Radical Personal Finance

This podcast delves into the intricate relationship between politics, religion, philosophy, and ethics in personal finance. It emphasizes the importance of engaging in uncomfortable discussions to understand how our financial decisions impact society. The episode explores the ethical considerations in finance, the impact of political decisions on society, and the need to align investments with personal ethics. It challenges listeners to confront propaganda, navigate societal influences, and make ethical financial decisions for a better future.

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://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 people. This show was originally released on February 24, 2015 on Nick's website. Enjoy! Joshua Links: Nick's website: http://an-yak.com/ Original post on Nick's site: http://an-yak.com/ep-21-financial-advice-with-joshua-sheats-anarcho-yakitalist-podcast/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 additional 80-90K saved for the condo in about six years. I want to make a 50% down payment on a $200K condo (so basically a 100K down payment). My dream is to have a super low monthly mortgage payment (around $500 - 600 per month). That would be very freeing for me! I want the flexibility in life + career that low monthly expenses would give me. Am I crazy to make such a big down payment? I know its almost half of my net worth, but it feels right for my lifestyle choices. I'm tired of being stuck in the super-high trendy-city apartment renting hamster wheel ;) 30:19 I have a 529 for my oldest son. I am planning on transferring that to my wife as she will be going back to school in August of 2016. She is a teacher, once she graduates with a specialist degree she will receive an automatic $5,000 annual pay raise. We estimate the program will cost $15,000 and can be completed in 18 months-24 months. The 529 plan is currently invested very aggressively (based on our oldest son's age of 6). I am planning on immediately changing the investment to the guaranteed option (1-1.25%). Am I missing any other investment options? We use Georgia's 529 plan which is TIAA-CREF based. It seems an easy choice to me. What else am I missing? Any other thoughts? The current value is $12,700 and we contribute $600 per year. If we are short during the last semester or two, we plan on paying with excess cash flow we hope to save up by then. 40:34 If you were at a "Financial Stability" stage 3.5 in the US (debt is eliminated and about 50% of basic items are addressed) and were planning on moving overseas for 2 years (in 2 years), what steps would you take to secure your financial future? Enjoy the show! Joshua New Charter University http://new.edu/info/tuition/ Become a Patron of the show! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 list of everything you want for your family in case of your death. Divide that list into: Lump Sum needs (immediate cash) Income needs (ongoing cash) For the income needs, decide: How much? For how long? Liquidating approach or a non-liquidating approach? Enjoy the show! Joshua Links: Episode 173: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/173-economic-basis-of-life-insurance-and-individualfamily-uses-of-life-insurance/ Episode 101: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/how-to-calculate-how-much-you-need-to-save-for-your-kids-college-rpf0101/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 protect yourself from your behavioral biases Enjoy the show! Joshua p.s., listen to the show for an opportunity to get Meb's most recent book for free! Links: Meb's website: http://mebfaber.com/ Cambria Funds: http://www.cambriafunds.com/ Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Learn how to effectively match your financial goals with the right investments using a goal-investment matrix. Explore the concept of asset allocation and location for different types of financial goals. Understand the importance of aligning investments with the appropriate timeframes and purposes of your goals. Get practical tips on funding goals through safer, aggressive, or home run investments. Hear an announcement about a change in the show's payment model and additional benefits for supporters.

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. Morningstar's paper on the value of an advisor. "Route to an $8 Million Portfolio Started with Frugal Living" "How Much Money Does it Take to Be in the Top 1% of Wealth and Net Worth in the United States?" "How Much Money Does It Take to Be In the Top 1% by State?" Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 are to total Financial Abundance. Stage 0: Financial Dependence Stage 1: Financial Solvency Stage 2: Financial Stability Stage 3: Debt Freedom Stage 4: Financial Security Stage 5: Financial Independence Stage 6: Financial Freedom Stage 7: Financial Abundance My challenge to you is to take these stages, understand where you are, and lay out the numbers of your own situation. How much do you need to be financially stable? What's your number for financial independence? Financial freedom? Write it down clearly for yourself and then keep working on it! Enjoy the show, Joshua Links: Here is the new page on the website: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/finance-topics/stages-of-financial-independence/ Become a Patron of Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

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 provide to others and on our moral obligation to provide for our dependents. Because each of us has an economic value that can be estimated, we can come up with some formulas to understand how much life insurance is appropriate. The three major approaches to determining an appropriate amount of life insurance are: Human life value approach Needs analysis approach Rule of thumb approach (most popular is the multiple of income approach) The best of these methods is the needs analysis approach. It balances the need for precision and the need for simplicity quite effectively. Life insurance can have many uses for individuals and families: Immediate funds: Cash to meet daily living needs Cash to pay expenses associated with death Cash for emergencies, repairs, or replacements Ongoing income: Spouse Children Parents Nondependents Funds to pay debts Funds for death taxes Funds for dependents' education Funds for trusts Funds for charities Funds for gifts Funds to supplement retirement income Funds for home health care or nursing home care Funds to transfer assets to a younger generation Funds to discreetly provide for confidential needs Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron