Does being frugal and building financial independence mean that you can't have any fun? And, is it possible to get through college on a budget and still have fun? Today we have a fun discussion with Martin Dasko from the personal finance blog Studenomics. Martin has an awesome approach to teaching young men and women how to build financial independence without missing a party! Enjoy! Joshua Martin's site: http://studenomics.com/ Need a financial advisor? Start here: www.radicalpersonalfinance.co...
Nov 25, 2015•44 min
It's easy to jump into holiday mode, but don't jump just yet! Let's keep our work boots on and learn just a little bit about investing today before we get into the Thanksgiving holiday. My guest today is Rick Ferri, founder of a company called Portfolio Solutions. Rick is a really great guy and a real expert at investing and portfolio construction. You'll hear his detailed background in the show and I think you'll come away from today's episode with a deeper sense of respect for what he's doing....
Nov 24, 2015•55 min
Today on Radical Personal Finance I'm pleased to introduce you to a brand-new sponsor! And, it's a sponsor who will help you save some cash! I've been aware of SoFi for quite awhile and they were high on my list of brainstormed potential sponsors for the show. I was finally able to connect with them at #FinCon15 in Charlotte this year and to hammer out the terms of a sponsorship agreement. SoFi is a very cool new company that is bringing real innovation to the lending space. They got their start...
Nov 24, 2015•48 min
During October and November I've been doing a weekly conference call with Patrons of the show. We've been talking about all kinds of interesting subjects! On today's call we chatted about: disability insurance (including disability overhead expense insurance and cash indemnity long-term care policies) investment planning the politics of money and more! Enjoy! Joshua Have student loans? Before you do anything else with your loans, sit down for a review with Jay Fleischman. www.studentloanshow.com...
Nov 21, 2015•1 hr 2 min
We talk a lot about diversification within the context of investments. But what about diversification of your income? After all, how risky is it for you to depend on a single source of income to fund your life and lifestyle? The paradox is this: the more specialized you become in your career, the more you can earn. But the more specialized you are, the riskier your income is! The challenge is for us to figure out how to reconcile these two things. Today, I share my thoughts on the subject with y...
Nov 19, 2015•40 min
BiggerPockets.com is the largest real estate resource online--perhaps in the world. Today we have Josh Dorkin, the founder of Bigger Pockets, on the show to share the story with us. The story is a classic case of an entrepreneurial endeavor gone well. Sit back, pay attention, and learn the lessons and themes of how one person went from struggling real estate investor to become king of a real estate empire. Enjoy! Joshua Bigger Pockets: www.biggerpockets.com Do you have student loans? Connect wit...
Nov 17, 2015•1 hr 3 min
The word "trust" has a bit of a mystique in the modern financial world. It's a word that everyone knows (we all know a "trust fund kid") but few people understand and even fewer understand accurately. Trusts are both simple and complex. They're simple in concept but can be quite complex in application. Today I share with you some basic background on trusts and trust planning. I also share with you some thoughts regarding the use of a revocable living trust within the context of your personal est...
Nov 16, 2015•40 min
Wouldn't it be cool if you could work really hard for a few years, save aggressively, and then quit your job and travel the world? Today's guest has done just that. Today I have Brandon, the Mad Fientist, and his wife Jill on the show! Brandon recently hit his Financial Independence number and he and Jill hit the road for some long-term travel. Enjoy this interview where we dig into what's great about financial independence and what ain't so great. Enjoy! Joshua Brandon's website: http://www.mad...
Nov 13, 2015•58 min
I'm thrilled to bring Jay Fleischman back on the show. Jay was a guest on Episode 214 of the show and it was a popular show and I received a lot of great feedback. Most importantly, I learned a ton from the interview! Today, Jay and I tackle the actual process of analysis. If you have student loans, Jay gives you the step-by-step action plan for what you need to do in order to analyze your options. We're also launching Jay as the newest sponsor of Radical Personal Finance. He's a perfect fit for...
Nov 10, 2015•1 hr 16 min
Ever wondered about the basics of estate planning? Today's show is a simple overview of the major estate planning documents. We talk about wills, living wills, and powers of attorney and discuss what they mean and why they're important. This is not a technical deep-dive; this is a light and friendly overview. Enjoy the show! Joshua Do you have a question you'd like me to answer about estate planning? Ask me here! http://rpf.link/1RBBZIW Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://www.rad...
Nov 06, 2015•34 min
Many of us are focused on the primary goal of transitioning from work that doesn't suit us to work that does. After all, if we can solve the work conundrum, our lifestyle can be massively improved even if we're not yet rich! My guest today is Jeff Goins and he has blazed the trail ahead of us and has successfully made the transition to a career he loves. Even better, he's written a book on how you can do the same thing! Enjoy the interview and the learning! Joshua Jeff's site: www.GoinsWriter.co...
Nov 05, 2015•53 min
It happens to so many people: your car breaks down at an inconvenient time and you're facing a massive repair bill. The stress starts to mount and you find yourself wondering--should I just go out and buy a new one? Or, sometimes worse, you feel like every other week you're flushing money down the drain to fix your car and you're getting tired of it. Feeling totally frustrated, you're tempted to trot out and assuage the headache with a new car. Should you do it? How should you try to assess your...
Nov 04, 2015•39 min
I had the opportunity to connect with JD Roth, one of the most well-known personal finance bloggers in the industry while I was in Charlotte, NC at #FinCon15. We had a great interview. We talked in detail about JD's personal story with finance and how he set out to Get Rich Slowly--and wound up getting rich fast. We also talk about the great things and not-so-great things that resulted from the journey! Enjoy the interview! Joshua JD's current project: www.MoneyBoss.com You Need a Budget! Try ou...
Nov 02, 2015•1 hr 16 min
Today I'm sharing with you the audio from the live conference call I recently hosted for all the Patrons of Radical Personal Finance. This was a super-fun experience for me! Having the live interaction was fun. Topics included: social capital entrepreneurship long-term care insurance investing career development and more! Enjoy! Joshua Sponsor: Interested in publishing a book? Call my publishing coach, Patrick Snow, the Publishing Doctor! Start at http://thepublishingdoctor.com and then text Pat...
Oct 27, 2015•1 hr 53 min
Shannon McLay from the "Martinis and Your Money" podcast invited me on her show last month to talk about life insurance as part of "Life Insurance Awareness" month. Enjoy this interview with me where I share all of my advice and thoughts about how to approach the life insurance situation. The original interview with Shannon appears on her site here: http://financially-blonde.com/radical-thoughts-on-life-insurance/ Joshua...
Oct 26, 2015•1 hr 21 min
Have you ever thought about writing a book? If you have, you're part of the 80% of Americans that dream of doing just that! But how do you go about it? And, perhaps more importantly, why should you consider it? Today I present to you an interview with my personal publishing coach, Patrick Snow. Patrick is an international best-selling author, professional speaker, publishing, speaking, and book marketing coach. He's already been tremendously helpful to me as I work on my first book and I look fo...
Oct 22, 2015•1 hr 4 min
Let's put our work boots on today and dig into some of the science of financial planning. We've been doing a lot of fluffy, motivational-type stuff on Radical Personal Finance recently. That stuff is really valuable but it needs to be tempered with some serious knowledge. Today, let's talk about annuities. Annuities get a bad rap in the financial marketplace. And rightly so. They've been shamefully misrepresented, oversold, and abused by many insurance agents. But do they have a place? Can they ...
Oct 20, 2015•1 hr 21 min
We've generally been trained how to think about finance by the financial services industry. Their plan for your finances? Well, each step involves a financial product of some sort or another. But what if we think a little more strategically? Could we get better results? I think so. After speaking with today's guest, Doug Goldstein, I think that the metaphor of chess is a good way to train our thinking. Doug is the co-author of a book titled: Rich as a King: How the Wisdom of Chess Can Make You a...
Oct 19, 2015•1 hr 31 min
One of the benefits that $200/mo. Patrons of Radical Personal Finance get is being able to choose a topic of the show. Here's the note that prompted today's episode: Joshua, Double income medium- to high-earning couples frequently ask me how to lower their taxes (the second income is at a higher rate of >28%, plus state 3.75% and social security 7.65 or 40% all in). I don't have a lot to tell them: -calculate whether it's worth it for second spouse to work ('Money or Your Life' style-after ta...
Oct 14, 2015•1 hr 7 min
The most challenging question that I get asked on Radical Personal Finance is this: "Joshua, how do I find a great financial advisor?" It's hard because there are great advisors at most (all?) firms and there are terrible advisors at most (all?) firms. More importantly, there are different advisors for different stages of life and different levels of need. Unfortunately, all these get lumped together under the term "financial advisor," which is, itself, a non-specific and mostly useless term whi...
Oct 06, 2015•1 hr 18 min
After a way-too-long hiatus, Friday Q&A is back! On today's show, we cover: Online Savings Accounts Commission-Free Life Insurance Why Don't I Have a CIMA Designation Would I Do A Daily Podcast Again Should I Max My 403(b) or Save for a Down Payment 529 Plan for Myself, and Thoughts on Leveraged Index Funds Enjoy! Joshua If you don't already use the YNAB budgeting software, download a 30-day free trial and try it! I think you'll love it. http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/YNAB If you're not l...
Oct 02, 2015•51 min
Sometimes you discover something that's been out there for years and you want to smack yourself in the head for not tuning in to it sooner. That's how I feel when it comes to YNAB. (For the uninitiated YNAB stands for You Need A Budget.)I used YNAB years ago and my response at that time was, "ho-hum." I then proceeded to ignore it for the next 6 years to my own detriment. Bummer. I wish I'd paid more attention! I was reintroduced to YNAB by my own listeners (the full story is in this episode) an...
Oct 02, 2015•58 min
I love to talk with people who have achieved financial independence. But I especially love to talk to those financially independent people who have achieved it in a very accessible way! Frankly, it's hard to relate to a tech titan who sells their latest greatest app company for a billion dollars. But I can relate to someone who has simply worked hard, saved aggressively, invested conservatively, built an entrepreneurial side hustle and achieved their results over time! My guest today is Scott Al...
Sep 25, 2015•27 min
When I was younger my brothers and I spent lots of time talking about how to make our millions of dollars with passive income. Two businesses seem to be prominent when you go down that line of thinking as a young person: car washes and vending machines. We didn't pursue either of those businesses. But much later I did wind up working with some clients who had a vending business. And I was intrigued by their business. My guest today is a vending expert. Matt Miller started his vending business th...
Sep 24, 2015•56 min
Interpersonal skills of relationship are a huge deal and your mastery of them will massively impact your level of success in life. All else being equal, people would rather do business with people they know, like, and trust. All else NOT being equal, people would STILL rather do business with people they know, like, and trust! So, this is an area that we should give attention to. My guest today has devoted years to studying, mastering, and teaching interpersonal skills. Jordan Harbinger is the c...
Sep 23, 2015•48 min
Money in marriage is an extremely challenging area of life. Researchers often say that money fights and money problems is the number one cause of marital stress. My guest today is Derek Olsen. He and his wife Carrie have written a book called "One Bed, One Bank Account: Better Conversations on Marriage and Money." I was able to catch up with him at Podcast Movement 2015 where we dug into the major questions of how to handle money together. Make sure to stay tuned at the end of the episode. There...
Sep 22, 2015•1 hr 11 min
I had the opportunity to sit down with Casey Lewis while I was in Fort Worth, Texas a couple months ago. Casey has worked his way through his own money transformation and he has a lot of experience and wisdom to share about the process. Along the way, we discuss: Debt freedom Goal setting and goal achievement Personal financial management And more! Enjoy! Joshua Casey's website: http://casey-lewis.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron...
Sep 21, 2015•48 min
I'm here at #FinCon15 in Charlotte, NC this week and I had the privelege of interviewing Don Montanaro, the CEO (and co-founder) of TradeKing! We recorded this episode live on the #FinCon15 podcasting stage on September 18, 2015. We cover the details of: Don's career progression from the mail room to CEO What makes a difference in how quickly an employee gets promoted How the securities market works And way more! Enjoy! Joshua TradeKing's website: http://tradeking.com Support Radical Personal Fi...
Sep 20, 2015•51 min
It might seem like the only way to make money in today's world is to create and sell a digital product. It's not. Frankly, the physical product world is probably much less crowded than the digital world! My guest today is Andreea Ayers. She is awesome. She created a business that made and sold yoga-themed tshirts. Then, she created a business that sold soaps. Now, she's taken her success and experience with her own brands and turned it into a consulting business where she helps others to duplica...
Sep 18, 2015•37 min
I love to bring financial advisors onto Radical Personal Finance in order to break down the barriers of communication between advisors and the general public. Katie Brewer is a financial planner based in Texas. She specializes in working with Gen X and Gen Y clients. I invited her onto the show to dig into what's different about planning for Gen X and Gen Y clients as compared to the general public. Also, I grilled her on the reality of what it's like to actually build a financial planning pract...
Sep 17, 2015•50 min
