Today we're diving into the dollar-saving-world of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA (which has seen some significant changes this year). Other than the cost of a hospital visit, nothing has skyrocketed in price like college tuition and fees over the past 20 years. You think your house or your new car is crazy expensive? Nope, just wait until your kid starts looking at colleges- that’s when the real sticker shock kicks in! And that’s why we’re excited to be ...
Nov 29, 2023•50 min•Ep. 755
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - With Mint shutting down, do y’all have any recommendations for new budgeting software? 2 - Should I convert my primary residence into an investment property as I’m moving out of town? 3 - As a...
Nov 27, 2023•57 min•Ep. 754
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: two years of flying for free, Black Friday flaws, return policies and travel deals, Hyundai “Add to Cart”, commuting alternatives, m...
Nov 24, 2023•35 min•Ep. 753
Here on the podcast we're always on the lookout for the biggest bang for our buck. Picture this: you, in the grocery store aisle, pondering the cosmic significance of toilet paper prices and whether the fancy stuff is going to be worth it! Or maybe you’re weighing a couple job offers: you're not just negotiating salary, you're out there considering the 401k match, turning job hunting into a strategic sport! We're all about optimizing our lives for maximum value, but are we extending this same st...
Nov 22, 2023•50 min•Ep. 752
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - Is tax loss harvesting more trouble than it’s worth or am I missing something? 2 - Should I take out a HELOC on my mobile home that has experienced a tremendous amount of growth in equity? 3 -...
Nov 20, 2023•49 min•Ep. 751
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: why NOW is the time to apply for a Southwest Rapid Rewards card, chasing the market, actually investing your HSA dollars, ADU financ...
Nov 17, 2023•30 min•Ep. 750
Hold on to your holiday hats because Americans are gearing up to break the spending records this holiday season! Deloitte reports an expected 14% increase in spending compared to last year, with the average consumer spending just over $1,600 on gifts and goodies. We’re entering peak shopping season and who doesn’t want to make sure they’re getting the absolute best deal possible?! That’s why we’re excited to be speaking with Julie Ramhold who is a consumer and senior staff writer for DealNews. W...
Nov 15, 2023•57 min•Ep. 749
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - How do I go about creating a budget with a highly variable income? 2 - As new parents we want to start saving money into a 529 plan but how much should we aim to invest? 3 - Avoiding capital g...
Nov 13, 2023•52 min•Ep. 748
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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 most affordable eyeglasses around, pressure to go paperless, learning from buyers remorse, the shopping social network, #dupe, B...
Nov 10, 2023•33 min•Ep. 747
Aside from the fact that cryptocurrency has lost its luster in recent years, it also has a host of other problems. First of all there’s the climate issue since crypto requires a ton of energy. Then there’s the trust issue because without trust you don’t have widespread adoption and what good is crypto if there isn’t a critical mass of users? And then on top of that you add the recent developments of Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction of stealing billions of dollars from customers at FTX. Knowing tha...
Nov 08, 2023•48 min•Ep. 746
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 are the tax consequences of selling a single stock within my Roth IRA? 2 - How do I shift my mindset from saver to spender as I enter my retirement years? 3 - I’m getting close to making ...
Nov 06, 2023•54 min•Ep. 745
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: higher 401k and IRA contribution limits, the eternal war against consumption, financially fasting, pumping the brakes on credit limi...
Nov 03, 2023•35 min•Ep. 744
We’re guessing that the title of this episode may have come as a shock to a lot of folks! If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you may have picked up on the fact that we haven’t been the biggest proponents of prenuptial agreements… but let’s see if our guest today can change our minds! We’re joined by Aaron Thomas, a graduate of Harvard Law, who also happens to live in our old neighborhood in Atlanta. Aaron is a divorce attorney with decades of experience and his clients range from ...
Nov 01, 2023•53 min•Ep. 743
We’re kicking off the week by answering your spooky listener money 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! And since this episode wasn’t a traditional Ask HTM episode, let’s mention that we answered and covered a lot of different questions and comments like: favorite seasonal beers, making...
Oct 30, 2023•58 min•Ep. 742
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: gamifying your thermostat, car loans come calling, a Thanksgiving dinner gameplan, married money mishaps, a great time to buy a hous...
Oct 27, 2023•28 min•Ep. 741
Dying without the proper documents in place can cost your loved ones a ton of money! The latest research shows that probate can easily take a 3% to 7% bite out of your estate. And this is a topic that’s been on our minds for months since episode 704, when we had our wives on the podcast. We realized that the ladies might have a general idea of what to do if one of us died, but for the most part they would be rudderless since both of us handle the bulk of our finances in both of our families. Tha...
Oct 25, 2023•57 min•Ep. 740
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - Is an eSIM provider like Airalo legit and a good way to use my phone when traveling abroad? 2 - How do I supplement my pension if I want to retire early from my teaching career? 3 - What are t...
Oct 23, 2023•54 min•Ep. 739
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: if Broadway Roulette is frugal or cheap, mediocre matches, millennial millionaires, status quo-ing your way to wealth, scam suscepti...
Oct 20, 2023•34 min•Ep. 738
The fundamentals of personal finance aren’t all that complicated- there’s a reason why we came up with the Money Gears: 7 straight forward steps to take with your money. We could probably boil it down even more: spend less than you make, and invest the rest! So while the core principles of growing wealth are fairly simple , then why aren’t more Americans handling their money better? One reason is because we, as individuals, are incredibly complex ! And that complexity can lead to a disconnect be...
Oct 18, 2023•53 min•Ep. 737
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - Is it worth paying for Robinhood Gold in order to snag the higher match they offer on IRAs? 2 - Should my husband remove himself as an authorized user from his mom’s credit card that has a lar...
Oct 16, 2023•52 min•Ep. 736
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: Meta resuming credit card fees for donations, a direct EV tax credit, annual cost of car ownership, declining rates of bicycling, th...
Oct 13, 2023•31 min•Ep. 735
Sure you could simply invest in a target date fund, or even take the more aggressive path by going all-in on equities and investing solely in the S&P 500. But what if that means you’re potentially leaving millions on the table by the time you reach retirement? That’s the question at the center of our conversation today with our guest Paul Merriman. He is the author of eight books, has a regular column at MarketWatch, is a legend in the DIY investing arena, and is an advocate of the Two Funds...
Oct 11, 2023•58 min•Ep. 734
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - I have a recurring transfer to my Roth IRA but is that money actually invested? 2 - How do I keep a bill in collections from hitting my credit report? 3 - Should my life insurance death benefi...
Oct 09, 2023•51 min•Ep. 733
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: avoiding Disney at Christmas, four-day workweeks vs remote work, Project Nile launching an AI shopping experience, investing in AI, ...
Oct 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 732
There’s a massive difference between how something feels versus the actual reality. We’re talking about vibes as opposed to empirical evidence. And that’s why we’re happy to talk with Dr. Jean Twenge who is a professor of psychology over at San Diego State University. She has researched the personal finances of the different aged cohorts and few experts have addressed the topic of generational change as well as she has. Dr. Twenge has written multiple books on the defining characteristics of spe...
Oct 04, 2023•53 min•Ep. 731
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 exit a managed retirement account even though I have seven figures in there? 2 - Is there any benefit to paying off a mortgage earlier in the life of the loan as opposed to later? 3 -...
Oct 02, 2023•51 min•Ep. 730
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: negotiating a FAT raise, student loan payment panic, retailers nervous about declining consumer confidence, holiday hiring, jobs poi...
Sep 29, 2023•31 min•Ep. 729
The term “hustle” might be synonymous with “entrepreneur” for a lot of folks. And they might be interchangeable because it certainly does take hard work to get your own business off the ground, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up everything else that’s important to you along the way. Steve Chou is our guest today and he’s launched multiple businesses- everything from an eCommerce site, to an online course, to an annual conference, and he wants everyone to consider how they can achieve financia...
Sep 27, 2023•50 min•Ep. 728
We’re kicking off the week by answering your 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 - How should I account for inflation when using the 25x rule to forecast my retirement? 2 - Are sites like RateGenius and Autopay legit places to refinance my car? 3 - I have the cash on hand to...
Sep 25, 2023•53 min•Ep. 727
Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: silly celly carrier promos, total cost of iPhone ownership, ACH autopay tradeoffs, super off peak EV incentives, the best month to b...
Sep 22, 2023•37 min•Ep. 726
