Get the bundle here: debtfreeguys.com/142 Is your money situation stressing you out? Maybe you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, and you’re nervous that you couldn’t cover even a simple emergency. You know that following a budget is step one in improving your financial health, but you’re not sure where to start. Here’s the thing: You DON’T need to create a budget. That’s because we’ve done it for you! Today, we’re sharing the tools included in our plug-and-play Budget Buster Bundle. We discuss the...
Feb 19, 2019•12 min
While the fundamentals of money are the same for all of us, our experiences, risks and concerns are all unique. In that way, queer money is different from straight money. And within the LGBT community, the degree of struggle varies. Our experience as cis, white, gay men is different from that of a transgender individual who may find it challenging to open a bank account because they don’t look like the picture on their driver’s license. So, what can we learn from listening to their stories? Bryn...
Feb 12, 2019•57 min
5 Unique Steps to Initiate the Money Conversation with Your Spouse Initiating a conversation about money is never easy. You may even feel a certain amount of shame around your financial situation and talking about it can be incredibly uncomfortable. On the other hand, you know how important it is to be on the same money page with your partner. So, how do you broach the subject with a significant other who is resistant to discussing money? Today, we’re sharing five unique tactics for initiating t...
Feb 05, 2019•14 min
Life Insurance When HIV+ with Sau El of Simply Insurance Life insurance is incredibly important. Not only does the death benefit cover funeral costs, the payout can provide long-term financial security for your loved ones. But what if you are HIV+? How challenging is it to secure a life insurance policy if you have the human immunodeficiency virus? Sau El is the Co-founder and CEO of Simply Insurance, a platform providing a simple and fast way to purchase insurance online. Sau is a licensed life...
Jan 29, 2019•50 min
At the end of our lives, we tend to regret the things we didn’t do, the opportunities missed, the risks we didn’t take. Yet in the day-to-day, the familiar holds us back. We stop ourselves from pursuing ‘crazy ideas’ and chase the cultural idea of what it means to be successful. But what if success is less about wealth or fame—and more about living the life you want? What if taking a leap could help you discover the real you? Don’t you owe it to yourself to give it a shot? Justin McCarty was liv...
Jan 22, 2019•42 min
How long have you wanted to be debt free? This is the year! The statistics are bleak: The average LGBTQ family has roughly $12K in credit card debt. We assume 17% more student loan debt than our straight peers—which translates to about $40K—and 79% of queer students have both credit card AND student loan debt prior to graduation. The financial burden of owing money also takes a toll on our mental and physical health, creating additional stress and diminishing our quality of life. So, it’s no won...
Jan 15, 2019•19 min
Get full notes here: debtfreeguys.com/bad-with-money If someone approached you in a coffee shop and asked about your favorite sexual position, would you be willing to share? What if they wanted to know your bank balance? While most of us are open to the topic of sex, money is considered taboo. Talking about our financial situation is deemed ‘too personal,’ and most of us carry around a lot of embarrassment about our money situation. So, why are we more inclined to discuss sex than money? Why do ...
Jan 08, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Would you like to be debt free by 2020? If financial security is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, we’ve got nine simple moves that will help you WIN the money game in 2019. We start with the concept of a Dinero Detox, explaining how to clean out your ‘money system’ by eliminating discretionary spending for a weekend—or longer! We go on to discuss retirement savings, sharing resources to help you track and grow your nest egg. We also cover credit scores, describing how our free tools can h...
Jan 01, 2019•19 min
In the queer community, we still run the risk of losing a job or being denied services due to our sexual orientation or gender identity. In fact, there are 30 states where it is perfectly legal to discriminate against an individual because they identify as LGBTQ. And we know that such inequity impacts our quality of life. But have you ever stopped to consider how it might impact our financial health? Leslie Tayne is the founder and lead attorney at Tayne Law Group, a debt solutions law firm base...
Dec 25, 2018•55 min
Sometimes it's the simple changes that we make that have the biggest impact on our lives. When those changes become habits that we put into our daily or weekly lives, the impact can be dramatic. If you're looking to save some money and get ahead financially, look at the things you do every day or every week and ask, where can I make a small change that will have a bit impact? We did this with our grocery shopping and it saved us tens of thousands of dollars a year. Listen to this episode to hear...
Dec 18, 2018•21 min
What is the financial state of LGBTQ families? Are we as Queer people ready to retire? We invite Lisa Campbell and Stephen Brokaski of MassMutual on the show this week to share the data from two ground breaking studies that look at the state of LGBTQ families and the preparedness of LGBTQ retirees and pre-retirees. The data was pretty surprising, especially for a community that is often perceived by the media and masses as being fabulous and financially set. What we uncover in this podcast shoul...
Dec 11, 2018•49 min
It doesn't matter if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer, it seems like the travel bug and wunderlust seems to hit us all. Did you know that the LGBTQ community spends upwards of 10% of our income, no not disposable, all income, on travel. With that much being spent, there has to be a way to curb your travel costs. We've come up with a list of 9 gay travel apps and sites that will help you travel cheaper, safer and better. Check out the list. Mentioned in this episode: Support th...
Dec 04, 2018•30 min
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. The LGBTQ community is more likely than the general population to be adoptive parents. The costs associated with adoption can range from foster care adoptions with many of the costs being covered by the local foster care system, to infant adoption with a birth mother, which can be much more. How can you prepare? We've invited Adrienne Elliott of Adoption Options to help explain the process and options for prospective LGBTQ parents. Mentioned in this...
Nov 27, 2018•42 min
There are currently over 100,000 children in the foster care system in the United States. These are children waiting to find a forever home with a mom a dad or maybe two of each. Have you ever considered foster care as the path to creating your family? On this week's Queer Money we kick off a two-week celebration of National Adoption Month. We've invited Jillian Johnsrud of MontanaMoneyAdventures.com to join us. She and her husband have adopted four children, the first when she was just 22. Here...
Nov 20, 2018•48 min
Love a good holiday cocktail party? I thought so. We've thrown our fair share of parties over the years, some great, some not so great. We've learned that you don't need to spend a ton of money to have a great party. If you're planning a holiday party this year and want to stay within your budget we've got some great suggestions for you. In fact we've got 7 tips that will help you keep your budget under $100. We've also included a grocery list and menu, along with a couple of signature cocktail ...
Nov 13, 2018•11 min
This week on Queer Money, we focus on explaining the questions you've asked us about credit scores. When asked, you, our listeners and readers, told us that improving your credit score was your #3 financial goal, behind eliminating credit card debt and saving for retirement. We dive into questions like: 1. What’s the easiest way to find my credit score? 2. Why is my credit score different depending on where and when I get it? 3. How many points do hard inquiries take off my credit score? 4. Coul...
Nov 06, 2018•16 min
If you are a small business owner, the value of your business is something that can make or break your ability to stay in business, especially when it comes to getting loans. Your business valuation number will help with legacy planning and even how and who should manage your business when you're ready to take a back seat. On this episode of Queer Money we invite Tracy Shaw, AVP of Business and Market Development at MassMutual Financial Group, to talk with us about how MassMutual is helping smal...
Oct 30, 2018•49 min
June 26, 2015, brought gay marriage to the land. June 27, 2015, brought gay divorce. Sadly LGBTQ unions are not impervious to irreconcilable differences. So what is a queer person to do to protect their finances if divorce seems to be looming on the horizon? How can we prevent it from being a colossal financial nightmare? We're joined by Kayla Sloan and Shanah Bell of CashWiseExwives.com to share their respective stories of divorce and how they are now equipping both women and men to be financia...
Oct 23, 2018•41 min
One of the biggest financial concerns of the LGBTQ community is healthcare. Many queer people worry about changes to the Affordable Care Act under the current administration. There is a lot of noise surrounding the Affordable Care Act, and that makes it difficult to distinguish what is true from partisan rhetoric. A recent Policygenius survey regarding the ACA reveals that literacy around the law—and health insurance in general—is distressingly low. So, where can we go for accurate information a...
Oct 16, 2018•38 min
Queer Money™ this week is all about your questions. We've taken 3 questions from the Queer Money™ Facebook group and are sharing our thoughts with you on these 3 topics. They includ: How to choose a charity to give money to when I am finally done paying off my debt? How much do members of the group spend on dining out each week? How much should I be tipping when I am dining out or at a coffee shop? Queer Money™ is made possible by the support of MassMutual. Please join us in thanking them for th...
Oct 09, 2018•25 min
Many in the queer community, whether they be a transgender woman of color, a lesbian Latina, a bisexual Asian woman or a cis gay man, struggle with feelings of self-worth. All to often these feels of lack creep up in our lives and manifest themselves at the most in opportune time. Especially when we are writing our own annual reviews for work. If you want to write your best annual review ever, then check out this episode of Queer Money™, where we give 6 great tips as well as swipe copy that will...
Oct 02, 2018•13 min
Matt Baume, a self-defined geek that is taking the queer community on a fun ride with his podcasts, videos, books and writing on publications both queer and accepting. Ready to get your queer gaming on? Love drag queens and D&D? He's got a fun mix. We also talk about his Sewers of Paris podcast and how he lassoed all of the things "he" loves and built them into a business that helps him live the life he wants. Which of course is the Debt Free Guys definition of a fabulous life. Join us in this f...
Sep 25, 2018•53 min
The Pink Dollar is estimated to be $971 billion dollars in buying power. The power of LGBTQ businesses is even more. There are an estimated 1.4 million LGBT owned businesses in the United States alone. The place where many of them come together to learn best practices and connect with Fortune 500 companies that have a mission to include them in their supply chain is at the NGLCC International Business and Leadership conference. This year's conference was a first for the Debt Free Guys and Queer ...
Sep 18, 2018•59 min
Two queer women working in the non-profit sector dreaming of traveling the world. Could it happen? What about the money? How would they travel? What would the do for income? How long could it last? Heck yeah! They've been at it since February 2018, with no end in sight at the moment. Find out how Liz and Rachel, a lesbian couple who dreamed of traveling the U.S. as adventure travelers are doing it and their tips on how you can do it too! This podcast episode is sponsored by MassMutual Mentioned ...
Sep 11, 2018•44 min
Like many other gay men, Kerrie felt the need to live up to the expectations of his LGBTQ community. He also felt the need to match the lifestyle of the jobs he had. All of this, like your hosts, landed him in tens of thousands of debt. Fortunately for Kerrie, his story is one of success, although not before he had to go on national television and chat with Suze Orman. Which meant he couldn't hide his secret any more and was accountalbe to friends and family to pay it all off. Find out some of t...
Sep 04, 2018•55 min
Want to retire early? Chad Carson joins us on Queer Money to talk about he was able to retire early and support his family with real estate investments. He also shares with us the 5 keys to making it happen. For full show notes, check it out here: https://debtfreeguys.com/early-retirement-real-estate/ Mentioned in this episode: Support the Queer Money podcast We love bringing you new content every week. Help us keep doing that. Click the link below to support our mission of financial empowerment...
Aug 28, 2018•43 min
Does the queer community need it's on LGBT networking platform? That's the question that Dennis Velco of Outburo.com asked when he started the LGBT Professionals group on LinkedIn. After a massive 45K+ LinkedIn users joined his group and began networking he launched the site OutBuro.com and changed the name of the group to OutBuro on LinkedIn. OutBuro's mission is to help LGBT professionals network and provide them with a place to not only connect but rate the companies they work for the busines...
Aug 21, 2018•45 min
What is it like for a gay man in college sports? Can LGBT players at both the college and pro level successfully be themselves or does the stigma of being queer still weigh heavily on players. Landon Foster, the former punter for the University of Kentucky, is on Queer Money to share his story, why he didn't come out when he was in college and what he hopes for other young players. This episode of Queer Money is being brought to you by MassMutual. Mentioned in this episode: Support the Queer Mon...
Aug 14, 2018•40 min
There's no doubt about it. The LGBTQ community spends a fair chunk on dining out. Yours truly are no exception. We used to spend $400/wk dining out and still spend hundreds per week on gourmet groceries. It was part of our path to $51k in credit card debt. If you're trying to pay off debt, save money for something special or load up your retirement accounts, then you'll love the 5 unique ways we've come up with to cut your dining out spend. Give them a try and let us know which work for you. Men...
Aug 07, 2018•13 min
On this Queer Money™ we uncover a topic that could impact hundreds of thousands of LGBT teachers and government workers across the U.S. Kimberly Shockley & David Freitag of MassMutual join us to discuss the two rarely discussed sections of the tax code that could literally ruin your retirement if you don't plan ahead. For complete detail head over to the show notes page: https://debtfreeguys.com/social-security-offsets Mentioned in this episode: Get the FREE Happy Gay Retirement Calculator Are y...
Jul 31, 2018•32 min
