Radical Personal Finance

Today, we continue the life insurance series with the valuable background of whole life insurance. Exciting stuff! This show is an introduction to the various product features and design ideas. We cover: Ordinary life insurance Limited pay life insurance Cash values Policy loans Nonforfeiture or Surrender Options: Surrender for cash value Reduced amount of paid-up whole life Paid-up term Annuity or retirement income Policy conversion Participating versus nonparticipating policies Policy dividend options Cash Applied to premium Used to purchase more insurance (fully paid up) Left with insurer to earn interest Used to purchase more insurance (term) To overpay premiums until policy is fully paid up Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Winning the lottery prompts thoughts about financial management and personal values. The discussion ranges from tax strategies to the implications of sudden wealth. There's a critical examination of lotteries as a system and their societal effects, including education funding challenges. Personal aspirations are explored through responsible investing and prioritizing community impact. The conversation emphasizes integrating life goals with financial choices, highlighting the emotional rewards found in relationships over mere wealth accumulation.

Today, I have a tightly focused show for you with a few key points from the CFP® Board curriculum. You will need this information on the CFP® Board exam and it will be useful for you as an individual. First, I share with you how to choose between needing a 3-month emergency fund and a 6-month emergency fund. Next, I share with you the manageable percentages of your income which you can allocate to debt payments. Enjoy! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

This podcast covers strategies for student loan payoff, helping kids without enabling them, consolidating retirement accounts, maxing out a spousal IRA, retirement distribution strategies, and coaching options.

How much do you spend each year on fuel costs for your car? What is your current mileage per gallon? Before you rush out and buy a new hybrid to save money on gas, consider improving your driving techniques. It doesn't cost you anything except attention and focus and it can make a substantial difference. As an example, check out this guy who got his 3/4 ton pickup truck from an EPA estimate of 15 mpg to almost 60 mpg! In today's show I feature 109 tips for more efficient driving. These tips come from the good folks at the Ecomodder forum. Listen to (or read) the list, choose a couple of techniques and start practicing! Enjoy the savings and put the money to work elsewhere in your life! Joshua Almost 60 MPG on a Diesel Pickup! "2,009.6 mi on one 35 gal tank ('07 Dodge Ram 2500 quad" cab) http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/double-kilotank-2-009-6-mi-one-35-a-26259.html 109 hypermiling / ecodriving tips http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php 68 vehicle mods for better fuel economy ... http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, we finish out the 3-part series on preparing for layoffs in the coming recession. Today's show will be useful to you, even if you just got notice of your layoff and didn't do anything to prepare for it beforehand. The major theme of today's show is that you need to take appropriate action with appropriate speed. If you're stuck with little savings and no preparation, that means take massive action, now! If you've planned a bit better in advance, it means be strategic and thoughtful. We discuss: The impact of self-confidence on your job hunt. The importance of having work now and not being unemployed for a long time. How to take massive action on your job hunt for quicker results. What types of approaches are most successful for job hunters. Some radical strategies you can plan for that will enable you to simply wait out and enjoy the recession instead of being stressed by it! Enjoy! Joshua Many If Not Most Employers Hunt for Job-Hunters in the Exact Opposite Way from How Most Job-Hunters Hunt for Them http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/jobs/view/what-to-beware-of-in-searching-for-job-vacan-2 Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Yesterday, we talked about ways to avoid losing your job in the coming recession. But obviously there are factors beyond your control which might result in your being laid off, even though you've done everything "right." So, you need a backup plan. Don't wait and wonder what you'll do. Make a simple plan now for what you'll do. Think about some different scenarios and play some mental games with yourself. That way, you'll be able to better respond to events instead of being shell-shocked by them. Today's show covers: The importance of planning to avoid emotional stress when you get laid off. The direct impact of losing your income and how to plan for it. The impact that losing your group benefits can have on your financial life. Why you should consider establishing lines of credit before you need them. How you can stockpile both money and the simple necessities of life. The simple things you can do that will make it much easier to get your next job. The importance of proactively building and maintaining a network. How thinking like a consultant will help you now and help you later. Enjoy! Joshua The Queen of Versailles Living On Our Food Storage: One Family's Experience Of Living Without Income For A Year Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

For most of us, our jobs are the economic engine that drive every aspect of our financial plan. One of the worst things that can happen is to lose a job. If the engine on your car dies, you're going to be stuck by the side of the road for a while. That's not pleasant for anyone, even if you're stuck in a safe area. But, if you're driving up a mountain (paying off debt and digging yourself out of a hole), having your engine die can be disastrous. And, if you have a destination in mind (financial independence), losing the engine in your car will at least delay you from reaching your destination. So, the key is plan in advance to not lose the engine. Make sure you're doing the things you need to be doing now to avoid being laid off. Obviously, you can't guarantee that you'll never be laid off, but you can do a lot to improve your possibilities! On today's show, we cover: The need to proactively improve your position within your company, your company's position within the industry, and your industry's overall prospects in advance. Some ways to know if you've got a big target on your back or a small target on your back with the HR people are figuring out who to cut. The importance of competing with your fellow employees and of collaborating and cooperating with them and why both are valuable. Ways to stand out and produce up to 4x the output of your fellow employees. Enjoy the show! Joshua Business Insider: 13 Things Everyone Does At Work That They Don't Want Bosses To Know About Federal Reserve: Average Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United States Support Radical Personal Finance! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

Today, I handle these four questions: 3:02 Joshua, I just started listening to your show and I've learned a lot already. I originally started listening because I have an interest in one day becoming a personal finance consultant, but that's a long way off, for now I just need help with a crazy student loan issue! I am currently paying almost $600 a month for a $102k student loan at 7%, couple of key things, credit is shot due to bk filed last year, the loan is with the nelnet through dept of Ed, the question is should I pay down the loan, or find an investment that will pay me $600 to offset payment? Right now the $600 is preventing me from moving forward on anything financial, I'm expecting a lump some of money in February, like $60k, I would love to invest it where I can earn $600 or more a month to offset the payment! Any ideas? 28:56 Joshua, I recently stumbled upon your podcast and just started listening to it from the very beginning. Your approach to each podcast has been a from a very practical point of view which I really appreciate and hence enjoy listening to it! Please keep up the great work! At the time of writing this, I just finished with the episode "rfp-0009 - Why is your house a terrible investment." I myself am in the stage of having signed a contract on a home and waiting for closing date. All through the show James and yourself have made many, many valid points. I myself have already tracked down my cost (also factoring in an average monthly maintenance expense) to owning a home in an excel spreadsheet and even-though most often than not, one usually tends to buy a home which is slightly bigger in area that the what one was renting (same with me), the numbers for buying a home vs renting still look better (to me) in the long run. I live in the slightly expensive Northern VA area. I have been renting for the last 7.5 years (in various capacities from being a full-time student to full-time employee to full-time employee + part-time student) and can definitely say that annual rent increase adds up over each year. In order to keep the rents at a reasonable rates you will have to move every 2 or 3 years. This would add moving expenses, cleaning expenses, security deposits and a peace-less mind to your rent calculations. But this has not been factored into the James' calculations. Yes, when you own a home your property taxes may also go up as the home appreciates, but this won't be as much as how much the rent would increase year-in year-out. Also your home may or may not appreciate every year for this to happen. Would like to know what your comments are to this. 36:09 Joshua, I have a 1 year old son and am married. My wife is in school earning her PhD. Can my wife and I create two separate 529 plans to double our tax benefits (one in my son's name and one for my wife)? Indiana's benefit is 20% tax credit ($1000 max credit). If not should we create a 529 anyway? We have the money to pay for her $30,000 education already saved to be spread over the next 3 years. Thoughts? 40:06 Joshua, My parents just recently started working with a fee-only financial adviser after their recent retirement. She has been doing a nice job with them so far helping them come up with their financial goals, seeing if they are able to achieve them with their current assets, and choosing the most appropriate Social Security choice for their needs and goals. I have been attending the meetings with them. Either in the next meeting or the meeting after, the question of converting their traditional IRA to a Roth IRA will come up. Other than their paid-off house, most of their portfolio is in traditional IRAs. She is of the belief that it doesn't make sense to convert any of the traditional IRA to Roth because they don't have the taxable funds to pay the necessary taxes. I'm of the opinion that since the income they currently receive from their IRAs is well under the $74,900 limit (filing jointly) keeping them in the 25% bracket, that they should convert some of it and pay the 25% tax rate before they have to start taking much larger RMDs in the future at higher tax rates. Of course that also ignores future potential tax hikes. They understand the benefits of having some flexibility for the future as well as the benefits of passing a Roth to me and my sister on their deaths (another one of their goals). The question I have is: What are the appropriate questions to ask the financial advisor as to how to look into whether converting makes sense outside of the generalities that you shouldn't because you don't have taxable funds? How do you 'run the numbers' so to speak to determine if converting is in their best interest? And also, how do you come up with that sweet spot amount in order to stay inside the 25% tax bracket and not pay taxes outside that bracket? Is that a question for a tax accountant or should a financial adviser be able to answer that question as well? Thanks for all you do. Enjoy the show! Joshua How to Evaluate Your Client's Current and Future Marginal Tax Rate Roth vs Traditional IRA: The Four Factors That Determine Which Is Best When A Roth IRA May Actually Be A Terrible Asset To Inherit How IRA Withdrawals In The Crossover Zone Can Trigger The 3.8% Medicare Surtax Why A Roth Conversion May Be A Bad Idea Even If Taxes Are Higher In The Future End Of Year Roth Conversions And Capital Gains Harvesting – Paying Taxes To Save Taxes To Roth or Not To Roth

Today we dig into the topic of trading stocks. And who better to speak with than the guy who started a "university" to teach the subject? My guest today is Steve Burns, founder of www.NewTraderU.com. Here's some background about Steve, directly from his About page: "After a lifelong fascination with financial markets, Steve Burns started investing in 1993, and trading his own accounts in 1995. It was love at first trade. A natural teacher with a unique ability to cut through the bull and make complex ideas simple, Steve took to blogging and social media by founding New Trader U in 2011. "Since then, New Trader U has attracted hundreds of thousands of visits a month, becoming the go-to resource for people wanting to build a strong, trading foundation. New Trader U offers an extensive blog resource with more than 1,000 original articles (Steve posts daily). "Asked daily if he could mentor, Steve realized that there weren’t enough hours in the day to give everyone the attention they deserved, so New Trader 101 was born. Developed to help beginning traders survive their first year in the markets, New Trader 101 quickly became Steve’s passion." The interview covers: Steve's personal story as it relates to financial independence His suggestions for individual investors to protect their portfolios Learning to manage the psychology of investing Teaching kids the skills of investing Enjoy the show! Joshua Steve's website and blog, New Trader University and his course "New Trader 101." Support Radical Personal Finance: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron