#171: New retirement contribution and income limits for 2015 have been released by the IRS. Take the Debtor's Anonymous Quiz - 15 questions to help identify compulsive debtors. The perfect credit score has been achieved. How much will it cost YOU? Instead of a segment of Holla from the Impala I present to you: Audioblog while walking the dog I was interviewed by Mint.com. Read about the Convenience Economy and my trick to keep couples at the budgeting table (and you probably have a bottle laying...
Dec 04, 2014•35 min•Ep. 171
#170: I'm answering listener emails: Patti emailed her concerns about "filling a void" by purchasing things she doesn't need and I answer the question "Should I pay off my $55k mortgage with savings?" For more information, visit the show notes at
Nov 20, 2014•42 min•Ep. 170
#169: Henry Rollins tells a debt free story. In the episode titled “10 things you don’t know about the almighty dollar” he tells a debt free story about America. It appears that Andrew Jackson was the first and only President to pay off all of America’s debt. LOVE IT! Listen to the episode for more about when America first got into debt Watch the episode here (some restrictions apply): http://www.history.com/shows/10-things-you-dont-know-about/videos/the-almighty-dollar Also on today's episode: ...
Nov 06, 2014•36 min•Ep. 169
#168: John Pugliano has more than 30 years of purposeful purchases behind him. Full show notes at His wife was able to stay home with all 6 kids while he focused on his career. He retired early and has been able to help others learn how to invest in stocks. Is living on less than you make for 3 decades worth it? Hear for yourself. Also: Holla from the Impala and a listener's testimony.
Oct 30, 2014•39 min•Ep. 168
#167: Is it possible to have a simple and fair solution to the US tax code? Yes, it's called the FairTax. 105 years ago the 16th Amendment was passed allowing the US Government to levy an income tax on corporations. Somewhere along the way things changed and we find ourselves buried under 74,000 pages of tax code. Which is simpler: 74,000 pages or 133? The FairTax turns our complicated system into a medium sized book. The FairTax is much simpler: No more income tax withholding No more filing tax...
Oct 24, 2014•55 min•Ep. 167
#166: Listen to my debate with Joshua Sheats from Radical Personal Finance on various financial topics he deems to be dangerous to Dave Ramsey Show listeners. Links mentioned in this episode: Post: Book: Episode: Joshua's plan for For more information, visit the show notes at
Oct 16, 2014•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 166
#165: Lisa left her job for another. She could have rolled her old 401k into the new plan, but she wanted more options. Full show notes and resources at What should I do with my old 401k? Lisa Emperador is a young professional who changed jobs after accumulating $8,000 in her old 401(k). She had several options for what to do with the money. Lisa has a bunch of debt and could have cashed it out to pay down a car loan or credit card debt. Instead, she chose to roll it into a ROTH IRA managed thro...
Oct 10, 2014•29 min•Ep. 165
#164: Even though FICO is celebrating 25 years as a publicly traded company, this is their very first audio interview. We are going to hammer out the clear and correct information about FICO and the credit scoring industry. Anthony Sprauve, Director of Public Relations at FICO, tells us the truth about: How FICO is able to capture our data from credit card companies, auto loans, student loans, etc. The relationship FICO has with the big three credit score bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Transuni...
Oct 01, 2014•42 min•Ep. 164
#163: Rey Brown explains how the cell phone industry works and gives suggestions for saving money on a new plan. A full list of resources can be found at
Sep 24, 2014•46 min•Ep. 163
#162: Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits, releases his new book Rich Kids. What are 5 activities that will guarantee your kids will avoid a life of poverty? What are the three paths to wealth? Are sports better than after-school activities? Listen to the show and find out. Much more information can be found at
Sep 11, 2014•42 min•Ep. 162
#161: What if you could invest your loose change at the end of the day? Now you can with Acorns. Acorns is an app taking advantage of new technologies and less expensive investment fees to allow anyone to start investing in ETFs from Blackrock, Vanguard and PIMCO. ________ Take the #100challenge in September 2014. See how fast you can save or earn $100 more. Then apply the money to your next goal: Emergency Fund Pay down debt Car replacement fund Save for Christmas Etc... Share your progress and...
Aug 28, 2014•40 min•Ep. 161
#160: You can't turn on the TV or have a conversation with someone about money without the subject of credit scores coming up. With all that awareness you would think that everyone would have a basic understanding of how credit works. Unfortunately, there is a lot of miss-information being spread around. There are many myths surrounding the credit score; believing these myths can not only wreck your finances, but keep you from reaching your financial goals. For more information, visit the show n...
Aug 21, 2014•32 min•Ep. 160
#159: The first 6 steps to buying a cash car are laid out by James Kinson, the Cash Car Convert. He helps everyday Americans kick auto debt to the curb and make smart buying decisions when it comes to automobiles. For more information, visit the show notes at
Aug 07, 2014•29 min•Ep. 159
#158: It is inevitable: Your debit card will be compromised some day. What happens when my debit card is stolen? Money will be taken out of your account Your bank may call you or you must call your bank when you find out The Zero Liability Policy will kick in The money will be returned to your account in short order Any insufficient fund charges will be removed by your bank You will be inconvenienced In this episode five individuals share the experiences of when their card(s) were compromised. H...
Jul 21, 2014•33 min•Ep. 158
#157: How was John Lee Dumas able to start Entrepreneur On Fire without ANY income for 9 months? John tells us how in this exclusive interview about how successful people spend money. Also, Suze Orman's Preferred Debit Card is no more and PerkStreet customers get money in the mail! For more information, visit the show notes at
Jun 29, 2014•27 min•Ep. 157
#156: Would you like to know how we paid for our vacation at a horse ranch without credit cards? It’s easy: We prepaid for our travel expenses with a debit card, prepaid for the week at a horse ranch by check, and paid cash for the rest. Oh, and we saved more than $160 by staying away from credit cards. In this episode I break down the different ways to pay for things like rental cars, souvenirs, and hotels - no credit cards necessary. The reason I stay away from credit cards will become evident...
Jun 16, 2014•19 min•Ep. 156
#155: How much attention do you really need to give to managing personal finances? Here are 10 ways we pay attention to our money - and most of it doesn't involve a lot of time: Always: Check remaining budget balances before spending. Daily: Enter transactions into your checkbook/software/ Monthly: Balance checkbook/ Monthly: Set up budget (again, we use ) Quarterly: Review investments and retirement plans Annually: Rebalance portfolios and contribution amounts Annually: Reassess emergency fund ...
May 28, 2014•26 min•Ep. 155
#154: It had been a hectic morning. I recorded two interviews before leaving for the airport but I made it to the terminal with plenty of time. About 100 passengers ahead of me were being rushed as their flights were affected by weather but I had plenty of time. No reason to panic - I've done this dozens of times: Print boarding pass Check a suitcase Head towards security Have ID and boarding pass ready Take out any liquids, aerosols or gels Take everything out of my pockets Place my shoes on th...
May 15, 2014•18 min•Ep. 154
#153: 3 Debt Elimination Strategies that WORK! Any one of these debt elimination plans will work if you work the plan: Debt Snowball: Pay extra on the debt with the smallest balance. Debt Avalanche: Pay extra on the debt with the highest interest rate. Risk Reduction: Pay extra on the debt with the most risk. This could be back taxes or a loan from your mother (you don’t want to risk the relationship, do you?) Pros and cons: Debt Snowball: You pay more interest than the Debt Avalanche. However, ...
May 01, 2014•17 min•Ep. 153
#152: Rachel Cruze is a speaker, debt-free evangelist, part-time co-host of the Dave Ramsey show, known for being the inspiration behind the book “Careless at the Carnival”, and is soon to be a NYTimes best selling author for a book to be released on April 22, 2014 - Smart Money Smart Kids. MoneyPlan SOS listeners wanted to know what she thought about these questions: Chris Pilon from Dadrenaline podcast: Aside from not paying commission, what did your parents do when you or Denise or Daniel did...
Apr 17, 2014•27 min•Ep. 152
#151: Kraig Mathias began his journey to debt freedom after blowing the engine on his car on a cross-country road trip. We geek out over the math behind his car debt, then get inspired from his journey from debt freedom to creating independence. You can find more about Kraig at Money tips: Save tons of interest by spending a little more on insurance Leave the plastic at home, even the debit card, for one Saturday. Just try it. For more information, visit the show notes at
Apr 10, 2014•34 min•Ep. 151
HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY! I'm not here in this episode - I've commandeered three other shows that are not my own. Here's where I am today: where I turn the tables on Jared Easley and interview him on his own show! On the (usually by James Kinson) I talk about getting out of the car payment business. While Joe is in taking over my show I am also taking over the . You can click on any of the links above for their (or should I say “my”) shows. If you would like to read the backstory of why I took over...
Apr 01, 2014•1 hr•Ep. 150
#149: People love their credit cards. Why? They aren’t valuable. They can’t be traded or sold. And they cost people a lot of money and often their freedom. I’ve been separated from my credit cards for over seven years and can tell you: I don’t miss them a bit. Now that I’m coaching people through their debt problems I get to hear all the same lies I used to say that justified my reason for keeping the plastic crutches. Here are some of the lies people tell themselves so they can keep their credi...
Mar 28, 2014•25 min•Ep. 149
#148: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. Tom Corley joins me for a discussion about the habits of the rich. We also learn the 4 things that can make you un-fireable. A short list of Rich Habits: Tom Corley published a number of Rich Habits, which you can find here: The ones that took me buy surprise were: What Wealthy people do before work Habits of the Wealthy during the workday: Gossip is a Poor Habit FOUR STRATEGIES TO BECOMING "UN-FIREABLE" To read more about the Rich Habits an...
Mar 19, 2014•28 min•Ep. 148
#147: A new study released by FINRA reveals only 18% of millennials are able to correctly answer 4 out of 5 questions about finance. Links mentioned in the show: FINRA releases results of study: http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2014/P456463 Take the quiz yourself by following this link: http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/quiz.php The national average is 2.88 out of 5. How will did you do? Listen to the podcast for the answers. For more information, visit the show notes at
Mar 13, 2014•26 min•Ep. 147
#146: Mitch Anthony joins me in a discussion about redefining retirement. His book, , helps us understand this relatively new word. Resources can be found at
Mar 06, 2014•25 min•Ep. 146
#145: Money can cause us to experience a large number of unnecessary anxieties. A number of things can help alleviate a majority of worries when it comes to money and finances. In this episode I give you five ways to reduce financial stress and make you feel more powerful, confident, and in control: Have $5,000 in the bank Automatically save money into a retirement plan Have a Will Rent or live in a paid-for house Carry a $100 bill in your wallet For more information, visit the show notes at
Feb 21, 2014•14 min•Ep. 145
#144: The sole benefit of Federal form Schedule A is to give us the opportunity to keep more of our hard-earned money. These are commonly referred to as “itemized deductions.” These are the tax deductions you want, and 3 you don’t. For the list as well as links to Federal tax forms visit
Feb 12, 2014•26 min•Ep. 144
#143: What happens to my credit score after paying off debt? In this episode I share survey results that show debt-free people aren't worried about their credit score. FICO says what's in your credit score FICO says your credit score is based on the length of credit, new debt, the variety of debts, how much debt you owe, and your payment history on debts. In short, you need to borrow money for a long time. More than likely you will end up paying interest. I'd rather be paid interest than paying ...
Feb 06, 2014•22 min•Ep. 143
#142: This 17 year old has got some sense! Eva Baker started a personal finance blog at http://TeensGotCents.com and is learning a lot about how money really works. This will benefit her greatly when she strikes out in this world and makes her mark. Eva tells the story of how she started a personal finance blog at age 16, how she budgets her money with a basic envelope system, and then speaks from her own personal experiences about why having a simple plan and broad goals is key for any teenager...
Jan 30, 2014•30 min•Ep. 142
