Radical Personal Finance

I recently took a friend of mine (who is super broke) through a grocery store and shared with him some of my strategies to fill your tummy when you're flat broke. This should help you save some cash...or at least help you teach someone else who's hungry how to eat cheap. Joshua Today's show is sponsored by Warby Parker. Get really nice and fashionable eyeglasses shipped right to your door for you to try on and save a ton in the process! www.WarbyParker.com/RPF

After reading hundreds of listener emails this week, I've become very clear on the #1 mistake of the Radical Personal Finance audience. Here's my attempt to help. Joshua

No, that title isn't clickbait. There really is risk created by paying off debt too quickly. Details in the show. Joshua

Today, we handle this interesting question from a listener: "In talking about Samaritan to a pastor-friend he threw out the scenario that your middle school age son is injured in an accident while riding in a friend's car, and the police find marijuana in the car--what happens? When I asked a Samaritan rep about it he said their board would carefully review the situation and if they deemed that your son wasn't responsible for/aware of the pot then his injury would be covered; if he was responsible/aware then he would not be covered. While my kids are all under 8 right now and this scenario is a ways off as a possibility for us, I'm concerned that when they reach middle/high school age I may need to look into alternatives for a couple reasons: (1) I'm not fully convinced of an investigatory board's ability to discern for sure in such a scenario what was going on and (2) while I'm teaching my kids to obey their parents and the civil authorities, they are still sinners and, growing up being a learning process, I'm concerned that if one of my kids made a stupid choice as a 14 year old it could significantly haunt the whole family for a long time. What are your thoughts on medical-sharing plans and this sort of scenario? (Obviously this is just one example of the many ways a child could make a sinful and stupid decision while still under their parent's care that could have long-term ramifications.)" Enjoy! Joshua Sponsor: www.HelloFresh.com and use the promo code RPF30 to save $30 off your subscription! If you decide to join Samaritan Ministries, tell them Joshua Sheats sent you over! That gets me a discount on my share next month. :) Thanks!

Erin writes in and says: "I love listening to your podcast- I know you've had a few episodes recently in reaction to current events. As a resident of the Bay Area I hope you could do an episode in relation to wild fires (if there isn't a past episode I am overlooking)." Erin et al, here are my suggestions for you! Joshua Sponsor today: Bombfell. Visit www.bombfell.com/RPF Tons of important information on preparing for wildfires: www.firewise.org Firescaping: Creating fire-resistant landscapes, gardens, and properties in California's diverse environments

Fun question today for our Friday episode...comes in from Chris: Joshua, Looking to see if you have any insight on emotional/psychological decisions versus logical decisions when it comes to finance. Back story - I have a paid for 20 year old Harley. I have not ridden it in three years, I spend $200/year on an insurance policy, each spring I do maintenance on it which costs about $30, and living in Minnesota, we only really have 6 months or so of decent riding weather. I have a big garage so storage is not an issue, apart from each winter when I have to move it around in and tell myself I'll sell it in the spring. I can make the logical argument to myself that I need to sell this. It is a depreciating asset, costs money to maintain and insure, and it really brings no value to my life. However, I can not bring myself to sell it. I have no pressing financial obligations so the $5-6k that I would get from selling it would really not do much to improve my life. About the only thing that I would do with the money is put in a taxable brokerage account (through a RPF link tradeking account, of course). I have told myself I am going to sell this bike for years now, but I still can't figure out why I still have it. Any insight would be helpful, and as always, thanks for the great show!

I thought about simply calling today's show, "On Hammers." You pick the title you prefer...but recognize the truth: tools are tools and their usefulness depends not on their inherent attributes but on their appropriate application. Joshua Please support RPF on Patreon: www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today's show rounds out a special series of live Q&A shows. Today we cover: 1:20 Should I put more money into my retirement plan or buy a house? 18:45 Can I use a donor-advised fund as a smart way to get a bigger tax deduction for my contribution to my local church? 32:30 Should I move from a commission-based job to a salary job which also means a salary cut? 39:10 Should I buy a joint universal life insurance policy to protect my new baby? 1:10:00 Should I keep an India-based whole life insurance policy now that I'm a US resident? Enjoy the show! Joshua Please support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I've been doing a live Q&A series...today we cover these: 1:24 - Can I Pay for My Seminary Degree with Early Distributions from a Retirement Account? 13:30 - Can I Still Become Financially Independent if We Move to Paradise First? 25:45 - Should We Sell our Rental House Two States Away or Plan to Move Back to It In Order to Get the Tax-Free Gains on a Future Sale? 37:45 - Are Healthcare Sharing Ministries Like Samaritan Ministries Any Good? Joshua Ph.D. for under $15,000 https://americanvision.org/6383/b-a-to-ph-d-for-under-15000-how-i-did-it/ Healthcare Sharing Ministries https://radicalpersonalfinance.com/health-care-sharing-ministries/ Support RPF on Patreon: www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

As we all watch and process the mass shooting in Las Vegas this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to share a few lessons learned. I always try to process an event like this with an eye towards the lessons I can learn. The tactical situation in Las Vegas was impossible. I don't think you could imagine a worse situation to be in as a concert-goer. An absolute nightmare. But, I do have a few thoughts that I think can help. And since I don't hear anyone sharing anything practical, here are my suggestions. If you have additional practical, actionable ideas, I'd love to hear them. Joshua The flashlight I use is the FourSevens Mini Mark II. It's awesome. http://amzn.to/2fMdtNM