In this episode, we talk about the cost of kids' sports. We dig into the benefits of kids playing sports, why the costs can be so high, and ideas for prioritizing and rationalizing these costs.
In this episode, we talk about two types of big expensive parties, weddings and bat or bar mitzvahs. They average $30k+ and come with various traditions and expectations. We start by sharing what inspired this episode and what we’ve personally spent on these events. Finally, we provide some considerations for hosting awesome events without breaking the bank or going into debt.
In this week’s episode, we talk about travel hacking and focus on how you can best use and maximize all the points you’ve earned through travel hacking. Travel hacking is a fun and lucrative activity if you know learn how to do it right. We discuss our personal strategies and experiences for redeeming points and miles and share advice on how to search and make decisions for using your own points to book travel. We also share an update on our 2022 goal to earn 1 million hotel and airline points t...
In this week’s episode, we get chatty with Liz from LizGetsLoaded, the money kind of loaded. Liz describes herself as someone who likes to drink wine, spend money, and max out her tax-advantaged accounts. She started with a very pretty financial spreadsheet and then created an Instagram account to connect with other personal finance nerds, and now she has over 13K followers, a podcast, and a blog. Ultimately she enjoys nerding out about money with smart people, so that’s what we had the pleasure...
In this week’s episode, we share tactical advice on how to ask for a raise. It can be very stressful to ask for more money, and many people who deserve more never get the nerve to ask for it. We encourage everyone to thoughtfully consider if they should be getting a raise and then dig into how to approach the process of asking for one.
In this week’s episode, we share our advice on how to get promoted at work. Preparing and positioning yourself for a promotion can be a difficult situation to navigate, but we share tactical and specific advice for how you can be successful in working towards a promotion. These are both tricky situations to navigate, but we share tactical and specific advice for how you can be successful at both of these. We have 30+ combined years of experience in Corporate America, and we share what we’ve pers...
In this episode, we talk about financial anxiety and how to cope with it. Financial anxiety is normal, and we all experience them in different ways and at different times. Our listeners shared their financial anxieties with us, and we talk through them one by one and share tips and ideas for how to cope. We believe education, preparation, and community can help you mitigate and cope with your financial anxieties.
In this episode, we talk about investment scams, how to spot them, and how to avoid them. Scams are everywhere, and while it might seem overwhelming to sort through all the offers online, a few key principles can keep you safe in a world full of people trying to steal your money. We discuss what to look out for, when to trust your instincts, when to get a second opinion, and how to keep your finances safe.
In this week’s episode, we interview Sarah Wilson, aka Budget Girl. Sarah is a YouTuber, debt-destroyer, side-hustler, financial wellness advocate, and real estate investor. She creates amazing free resources and content on how to live a frugal, fun, and fearless life. She is also incredibly transparent on her finances and documented her success and challenges paying off $33,000 of debt in three years on a small reporter’s salary of $26K a year. She now has several income streams and is inspirin...
In this episode we rewind three years of episodes and start with the basics. Where do you begin if you want to improve your finances or pursue financial independence? We discuss the mindset, skills, and actions needed to start your journey.
In this episode, we talk about why we never have enough time or money and how to leverage Parkinson’s law to fix that. We start by explaining Parkinson’s law, the adage that work will expand to fill the allotted time. We dig into what we can learn from Parkinson’s law to improve how we manage our time. Then we switch over to applying Parkinson’s law to our money, and how we can take those learnings to improve how we manage our money.
In this episode, we share the total amounts we spent on our extended European summer vacations. We also dig into what worked well and what we’d do differently in the future. We then cover several listener questions that cover minimalist packing, hotels vs. airbnbs, how we budget for travel, anxiety while spending on vacation, drone recommendations, if it’s hard to eat vegan while traveling, the length of our trips, and more.
In this week’s episode, we discuss with Jason Brown how to go to college debt-free. Jason is an expert in taking the debt-free path to college; he’s earned two debt-free degrees and has even written a book on it! Jason shares his mindset on college and debt with us, and his inspiring message reminds us that there are ways to get a college education without going into debt. In addition, we discuss strategies such as dual-enrollment, staying in state for college, finding scholarships, and more.
In this week’s episode, we share ideas and tips for saving money on toiletries and personal care items such as make-up, toilet paper, and medicine. We discuss how much people are spending in this category and share our best ideas and tips for saving money. We encourage everyone to take a minimalist approach, focusing on quality over quantity, buy generic and store brands, and consider making some products yourself at home.
In this week’s episode, we discuss how to control your lifestyle to find financial freedom. We introduce the concept of lifestyle creep, or lifestyle inflation, and talk about how dangerous and destructive it can be to your financial and overall wellbeing. There is a definite balance between the positive impacts of inflating your lifestyle and over-spending in a way that doesn’t increase your happiness. We dig into where lifestyle inflation comes from and tips for avoiding it.
In this week's special episode, we record live while vacationing together in Austria! We’re both on summer adventures in Europe with our families, and we found a way to meet up together in the Austrian Alps for a week. We share what we’ve been up to on our travels, and bring in our kids and spouses for some quick check-ins.
In this week's episode, we talk about how amazing public libraries are. We’re already paying for the services of public libraries via our tax dollars, and they offer a surprising volume of services and amenities that many of us aren’t familiar with. We share a long list of all of the surprising and not so surpassing amenities and services you can get from your public library, along with some general tips for best utilizing them.
In this week’s episode, we interview Diandra from That Science Couple. Diandra and her husband Bradley are a plant-based 30-something couple living in Wisconsin. Brad has a masters in Environmental Biology, and Diandra is a PDH student in nutritional sciences and has a passion for evidence-based nutrition. We talk with Diandra about evidence-based science, nutrition advice for long-term health, lifestyle medicine, personal finance, minimalism, sustainable living, and more!
In this week’s episode, Mike does a 6-week check-in on early retirement with Maggie and Greg. Maggie and Greg. are enjoying early retirement; they are being even more active, sleeping better, and feeling the benefits of more margin in their lives. They share their observations and insights in these early weeks, from the impact of less structure, feelings of being untethered, where their time is going, and their optimism for the future.
In this episode, we answer a bunch of recent listener questions. We answer questions on partying off your mortgage versus saving more into a 529 for college, if now is the right time to put money into the market, how much money to keep in a cash emergency fund, and how to balance income while planning for early retirement. We then discuss how to breakup with your financial advisor.
In this week’s episode, we give a refresher on travel hacking and share an update on our 1 million point goal this year. The power of travel hacking comes from the sign-up bonuses, not from normal spend. We’ve signed up for 9 different credit cards this year for a total of 800K+ points and miles. We share how our traveling hacking is helping to fund our summer travel adventures.
In this episode, we discuss simple and fun strategies for paying off debt. We often hear about good vs. bad debt, but don’t be fooled by companies trying to sell you loans. Almost all debt is bad, and if you are stuck with it, you should work hard to pay it off quickly. We share strategies for picking which debt you pay back first and ideas for making paying off your debt fun!
In this week’s episode, we discuss the recent volatility and decline in the stock market. It’s been a wild ride in 2022! With a dramatic pullback from recent stock market highs, it can be stressful to watch your investments. We discuss some of the reasons behind the declines and share some advice on how to handle bad news and make sure you make solid decisions with your investments.
In this week’s episode, Mike interviews Greg and Maggie about their last week of work and the first week of retirement. Greg and Maggie share how they initially gave their notice at work, then dig into more recent happenings of how their last week wrapped up and how they each felt. This episode was recorded four days into their retirement; they share their feelings in the early days of being retired, which might surprise many people.
In this episode, we discuss the concept of fear related to money and early retirement specifically. Based on a talk Maggie gave at campFI Southeast 2022, we dig into a discussion on fear and courage. We talk about what we’re afraid of, define fear, share the good and bad sides of fear, and discuss 8 ways you can conquer your financial fears.
In this episode, we share ideas for how everyone can save money on their cell phone bill. Most people can get unlimited cell phone cover in the United States for under $30 a month, so if you’re paying more than that, we challenge you to rethink what you need and consider switching cell phone providers. We talk through how to decide what you need from a cell phone plan, the difference in pre-paid versus traditional plans, specific carriers we recommend, how they price their plans, and how to appr...
In this week’s episode, we interview Landshark. Landshark is the pen name for a lawyer, father, husband, and now early retiree. He’s in his early 40s and lives in Colorado with his wife and two elementary school-aged kids. He spent nearly two decades as a practicing lawyer, and early on in his career, he realized he wanted more freedom and family time in his life. Landshark has been saving and investing aggressively for years and recently announced his retirement. We talk with Landshark about ho...
In this episode, we share sustainable practices that save the environment and your wallet. In honor of Earth Day, we discuss why sustainability matters and dig into 22 tips to help the environment while also saving you money. We start with little day-to-day things you can do and then talk through bigger lifestyle changes to consider. Finally, we encourage everyone to look at their lifestyle and see what they can do to pull some of these more sustainable practices into their lives.
In this episode, we talk about all things inflation. We dissect the concept of inflation and discuss how you can proactively respond to and mitigate current inflation. Inflation is essentially the increase in prices of goods and services, but it’s not as simple as just a percentage increase for everything. Inflation might be hidden by marketers using several sneaky tactics like “shrinkflation.” Prices are going up for many things, and we offer some advice on how to handle it.
In this episode, we remind everyone that we have food at home, and so do you! Eating out can be one of the largest expense categories, and many people don’t realize how much they spend in this category until they start tracking their expenses. We talk through the benefits of eating at home versus eating out, tips and ideas for eating out less and eating at home more, and a few tips for reducing your spending when you decide to eat out. We hope this encourages everyone to be more intentional abou...
