Who doesn’t enjoy going on a relaxing or adventurous vacation?! But even if spending a week in the Caribbean or backpacking across Europe isn’t your craft-beer-equivalent, chances are pretty high that you have to occasionally do some traveling and we want you to save big. Americans pour a lot of money into travel- to the tune of 972 billion dollars on domestic travel alone back in 2019. But it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. We want you to experience all the joy of travel while lessening the...
Aug 11, 2021•51 min•Ep. 395
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask/ , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - What is this fixed finance charge on a new credit card that I applied for? 2 - How can I prevent my income based student loan payments from increasing as I’m making more money? 3 - Are there hidde...
Aug 09, 2021•47 min•Ep. 394
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: Joel’s favorite wallet, free or discounted ACA health coverage, college health insurance plans, Target and Walmart...
Aug 06, 2021•28 min•Ep. 393
Dick Fosbury changed the sport of high jumping forever the first time he jumped backward over the bar. Until then, every competitor had launched themselves into the air going forward, belly over the bar. I’m not sure the last time you watched a high jumping event, but now every high jumper uses Dick’s technique. He essentially exploited a flaw in the high jumping world that no-one else was paying attention to. In a way that’s basically what arbitrage is when it comes to our personal finances- it...
Aug 04, 2021•45 min•Ep. 392
Today on the show we’re talking with one of the greatest minds in the personal finance space- Clark Howard. Clark is a money expert with a heart of gold who hosted his own radio show for over 30 years. I had the pleasure of working with him for 14 of those years. He is also the author of 10 books and continues to produce an excellent podcast daily because he somehow has limitless amounts of energy. But some of his more impressive accomplishments have been via the work he spearheads in Atlanta an...
Aug 02, 2021•52 min•Ep. 391
Our country has opened back up and we’re guessing that you probably spent a lot more money this summer compared to last year. Consumer spending isn’t going anywhere, student loans are ever-present, and car loans are becoming even more of an issue as consumers take out 72 and 84 month loans. The reality and feeling of drowning in debt is compounded when folks don’t know how to get out from underneath this crushing weight. Where do you even begin?! What we need is a plan to help us get out of debt...
Jul 30, 2021•45 min•Ep. 390
You might be saying “Yea, yea- we know Joel and Matt love biking…”, but did you realize that you’re literally missing out on millions of dollars by driving instead of biking? We crunch the numbers for you in this episode. So if you’re not biking, you should really give it another shot. People change- you’re not set in stone are you?! Just because at some point in time you decided that biking wasn’t for you, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t reconsider. And on top of the massive financial bene...
Jul 28, 2021•49 min•Ep. 389
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask/ , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear from you! 1 - How can I use money allocation and automation to reduce my level of financial stress? 2 - Does it make more sense for us to rent or sell our house in the current hot real estate market? 3 - ...
Jul 26, 2021•48 min•Ep. 388
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: appealing your property tax assessment, crazy rich millennials, eating out is getting pricier, shrinkflation and g...
Jul 23, 2021•29 min•Ep. 387
You’re missing out! Imagine using your smartphone only for making phone calls. What if you didn’t know you could use your phone to listen to podcasts, text, interact with friends on social media, or even to use the built in flashlight? What a shame that would be since your phone is capable of so much more than what it’s name implies! Now let’s imagine you’re only using your credit card to make purchases. Are you aware of the long list of benefits and rewards that are provided by some great credi...
Jul 21, 2021•47 min•Ep. 386
Here on the podcast we often talk about how to do smart things with your money, but we also try not to neglect the why behind our actions as well as our attitudes that have a massive impact on our overall approach to personal finance. Today on the show we’re talking with Ken Honda about his book “Happy Money” which is all about the mindset and attitude that we bring to our money which directly impacts our happiness. After a very successful business career, becoming an author was essentially a se...
Jul 19, 2021•53 min•Ep. 385
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: opting out of housekeeping to save money, child tax credits have arrived, getting paid on demand, living paycheck ...
Jul 16, 2021•30 min•Ep. 384
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You’ve heard phrases like this your entire life but are they true? And how can we specifically apply them to our personal finances? We had fun talking about some common money phrases earlier this year, but since then we’ve realized that there were a bunch of good ones we didn’t cover! So we figured it was a good idea to hit up even more common money phrases that we’ve all heard and dissect them. And the reason we feel ...
Jul 14, 2021•44 min•Ep. 383
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask/ , send us your voice memo! 1 - Is my job worth the awful commute? 2 - How can I hang out with my friends without spending a ton of money? 3 - Does it make sense to contribute to both an HSA (Health Savings Account) and FSA (Flexible Spending Account) 4 - Should I pay off my mom’s credit cards or car in or...
Jul 12, 2021•48 min•Ep. 382
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: reevaluating 2021 goals, new cheap travel hacks, the price of gasoline, federal unemployment benefits ending for s...
Jul 09, 2021•29 min•Ep. 381
This episode is all about FIRE which stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. This movement came about as an entire generation began to push back against the notion of traditional retirement- working hard in a job you hate so that you can kick back when you’re 65. Thanks, but nah. We have friends who have completely rejected that idea and have retired in their 20s and 30s, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that the pursuit of financial independence doesn’t have to look a spe...
Jul 07, 2021•47 min•Ep. 380
Since yesterday was the 4th of July, we’re talking about financial independence with someone who has achieved it at the young age of 27. Rachel Richards is a former financial advisor, a real estate investor with almost 40 rental units, and the bestselling author of “Money Honey.” She has also written “Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement” which we’re covering today as we discuss the lessons Rachel has learned on her way to financial independence. Rachel quit her 9-5 job and now lives off over $...
Jul 05, 2021•50 min•Ep. 379
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: Bobby Bonilla made the wrong decision, keeping utility costs low during scorching heat, peak inflation with costs ...
Jul 02, 2021•29 min•Ep. 378
Nobody enjoys paying full price- who doesn’t like scoring a sweet deal?! Yet many of us don’t think to do what it takes to pay less for the things that we buy. Whether it’s the fear of rejection or not wanting to be perceived as a cheapskate, there are a number of false narratives at play that are keeping us from pouncing on discounts. And it’s important to simultaneously keep in mind that, in the words of Michelle Singletary, “discounts make us dumb!” In the quest to pay less, it’s important to...
Jun 30, 2021•37 min•Ep. 377
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask/ , send us your voice memo! 1 - How should we budget for a bi-weekly paycheck? 2 - Should I give unsolicited investing advice to my brother-in-law? 3 - Since I’m building up my net worth, should I increase my liability car insurance limits? 4 - Are I Bonds a good idea? (pronounced ‘eye’ bonds!) 5 - 15 or 3...
Jun 28, 2021•42 min•Ep. 376
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: Costco mortgages, how you can raid our bookshelf, Advance Child Tax Credit, car rental gift card scams, high earne...
Jun 25, 2021•30 min•Ep. 375
Most everyone out there has heard of lifestyle creep, also known as lifestyle inflation. We define this phenomenon as the unconscious upgrading of our lifestyle and standard of living which ends up costing us more and more money. And aside from the ability of lifestyle creep to sneak up on us, one of the other dangers is that it is often difficult to turn back the clock and downgrade our standard of living! So we’re asking the question today- is lifestyle creep inevitable? In this episode we dis...
Jun 23, 2021•41 min•Ep. 374
Michelle Singletary is an award winning personal finance columnist for The Washington Post. She’s also a frequent contributor to NPR and she has also appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” and CBS’ “The Early Show.” Michelle has written multiple books on personal finance and her latest book, “What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits,” was just published last month. Not only is it an incredible resource for folks who find themselves in difficult times, but it’s also chock-full of practical money advic...
Jun 21, 2021•50 min•Ep. 373
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: micro weddings are here to stay, The Great Resignation, increased employee benefits, acquiring new skills, solid 5...
Jun 18, 2021•29 min•Ep. 372
During today’s episode we’re going to explain how you need more financial stress in your life!.. Well, not quite, but we do think that the proper amount of stress in our lives can be helpful in achieving the money goals we’re pursuing. All things in moderation though- just like you want to avoid having too much of a good thing, we obviously want to avoid overwhelming stress in our lives. But the thing is, it’s oftentimes not even the stress itself that is bringing us down, but the negative copin...
Jun 16, 2021•36 min•Ep. 371
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask/ , send us your voice memo! 1 - Where do I put money for the next 3-6 years for a home purchase? 2 - What should I keep in mind as I’m considering becoming a financial counselor? 3 - Will our teenager need to file taxes for his summer job? 4 - Can I use my credit card as an emergency fund so I can invest m...
Jun 14, 2021•40 min•Ep. 370
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: renting vs buying, actual cost of homeownership, inflation is surging, shrinkflation, post-pandemic spending spree...
Jun 11, 2021•27 min•Ep. 369
For most financially responsible parents out there, it’s not a question of if they should be saving for their kid’s college, but how much . Oftentimes parents are wondering how much they need to save in order to be performing their proper parental duty. But we’re taking a more counter cultural stance and are asking the question: should you be saving for college at all ? We’re all about thinking in advance and ensuring that we’re properly saving and investing our money, but for a lot of folks, th...
Jun 09, 2021•42 min
For this episode we sit down for a great conversation with Philip Olson and Julia Lorenz-Olson. As a newly married couple, they transitioned from theatre kids fresh out of college, to money experts as Philip and Julia now own their own financial planning firm in Austin Texas. They also host the PBS YouTube channel Two Cents, where they tackle various personal finance topics ranging from ‘How Cars Keep You Poor’, to ‘Retiring in Your 30s’. Julia and Philip are able to channel their passion for ac...
Jun 07, 2021•45 min•Ep. 367
It's time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: dumb fees on prepaid debit cards, avoiding rising auto insurance rates, fixing vs replacing your car, preparing fo...
Jun 04, 2021•30 min•Ep. 366
