When to Focus on Earning More Versus Cutting Costs

Ever feel like you're doing everything "right" with money—but still barely getting ahead? You're budgeting. You're saving what you can. You cut the subscriptions, meal prep on Sundays, and skip the daily latte. So why does it still feel like you're spinning your wheels?

In this Greatest Hits episode, Joe Saul-Sehy welcomes Erin Lowry (Broke Millennial), Paula Pant (Afford Anything), and Greg McFarlane (Control Your Cash) to tackle the question nobody wants to ask: What if the problem isn't your spending—it's your income?

Erin shares her journey from broke and stressed to financially stable and empowered, and the crew digs into why so many families struggle even when they're following all the "rules." Sometimes extreme budgeting isn't the answer. Sometimes you need to earn more. And yes, that's easier said than done—but this episode gives you the roadmap.

From practical strategies for saving for retirement when cash is tight, to negotiation tricks that lower your monthly bills, to the hilariously strange side hustles people actually do for extra money (you'll never look at classified ads the same way), this conversation is packed with ideas you can use today.

Plus: Classic basement banter, a "Spider Pig" serenade, Tony Romo's birthday, and all the tangents that make Stacking Benjamins feel like hanging out with friends who happen to know a lot about money.

What You'll Walk Away With:

• Why you might feel behind even when you're doing everything the experts tell you to do

• Erin Lowry's framework for moving from "broke" to financially confident (and why it's not just about willpower)

• When to focus on cutting costs vs. when to focus on earning more—and how to know the difference

• Practical retirement savings strategies that work even when your cash flow is tight

• Negotiation scripts for lowering your internet, phone, and other monthly bills (yes, they actually work)

• Creative (and sometimes bizarre) ways people make extra money that you've probably never considered

This Episode Is For You If:

• You're exhausted from budgeting and feel like you're sacrificing everything but still not getting ahead

• You wonder if you're just bad with money—or if something else is going on

• You've cut expenses as far as they'll go and need new strategies

• You're curious about side hustles but don't know where to start (or what's actually worth your time)

• You need a reminder that struggling financially doesn't mean you're doing it wrong—sometimes the system is just rigged

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/stop-worrying-start-saving-greatest-hits-week-1761

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!

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