Let’s party! In what felt like a bummer of a financial year, it’s important to spend some time remembering the positives. We’ve experienced a market that hasn't been this bad for nearly 15 years, crypto is fully on the ropes, inflation is still problematic, and student loan forgiveness is in limbo like we talked about last week. But a massive number of How To Money listeners have, despite the economic headwinds of 2022, been able to make significant advances with their own personal finances. We ...
Dec 14, 2022•49 min•Ep. 605
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 - As I’m entering retirement, should I consider a financial advisor and how do I go about finding one? 2 - Why was I declined for a new credit card even though my score is over 800? 3 - What are some...
Dec 12, 2022•56 min•Ep. 604
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: the results of Matt’s Aldi vs Costco experiment, expensive real Christmas trees, plummeting savings rates, the $42 billion ...
Dec 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 603
Check out our first ever AMA: an ‘ask me anything’ where we focused on personal questions as opposed to personal finance related content! Typically we’re either interviewing someone in the personal finance space, answering listeners’ money questions, doing a deep dive on a particular topic, or covering the latest personal finance news- but we thought it’d be fun for y’all to get to know us more on a personal level. These are the kinds of topics you might hear us talking about if we were grabbing...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 602
We’re joined by student loan repayment expert, Meagan McGuire! I don’t think there is anyone else we know who understands the intricacies of student loans more than Meagan. She’s been in the finance industry for more than 13 years and she has the bragging rights of being the first Certified Student Loan Professional in the state of Georgia back when we met several years ago. And the timing couldn’t be better to have an in depth conversation with Meagan as there have been so many changes, new law...
Dec 05, 2022•54 min•Ep. 601
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: $600 for 600 episodes, free Christmas decor, dumpster diving for Dior, sponsored results in your shopping cart, the rise of B...
Dec 02, 2022•32 min•Ep. 600
Flexibility is a characteristic that will serve you well! This reminded Joel of his summer beach trip with his family to Tybee Island. Shortly after they left, there was a massive swarm of jellyfish that meant beachgoers couldn’t even get in the water. Lifeguards treated around 300 visitors for jellyfish stings in a single weekend. And while that would’ve been a bummer if you were wanting to spend some time in the ocean, it didn’t mean that you couldn’t have any fun in the sun. It just would’ve ...
Nov 30, 2022•46 min•Ep. 599
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 - Should I completely pay off my student loans or instead use my year-end bonus to invest in the stock market? 2 - Is it possible to get my personal, business, and kids accounts all with the same ban...
Nov 28, 2022•53 min•Ep. 598
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: student loan pause extension, scammers targeting student loan holders, new guidelines for student loans in bankruptcy, EV rel...
Nov 25, 2022•37 min•Ep. 597
Farming has to be one of the most difficult careers if our (lack of) success at gardening is any indicator. By no means are we farmers, but from what we do know about growing food, it’s important to periodically let your fields lie fallow. This allows the soil a chance to rest and restore some nutrient balance. It’s counterintuitive, it certainly feels like taking time off from growing crops is going to hurt your bottom line but it’s incredibly necessary for the long-term health of the soil, as ...
Nov 23, 2022•51 min•Ep. 596
If you’ve listened to the show for more than a couple episodes then you know that we’re big fans of index funds. Specifically, low-cost widely diversified index funds are what the vast majority of our portfolios consist of. But how did index funds come to be? And sure, we’re all for them but what does everyone else say? That’s why we’re pumped to take a deep dive into index funds today with Robin Wigglesworth who is editor of Alphaville over at the Financial Times. Robin is a financial journalis...
Nov 21, 2022•51 min•Ep. 595
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: higher fees for robo advisors, forgiveness freeze, DeFi debacle, cash stuffing to get ahead, sunsetting credit card benefits,...
Nov 18, 2022•28 min•Ep. 594
Searing your steak as a way to ‘lock in the juices’ is something we’ve heard folks recommend for years! Get that grill hot as blazes, toss on your steak, and reap the juicy medium-rare rewards. But even though there might be a kernel of truth here, culinary scientists tell us that it’s not actually the best method. It turns out that the reverse sear is the better way to do it! Similarly, there are phrases and ideas in the personal finance space that get preached as though they’re the gospel trut...
Nov 16, 2022•48 min•Ep. 593
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 - We don’t use our dishwasher- so should we save money by not buying one during our kitchen remodel? 2 - Are there any downsides to snagging any of the bank bonus offers? 3 - How can I get our car in...
Nov 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 592
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: CNET calls Matt a liar, Costco hacks to save more, rents on the decline, getting paid to pay rent, all-in pricing with Airbnb...
Nov 11, 2022•31 min•Ep. 591
Back to the Future is easily one of the most quintessential 80s movies- come at us if you disagree! And there’s a scene early in the movie when Doc Brown basically explains how it is that he came up with the flux capacitor, which makes time travel possible. But the way that it came about was Doc was standing on his toilet, hanging a clock when he slipped and hit his head on the sink. It was at that precise moment that he came up with the flux capacitor- doing something completely unrelated to hi...
Nov 09, 2022•53 min•Ep. 590
Aside from buying a home, buying a car is one of the most expensive one-time purchases that we make. This is a part of the reason why we spend a decent amount of time talking about cars! Over 16% of American household budgets are spent on transportation, so get this one decision right and it’ll be a massive boost to your personal finances. And that’s why we’re excited to have Mike Quincy joining us today. Mike is a car specialist and has been with Consumer Reports for nearly 30 years! He partici...
Nov 07, 2022•59 min•Ep. 589
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: I bonds are still paying big, cutting back on gift giving, Balenciaga babies, kicking Coinstar to the curb, the worst time to...
Nov 04, 2022•32 min•Ep. 588
Most Americans didn’t have an inkling about Formula 1 racing for most of its existence, until the Netflix show Drive to Survive came along. It’s amazing what a docuseries can do for a sport that was typically relegated to Europe! But an interesting thing about F1 is that the driver with the fastest lap time in trials the day before gets the pole position which is the best starting position at the beginning of the actual race. It turns out that the driver who gets that crucial advantage right out...
Nov 02, 2022•51 min•Ep. 587
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 - Are real estate investing apps like Landa legit? 2 - When it comes to budgeting, is it OK to sneak my gardening supplies into our housing maintenance savings category? 3 - Should I cash out an old ...
Oct 31, 2022•55 min•Ep. 586
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: last day to jump on those I bonds, student loan forgiveness in limbo, expensive turkeys, senior discounts for everyone, not-s...
Oct 28, 2022•32 min•Ep. 585
The fact that money is so measurable is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because your budget, your salary, how much you have set aside in investment accounts- basically all dollar amounts in your life are very quantifiable. And because of that it’s not difficult to make some tweaks in order to see some movement with your net worth. Awesome! But at the same time it’s a curse- because these are measurements that are so readily available, we can often overly rely on these numbers to let...
Oct 26, 2022•55 min•Ep. 584
There’s a decent chance that during the pandemic and the ensuing months, that you were stuck at home with some extra cash on hand, but with no way to spend that money. So you got into crypto- and unfortunately, there’s a very good chance that your holdings are worth much less and you might be a little concerned. And you’re not alone because a recent Bankrate survey showed that only about 30% of millennials are comfortable investing in crypto which is down from 50% a year ago. There’s just not as...
Oct 24, 2022•53 min•Ep. 583
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: our new credit card tool, student loan forgiveness deadlines, pricey Halloween candy, spending big bucks on pet costumes, ret...
Oct 21, 2022•30 min•Ep. 582
We’re glad Ikea exists. The ability for a vast majority of the population to get their hands on some incredibly functional, well designed, and affordable furniture is a good thing. But, you’re also unlikely to pass Ikea furniture down to your kids or for that matter, use it for more than a handful of years. Compare that to a campaign dresser from the 1800s! It’s true that they don’t make them like they used to. The same is true when it comes to modern financial advice. There’s a lot of ‘wisdom’ ...
Oct 19, 2022•46 min•Ep. 581
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 - Should I take the leap into real estate investing or is it smarter to invest within a Roth IRA? 2 - Is it a better deal to pay for CPI with my car insurance provider or pay for full coverage myself...
Oct 17, 2022•54 min•Ep. 580
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: life as a one car family, ADUs FTW, smaller affordable housing, flippity-flops, mortgage rates at 20-year highs, whether I bo...
Oct 14, 2022•34 min•Ep. 579
“Spend less than you make.” This is a maxim that is not only true but, if followed, will allow you to accomplish so many other goals that you might have in life. It’s a foundational concept. Similarly, we also think the same can be said for biking. Get this one thing right in your life- pedal your way to wherever you need to go, and so many other aspects of life will automatically fall into place. And we’ve actually been able to put our commitment to biking to the test since we’ve moved out of t...
Oct 12, 2022•54 min•Ep. 578
We’re pumped to talk with entrepreneur extraordinaire Codie Sanchez today. And while Codie is busy buying businesses today, the truth is, it took her a while to get there. Years ago, right out of college, Codie was working 70-hour weeks for a paycheck. And even though she had a great education and an elite job, she felt like her life was out of control. Who cares about prestigious job titles when somebody else controls your day to day?! Now, things are different: Codie is financially independent...
Oct 10, 2022•59 min•Ep. 577
Time for our Friday Flight! These episodes are a sampling of 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 get ahead with your money. In this episode we cover some relevant and helpful stories like: surprise bags of food, underutilized HSAs, the silver lining of expensive healthcare, second hand name brands, credit card de...
Oct 07, 2022•31 min•Ep. 576
