Today I handle your questions and comments. Right off the bat, I respond to some of the sharp criticism of Episode 181. Perhaps it will be useful to clarify my intention with the show material. Then, I answer these questions: 35:48 Dear Joshua, I have a question regarding a specific method for paying for my children's college education. Putting aside the merits of a college education in general; and putting aside thoughts that I have no obligation to pay for my children's school....let's assume ...
Apr 24, 2015•1 hr 31 min
I'm fascinated by the topic of asset protection planning. It engages my personal enjoyment of complicated, intricate planning. It's in important area of planning. But it's also one of the most over-hyped areas filled with sleazy marketing and sleazy business practices. How do we work through this? Today, I introduce the topic to you in a down-to-earth, accessible way. We'll keep a healthy sense of paranoia and a healthy sense of reality firmly together as we traipse through these topics. Enjoy t...
Apr 22, 2015•46 min
Every single aspect of personal finance is influenced politics, religion, and philosophy. Every law and every decision has a moral and ethical component to it. In modern conversation, we're unaccustomed to talking about philosophy and ethics. We steer away from discussing politics and religion because we're uncomfortable with how we can have a positive relationship with another person even when we disagree. Or, we might feel unequipped to battle in the world of philosophical or religious ideas. ...
Apr 21, 2015•3 hr 5 min
Today, I share with you the framework knowledge of how life insurnace policies actually work. Once you understand these basic concepts you'll be able to look at any type of insurance policy and more easily understand its use. Topics include: Assessment life insurance Yearly renewable term life insuance Level premium life insurance The factors that affect life insurance policy pricing The five types of life insurance policies Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radic...
Apr 17, 2015•1 hr 20 min
I'm not able to record and release a new show for you today due to the rather pressing deadline of the April 15 tax filing date. I'm finishing up my return today so I'm releasing an interview I gave on the Anarcho-Yakitalism Podcast with Nick Hazelton. Nick is a young man who raises yaks and pigs on his farm in the Pacific Northwest. He is 16 years old. I shared a bit of my story with him and gave him a bit of life coaching on how I think about financial planning and life planning for young peop...
Apr 13, 2015•1 hr 28 min
This morning, I put out a note on the Patreon page for questions from the patrons and I received four: 02:38 I'm currently in the "Financial Stability" stage of building wealth. Where do you recommend keeping an emergency fund &/or savings for large purchases? 17:36 My only major financial goal is to buy a small condo in Hollywood in about 6-7 years. I am 33 years old, single and don't plan on starting a family. I have about $170K in investments/retirement and am on track to have an addition...
Apr 10, 2015•52 min
Today's show gives you the tools you need to sit down and calculate an appropriate amount of life insurance coverage for you to own. On Episode 173 , I discussed the three primary ways of calculating an appropriate amount of insurance: Human Life Value approach Needs Analysis approach (the best) Rule of Thumb approach This show teaches you how to calculate a Needs Analysis. The process is simple: What You Want - What You've Got = What You Need In order to figure out what you want, simply make a ...
Apr 08, 2015•45 min
By popular request, I've invited Meb Faber on the show for an interview. Meb is well known in the investment world for his contributions on tactical asset allocation and trend-following. In the interview we cover: Meb's background and accidental path into the investment world The philosophy of business behind Cambria Funds How to construct an investment process for individuals True historical rates of return for various asset classes The impact of asset allocation over the long-term How to prote...
Apr 07, 2015•58 min
Today I want to share a very simple concept with you regarding practical asset allocation. If you plot your goals on a simple matrix and plot all of your investments on the same matrix, you'll more easily be able to select an appropriate investment to fund each goal. Here's the matrix: home-run dollars aggressive dollars safer dollars -------------------> short-term -----> mid-term -----> long-term Enjoy the show! Joshua Support the show as a patron: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/pa...
Apr 07, 2015•20 min
Friday Q&A shows are fun and today is no exception. Today I answer five questions: Is there any academic support for the value of financial advisors? What is the best way to prepare to pass the CFP exam? What is the fastest way to become a 1%er? How do you learn to trust insurance people? What is the role of an IPO within a broader investment portfolio? Enjoy my answers! Joshua Links: Research on investors' actual returns with DFA funds. Vanguard's paper on the value that an advisor brings. ...
Apr 03, 2015•1 hr 6 min
You can’t go from broke to rich in a single step. There’s no magic fairy who will suddenly transform your financial life for you. You have to do it yourself. But you can work your way through a path that leads to financial independence and complete abundance. That path has stages and you should celebrate your progress at every stage! In today's show, I share with you my ideas regarding the stages of financial independence. I believe this is a useful roadmap to help you navigate from where you ar...
Apr 02, 2015•54 min
At long last, we enter into the oft-requested topic of life insurance! Today's show is an introduction to the economic basis and justification for life insurance and it's also an outline of some of the uses of life insurance for individuals and families. (We'll cover business uses another day.) You also get the joy of a bit of a sales pitch on why I love life insurance planning so much. It's truly an incredible financial product. Life insurance is founded on the economic value that each of us pr...
Apr 01, 2015•1 hr 6 min
Retirement planning is at the core of the financial planning profession. But, it's a very complex subject and it's tough to wrap your head around the process. I've invited Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, AIF®, financial advisor and host of the Retirement Answer Man Podcast on the show today to chat about retirement from his perspective. Roger specializes in working with retirees and prospective retirees in a formal financial planning capacity. I think you'll be intrigued by some of his perspe...
Mar 31, 2015•59 min
One of the challenges of personal finance math is the relevance of a particular scale. Sometimes you can get a massive benefit by switching to a different scale. One famous example is the daily latte. $4 for a latte sounds about right in today's world. But if you do it every day, it adds up. To fully appreciate the impact of the seemingly small expenditure you can change the scale from daily to annual. $4/day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year is $1,040/year spent on coffee. That's a lot of m...
Mar 31, 2015•55 min
I've got a double problem this week that is keeping me from releasing shows: No internet at my house. Launching the new site. So, I'm releasing a couple of interviews that have been recorded with me in the past. This one is very good. Rob is a great interviewer and he was able to get very in-depth. This show has an in-depth discussion of the benefits and problems of financial advisors. Rob was also able to pull some pretty personal stuff out of me from my past! Joshua Links: The original post on...
Mar 25, 2015•2 hr 1 min
I'm not able to record a normal show today, so I'm releasing a copy of an interview I conducted with Nick Loper from Side Hustle Nation. This interview was released on February 19, 2015 on Nick's show , just in time for tax-time! This show is a good overview of some general tax tips: When and why you should incorporate your business, and why most beginning side hustlers should NOT. How to set up a business name even as a sole proprietor. The types of expenses you can deduct as a side hustler. 3 ...
Mar 21, 2015•51 min
My guest today is a veteran of financial reporting. Fred Gabriel has spent the last 17 years reporting on the financial advice industry. He began his career as a mutual fund reporter and progressed to be named the editor of Investment News in 2012. I spoke with Fred at the Technology Tools for Today Conference and we focused our conversation on the changing landscape of financial advice. Due to the nature of his job, Fred has a front-row seat on all of the changes happening in the industry. The ...
Mar 19, 2015•44 min
On Monday, I released the show on new cars vs used cars. It became clear to me while doing that show that I really needed to do an in-depth discussion of the concept of Opportunity Cost. If you understand Opportunity Cost you can easily help people to make better decisions. All of us make decisions based on what we value. Every transaction is based on each party involved preferring what the other has more than what he/she has. Good decision making is largely based on simply understanding all of ...
Mar 18, 2015•57 min
I've brought you some shows on the concept of advancing your career by attending industry conferences. But what about getting a double bonus by organizing the conference yourself? That way you get all the benefits you would get from attending but you get the added bonus of becoming an industry leader. Plus, perhaps you can make some money on the event! My guest today is Philip "PT" Taylor, founder of http://ptmoney.com/ and http://finconexpo.com/ . PT started working as a CPA, transitioned to fu...
Mar 18, 2015•1 hr 15 min
Ahhh, the great debate over cars! Should I buy new or should I buy used? In reality, the answer is simple: What are the needs and wants you're trying to satisfy? Which option meets those needs for the lowest total, lifetime cost? Choose the option that fits best. But, of course, there are as many ways to answer those questions as there are people in the world. Regardless of the decision you make, here are some ideas for you to consider to lower the total cost and enhance your results: The though...
Mar 17, 2015•1 hr 12 min
I'd like to share with you a look behind-the-scenes of the business of Radical Personal Finance. I want you to know why I host a daily (or at least almost-daily) podcast and why I've stuck with that, even with many people suggesting less frequency. To be clear: I don't think you should copy what I'm doing. But perhaps if you understand why I'm doing what I'm doing you may be able to apply it to your own endeavors. I'm creating this show for a few reasons: Some listeners are concerned about my pa...
Mar 13, 2015•1 hr 37 min
This week I'm focused single-mindedly on the new version of the Radical Personal Finance website. So, I'm releasing some alternative content to you for your listening pleasure. This is Part 2 of an interview I gave on the Family Adventure Podcast with Erik Hemingway. It was released in November 2014. The interview is an introduction to a bunch of concepts on how to focus your budget so that you can afford long-term adventure travel. It's super fun. Erik has a great podcast that my wife and I enj...
Mar 11, 2015•55 min
This week I'm focused single-mindedly on the new version of the Radical Personal Finance website. So, I'm releasing some alternative content to you for your listening pleasure. This is Part 1 of an interview I gave on the Family Adventure Podcast with Erik Hemingway. It was released in October 2014. The interview is an introduction to a bunch of concepts on how to focus your budget so that you can afford long-term adventure travel. It's super fun. Erik has a great podcast that my wife and I enjo...
Mar 11, 2015•54 min
This week I'm focused single-mindedly on the new version of the Radical Personal Finance website. So, I'm releasing some alternative content to you for your listening pleasure. This is an interview I gave that was released on September 4, 2014 on the Create My Independence Podcast with Kraig Mathias. It was the first podcast interview I ever gave after starting my show!It has a good bit of my story as well as some various bits of advice on finance. Enjoy! Joshua The original post on Kraig's site...
Mar 09, 2015•45 min
It's Friday and on Fridays, I answer your questions. If you'd like me to answer your questions, please email them to me or call them in on the website. Question #1: Joshua, My father, who is 60 years of age, has become a victim of numerous scams over the last year or two. Generally, they involve him receiving calls that he won some prize and needs to wire some money (usually in $500 increments) to the West Indies, Jamaica, etc. His decision making with his finances is not good, to say the least....
Mar 06, 2015•1 hr 13 min
Years ago I heard of the concept of a hackerspace/makerspace. In essence, a hackerspace is a community-operated physical place where people can meet and work on their projects. But, the work that can come out of those spaces is far more impressive than that description makes it sound like. I've wanted to bring you the concept but since I'm not an expert, I needed to do it in the context of an interview. I was thrilled when a listener of the show recommended that I interview Jessica Fong , presid...
Mar 05, 2015•37 min
I spent years consuming personal finance literature and the idea of saving 10 to 20% of my income was hammered into my head. That is the standard percentage that is recommended to be saved by prudent, diligent people. I took that number with me into my foray into the financial planning world without ever questioning it. But, somewhere around 2011 I had my world rocked by reading Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker . The most useful concept I took from that book was the huge connection ...
Mar 05, 2015•39 min
Traditionally, the knowledge and skills of financial planning were learned by financial advisors on the job. Most financial advisors started as either stockbrokers or insurance salespeople and then moved into financial planning simply as an extension of their career. A common educational path was to simply take the state-required insurance licensing courses and the state-required securities licensing courses and then to take further courses (such as CLU, ChFC, CFP, etc.) only after getting start...
Mar 04, 2015•1 hr 24 min
I was very saddened to hear on Sunday night that Dr. Tom Stanley, author of the famous book "The Millionaire Next Door" and many others, died in a car accident near his home in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. As I reflected on the impact that he and his work had on my life, I came to realize that he probably had a greater impact on my way of thinking than any other personal finance author I can think of. Not only did he impact my way of thinking, he impacted me personally. I reached out to him in J...
Mar 03, 2015•1 hr 10 min
Today on the show, I answer these two questions: Joshua, The reason why I am writing has nothing to do with finances, but career advice. Did you (or do you) provide career counseling? If not, can you at least recommend someone you trust? I thought I heard you mention on a previous show that you were involved in that line of work, unless I am mistaken and it was a guest. Brief intro: I am 32 years old, a recent MBA graduate, and have a really unique professional background that makes career trans...
Feb 28, 2015•1 hr 29 min
