-1501 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can simply being kind (and using math) bring more Benjamins into your life? Today we explore the topic of how changing your outlook towards others can attract more abundance and wealth in life when Joe sits down with our mentor, the brilliant James Rhee, MIT professor and author of the hit book red helicopter: a parable for our times: lead change with kindness (plus a little math). In our headline, we talk about the recent cutback in spending on lavish weddings, and how much is too much to expect to spend on your nuptials? Plus, how do you get out of budget for attending a wedding you've been invited to? Stick around for Doug's wandering trivia! You're sure to not feel any older after his knowledge! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/kindness-math-and-benjamins-1500 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode is our 1499th episode! On today's celebratory show, we dive into some of your success stories! Plus, ever wonder how you achieve anything big in life? Just get started! On today's episode you'll get a behind the scenes look at the evolution of Stacking Benjamins. We go into what lessons we've learned along the way and how we strive to keep improving. Stacker Christine from Seattle calls in to share her story, and how listening to the show inspired her to change her social circles and the conversations she was having with others. We dive into best practices for building your business as an entrepreneur and how to build your network and reputation. Stacker Derek calls in to express his gratitude for the show and all of the regular contributors. Lambo calls in to share how listening to and learning from the show has helped him improve his financial life. Stacker Billy from San Francisco called in to give a shoutout to us and express gratitude for the help in making positive changes in his financial life. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/past-present-future-of-sb-episode-1499-celebration Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The word is out on using low-cost investments over complex Wall Street strategies (and if you don't believe us, we'll quote SIGNIFICANT studies on today's show). Yet, new expensive products are built every day promising better/faster/more wealth. What do you need to know to simplify your strategy and stay the course? In today's headline segment we'll dive into diversification and keeping your portfolio simple. We'll share why it's important to question more complex strategies, and discuss solutions that wealthy investors truly are using to increase future income streams while keeping things low cost. We'll also shine a light on a popular investment manager who's working directly opposite the trend that we're suggesting, Cathie Wood of ARK Investments. We'll share the wild ride up and our thoughts on her recent issues and disastrous returns. We'll also take a call from James, wondering about ABLE accounts. These are wonderful tools for people with special needs who are diagnosed early in life, and can help individuals avoid significant taxes. How do they work? What do you need to know? We'll share. Of course, we'll also dive into Doug's amazing trivia question of the day, which shines a light on a high cost investment option: hedge funds...while saving time for a TikTok minute you won't want to miss. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/all-about-fees-and-you-1498 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Busy does not equal productive. In fact, how often have you watched as someone who was too busy to reach the important items on their mile-long list? Sadly, we're addicted to the to-do list but not addicted enough to processes that actually increase our happiness, creativity, or effectiveness. True productivity begins with CALM, according to today's mentor, Laura Martin. She created the productivity expert role at Google, and joins us today to share hints and tips to make you not only more relaxed, but also a fountain of productivity, no matter what you want to do. Beyond that, we have an amazing headline, Joe & OG share the biggest laughs of their lives, and Doug FINALLY gives maybe his best advice ever. Oh, and former President Barack Obama stops by. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/more-productivity-less-guilt-1497 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most frustrating moments in any investor or saver's life is when you figure out that you fell prey to a "gotcha" you didn't expect and either lose money, opportunity, or both. Even if your favorite financial tool, strategy or advisor doesn't mean to inflict a "gotcha" on you, because we often don't know what we don't know, we use tools or people inefficiently, causing damage to ourselves we didn't expect. Today we talk about intended and unintended "gotchas" in financial products with three people who know and who've seen many problems firsthand. All of them are Certified Financial Planners, and all three are hosts of great podcasts. Shannah Game (Everyone's Talkin' Money), Roger Whitney (Retirement Answer Man), and our very own OG debate and discuss many of the nuanced (and sometimes not-so-nuanced) "gotchas" in investments, insurances, financial planning, and more. That's not all though. Of course we take a break halfway through for our weekly trivia contest between our contributors. Today? Doug's building bridges! You'll have to hear it yourself and maybe guess your answer. Can you beat our contestants? FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/person-finance-gotchas-1496 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you plan on living a long life (and who doesn't want that?), you'll need to create over thirty years' worth of cash flow. Studies show that the average person wants to retire at the "normal" age of mid-60s but also plans to live to reach the century mark. If that's you, you're in luck because today we're joined by the CFO of one of the country's greatest comedy clubs and a guy who's a professional comedian himself, Bob Wheeler. Bob joins the guys for the entire show to talk about longevity and planning and maybe share a few laughs. We also spend some time talking about two controversial approaches to paying down debt and banking: Velocity banking and Infinite banking. We describe both concepts and share the good, bad, and unfortunately, the ugly. That's not all. Doug is partying hard because it's the anniversary of the date the shoelace was patented! There's nothing like a basement-based party with a top comedian, your money jokes, and discussions of annuities, longevity, and getting started. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/make-your-money-last-30-years-bob-wheeler-1495 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our mentor today is one of the foremost thinkers and practitioners in the financial planning space. Peter Mallouk joins us to dispel the myth that the stock market is like the stock market, that the bond market is still dangerous (a year later), that AI is coming for our jobs, that you'll find safety in a savings account, and that gold is a great investment. It's a dynamic discussion with the man who wrote a financial book with Tony Robbins a few years ago, who owns the Kansas City Royals baseball team, and who is one of the top financial planners in the country. In our headline segment, we do something we often don't engage in: philosophy. But today, philosophical discussion meets behavioral finance (much more our strong suit), in a Wall Street Journal piece about passive investing and capitalism. Is passive investing killing the stock market, and then by extension, capitalism? While we probably won't solve the world's problems or "fix" the stock market, we will discuss the basics of passive investing (positives and negatives), the problem of (and also the advantages in) not knowing what's going on with the companies in which you've invested, and the importance of diversification, balanced portfolios, and avoiding recency bias. Of course, Doug shares a trivia question fresh out of Scotland. He'll use an important marker of today's date in history (Robert the Bruce's birthday) to shine the light on one of the most iconic pieces of real estate in the world, Robert's castle. We also help a Stacker who said, "I'd better call Saul...Sehy and OG!" He wonders about becoming a financial planner when you don't have a college degree. Is it more difficult to gain experience? FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/getting-your-financial-plan-right-1494 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the battle between index funds and actively managed funds finally over? Total assets invested in index funds and ETFs recently passed assets invested in active funds for the first time ever. But is going all index funds the right move for you? Joining us is CFP and President of Bona Fide Wealth, Douglas Boneparthe. Also joining us is Crystal Hammond, host of our sister show, Stacking Deeds. And finally joining us from his bunker deep under Los Angeles is the creator of the award-winning blog lenpenzo.com, Len Penzo. We dive into the difference between active and passive funds, break down the history of each, and pontificate on where we think the investment world is heading. Plus, what are the risks of cap-weighted index funds? In the second half of the show, sponsored by DepositAccounts.com, we dive into the industry secrets and their smoke-and-mirrors tricks. Be sure to stick around for our ongoing year-long trivia competition. Doug brings us some diminutive French leader-themed trivia. You won't want to miss it! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/active-vs-passive-fund-debate-1493 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grace Puma and Christiana Smith Shi have been where you're trying to go. Puma was the COO of Pepsico, one of the largest brands on earth, and Smith Shi was the President of Nike Consumer Direct after over twenty years at a little consulting firm called McKinsey. Today they join us in the basement to help you reimagine your career and focus on the big picture while still doing a great job at the position you're holding now. How can you be both strategic AND focused? They'll share. Plus, they'll talk about the value of changing jobs (or employers), how to polish your resume, and how to lead yourself through organizations to find the top. In our headline segment we're visited by another star....this one in the tax planning world. Ed Slott is back, and he's fired up about your retirement accounts. His take: stop saving into pre-tax 401k plans and IRAs! Why? Here during tax season Ed joins us to dive into what we SHOULD be focusing on this tax season....and reminding us what we should ignore. But that's not all. We also answer a call for help from a Stacker who's wondering about the latest Robinhood promotion. Even though we're not fans of the company, should he take the free money? Of course, we also save time for Doug's trivia question, and much, much more. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/career-forward-grace-puma-christiana-smith-shi-1492 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anne Lester knows money. She helped develop target date mutual funds at JP Morgan, headed retirement programs, and knew her stuff. But Anne, like many of us, is a spender at heart and has had to trick herself into great saving habits. How? We talk about the basics, which do NOT include skipping lattes or shaming yourself into saving more money. In fact, the truth about saving more money is hiding in plain site, and we dive in so you can finally begin or accelerate your journey TODAY. Before that, though, in our headline segment, the United State government is cracking down on credit card late fees. The Biden administration has passed a cap on fees at eight dollars, and has also foreshadowed that overdraft and other bank fees may not be far behind. Is this legislation going to help you save more money? We'll dive into what we love, don't love, and what we're cautiously optimistic about, assuming that YOU take action on your plan and tighten up your banking practices. That's not all. We also answer a question from a Stacker who said, "We'd better call Saul...Sehy and OG for help!" Of course, there's Doug's trivia segment as well, and much, much more. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/mastering-financial-basics-anne-lester-1491 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Admittedly, we finance nerds tend to obsess a lot over topics that may or may not be super relevant to the general public. But what are some things that are overrated in personal finance? That's what our panel dives into in this special roundtable discussion. Joining us we welcome back financial educator and author, Brian Feroldi. He joins Paula Pant, creator of Afford Anything, and our resident CFP®, OG. On the second half of our discussion, sponsored by DepositAccounts.com, we debate more of what the most overrated concepts in personal finance are. And finally, our year-long trivia contest continues as Neighbor Doug whips out some charity-related trivia.  FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/the-most-overrated-ideas-concepts-and-beliefs-about-money Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stackers in the wild are amazing creatures. We're quitting the job we don't care about and spend more time in our community because we've built emergency funds (Mike and Melissa share this story). We're becoming enrolled agents, a job that many can use as a side hustle to pay down debt, retire early, or build a better life (Jordan shares his tale passing these three tests). We're retiring early because we did the work and created surround sound to bounce ideas off of other people (Chris shares how he left his job at age 50). There are so many cool people all around you doing awesome things and today we share just THREE stories from YOU. But first we have a pair of disturbing headlines. One says the market is poised to continue upward, while the other cautions that we're nearly 100% certainly headed for a downturn. The problem? These two pieces were both found on the SAME reputable website, one right under the other! Huh?!? So, which is correct? We talk about both predictions and what we think YOU should do when you read either of these prognostications. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/stacker-community-episode-taxes-fire-flexibility-1489 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices