

The Stacking Benjamins Show
StackingBenjamins.com | Cumulus Podcast Network
Named the Best Personal Finance Podcast by Bankrate.com and Kiplinger, The Stacking Benjamins Show features a light and friendly tone. Hosts Joe Saul-Sehy and OG aim to make financial literacy fun for all as they sit around the card table in Joe's Mom's half-finished basement and talk with experts about personal finance, saving, investing, and important money trends. As Fast Company once wrote, the Stacking Benjamins podcast "strikes a great balance of fun and functional." So join Joe and OG every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as they read your letters, discuss major headlines, and throw in some trivia and laughs for free.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 8, 2019 • 1h 15min
Making the Leap to Successful Investing (with Erin Lowry)
Erin Lowry from Broke Millennial learned early on about investing. As someone who's VERY conservative and not excited about losses, she didn't want much to do with investing. But, she'll tell us the story today about how she got started and about how you can make it easy. We'll talk about the types of funds to simplify your investment choices, how to add money, and what to do if the market isn't your friend (things start to fall apart).Plus, in our headlines segment, one man who called the last two market downturns says there's another on the way. Should we be preparing for choppy waters?Later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Larry, whose emergency fund has been drained after a few back-to-back expenses. Should Larry get his emergency fund back to capacity over time, or look towards his Roth IRA contributions to speed up the process? And in our letters segment, Brian has took a side gig delivering food for Uber Eats. After talking to some of his fellow drivers Brain is suspicious that they're defrauding the IRS by not paying any taxes on their earnings. Should Brian steer clear of their advice, or is he just missing out on easy money?As always, we'll still save some time for Doug's trivia...which today is exceptionally epic.Thanks to Ting for supporting Stacking Benjamins! Get $25 off your phone at sb.ting.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 6, 2019 • 1h 15min
Is a Latte Ruining Your Financial Independence? (with David Bach)
On today's show, we'll sit down with David Bach, the nine-time bestselling author. What's keeping you from achieving your financial goals? Is it a latte a day? While it doesn't necessarily have to be a latte, our discussion with David will shed some light on the simple things in your life that could be holding you back from reaching your destination.And in our headlines segment, we'll be joined by Ashley Boucher of Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae has released their Majoring in Money 2019 report, and among some of the more surprising discoveries is that some students hold FIVE credit cards. We'll discuss more of the big takeaways from the report during our call with Ashley, along with covering an article from InvestmentNews about Schwab's new portfolio management tool.Later in the show, we'll throw out the Haven Lifeline to Thomas, whose son has gotten all of his college paid for this past year, (with money to spare!) Thomas' son wants to put the extra $3000 into a Roth IRA. Are they allowed to do this, or are there some restrictions that are in place?Then, in our letters segment, Dano has some questions about how he should allocate his retirement funds. With Dano paying a percentage of his money to a pension, wouldn't that be considered his "safe" investment? When Dano is putting money into his Thrift Savings Plan account, couldn't he put all of the cash into the more aggressive funds?Of course, we'll also make some room for Doug's trivia, so don't you worry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 3, 2019 • 57min
Our Best Money Advice For Beginning Savers No Matter Your Age SB RWD 92
To end our rewind week we present one of our favorite roundtable topics. How do you start saving, when you feel like you can't? I think most people are in this boat, based on statistics about how much money the average person squirrels away. So, here with good facts and humor, were Len Penzo, Hilary Hendershott, and Hannah Rounds. Plus, our friend Shannon McLay was just opening her wildly successful Financial Gym in New York (now she's expanding it all over the USA). We talk to her in this episode about her launch.Here are the show notes from the original episode:What was the best advice someone could have given you when you first started investing? If you're a new investor OR a seasoned pro, you're in luck because our roundtable team are all sharing their best tips today to help get the ball rolling. We're joined by two great guests today (along with the amazing Len Penzo)...host of Profit Boss Radio, CFP Hilary Hendershott AND one of our favorite writers, Hannah Rounds from Unplanned Finances. Not only will we talk about getting started early with your financial plan, but then we'll also tackle problems with brokers and sales incentives. How do you know you won't get burned? Finally, we'll answer a question originally asked of The Moneyologist at MarketWatch.com...what would you do if you found out your mother had taken out lots of credit using your name illegally? Would you turn her in? You'll be surprised by all of our answers.THEN in the FinTech segment, we're actually going to go anti-FinTech this week and talk to our friend Shannon McLay about her new concept coming to a city near you, the Financial Gym. What happens when you give your money a workout? How does it work? Maybe, even though we talk about great ways to use your phone for planning purposes, maybe face-to-face coaching has a place in your planning, too.Thanks to Magnify Money for sponsoring our podcast! Support the companies that support us and help yourself along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 1, 2019 • 1h 3min
Want to Change? Start Here (with Cortney McDermott) SB RWD 91
I'm personally excited for you to hear this episode. When this first aired I personally was going through some really dark stuff...and as always happens, I found a book that spoke to me and helped me through it. I needed to change. I needed a wake up call. Maybe you do, too. I was lucky that I found Cortney's book and wondered, "Would she come on the show and talk about this?" I'm grateful that she did. Of course, the rest of the episode is a lot of fun, as always. - Joe.Our original show notes:Where do you start when planning your money? Cortney McDermott, the author of one of this year's hottest self-help and business books, joins us in the basement to talk about starting out. If you don't know what you want, how do you know where to go? Yet, most of us don't ask ourselves the right questions to even begin the journey.Plus, we'll also share headlines from the world of financial planning, throw out the Haven Life line to a lucky listener, score with some of Doug's delightful trivia, and more.Huge thanks to Roofstock (check them out for real estate) and MagnifyMoney.com (when you're comparing financial tools like credit cards and savings accounts) for helping us with today's show. They're awesome companies and if you're not using them, I'm not sure you know what you're missing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 29, 2019 • 50min
Money Not Handed To You? Here's The Memo - with John Hope Bryant (SB RWD 90)
The "system" isn't fair. Names from Ray Dalio to Bill Gates talk about income inequality. Poverty is often swept under the rug by people who want to easily dismiss it as "not pulling yourself up," yet most know it isn't that easy. One man who knows very well how difficult inequality can be is John Hope Bryant. He came down to the basement to talk about "getting the memo" in 2017, and we've been talking about it ever since. To kick off rewind week (if you're new to the show, we play favorites for a week after eight weeks of new podcasts), we're excited to re-share this episode. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 26, 2019 • 1h 19min
Here's Why You Aren't Rich
Why aren't you rolling in the dough? Maybe it's because you aren't focusing on the right parts of your budget. Studies have consistently shown that ONE area of savings beats all others. What is it? Tori Dunlap from HerFirst100k joins Len Penzo and OG to talk about why you aren't saving more money. While you'll learn the top reason why you aren't saving more, you might also have fun doing it....Halfway through the show we'll take a break from our discussion while Joe talks with Jarrod from the new Easy Profit game. If you've spent any amount of time listening to the show you know that we love the idea of the science of play. So when we heard about a new game that'll teach you how to understand financial statements we just had to talk to the guy behind it all.Then, when Joe's done talking to Jarrod, we'll take some time for Doug's trivia. After a little Disney inspired gameshow fun we'll answer a voicemail from Demetrious, who's been hard at work paying down his loans. While Demetrious wants to keep bringing an extra cash all the overtime at his manufacturing job has been wearing down on his body. Are there some side hustles that he could turn to?Thanks to MetPro for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Get a complimentary Metabolic Profiling assessment and a 30-minute consultation with a MetPro expert at metpro.co/sb.Thanks to Experian for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Boost your FICO score instantly for free. Boost is only available at Experian.com/sb.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 24, 2019 • 1h 6min
Transitions, Sudden Money, and Negotiating Contracts (with Andrew "Hawk" Hawkins)
Andrew Hawkins was an NFL football player with the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. He also won two Grey Cups in the Canadian Football League, worked in the Detroit Lions front office, starred in a reality television show with Michael Irvin, and starred on Sportscenter on Snapchat...what's he doing now? He's coming down to the basement to talk about how to transition. In his new podcast series, Branching Out (par of the Kneeding Dough series of podcasts if you're searching iTunes), Andrew interviews professional athletes about how they made the transition from pro sports and also what savvy money moves they've made along the way. We'll talk about changing jobs, starting out, building your team, believing in yourself when nobody else does, and more. It's an inspiring interview with Hawk.Plus, in our headlines segment, investors are flocking to buy ZOOM stock... but there's a problem. That's not the company they really want. They're really after ZM stock (from the popular video conferencing company Zoom). Due diligence anyone? And in our second headline, we'll cover one woman's emotional story about creating a "what-if" plan to prepare for the loss of a significant other.Later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Drew, who is on a student loan repayment plan. He'll qualify for student loan forgiveness in 20 years, but he doesn't want to put all his faith in his loans being forgiven. Should he forgo investing and instead plug away at his student loans?As always, we'll still save some time for Doug's trivia...which today is exceptionally epic.Thanks to Experian for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Boost your FICO score instantly for free. Boost is only available at Experian.com/sb.com.Thanks to LinkedIn for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to LinkedIn.com/sb and get a $50 credit toward your first job post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 22, 2019 • 1h 21min
From Monk to Money Manager
Doug Lynam grew up in a wealthy family but rejected looking wealthy at an early age and began hanging out with counter-culture kids while trying hard to find himself. From that lifestyle to the Marines and finally to becoming a monk, we'll talk about Doug's quest to find himself and ultimately to come to grips with the role of money and what it meant for him (and also for many of us). We'll talk through stories about his quest, how he began helping his fellow monks with their money, and ultimately how he became a money manager. He'll also share strategies to help you begin building your financial knowledge, to start questioning your own view of money, and to ultimately become a better steward of money. It's a wide-ranging, fun discussion, and we hope you're able to join us for it!In our headlines we'll talk to Paul Yakoboski, Senior Economist at TIAA Institute, about the results of the company's 2019 Personal Finance Index. He'll share how education and juggling your financial life are closely related. We'll talk about trends with the P-Fin index, the roll of education in your game plan, and more. He'll discuss how to gain knowledge about money and how to become better handling financial concerns. Plus, another company is planning an iPO. No, not an IPO (initial public offering), but a more made-up term called an iPO. We'll explain today.Later in the show, we'll throw out the Haven Lifeline to Alan, who has an awesome question for us about pensions. He has two choices: one where he can take the full amount himself or another where he gives up $400 per month but his spouse is also covered for her life. Which does he take?Then, in our letters segment, Dillion writes in asking about the best way to transition into the field of personal finance. He's currently an accountant, but Dillion's realized his passion is in helping people learn about and gain control of their finances. What's the approach to moving into the personal finance field?Of course, we'll also make some room for Doug's trivia, so don't you worry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 19, 2019 • 1h 8min
Financial Lessons from a Wedding Gone Wrong
What happens when a bride and her mom spend $70,000 on a wedding and everything goes wrong? Here's a bigger question: What happens when you spend more to get a bigger, better experience and it completely goes awry? Is it better to "super size" your spending to find more joy? We're all about the correlation between happiness and spending on today's episode. We're shaking things up with today's roundtable guest because joining us in today's discussion is Bobbi Rebell, host of the Financial Grownup podcast AND co-host of our very own Money in the Morning show. Plus, we'll call up Paula Pant of Afford Anything, and Len Penzo from LenPenzo.com.After a crazy Game of Thrones meets Len Penzo inspired trivia from Doug, we'll answer a voicemail during the Magnify Money call. Reed asks about an article he's read on retirement. According to the piece, there's a lot of "front-loaded" spending in retirement, which could drain cash savings a lot quicker than expected. We'll give our take on retirement, spending, and planning in our response to the piece.Thanks to Clear for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Get your first two months of Clear for free by going to clearme.com/sb2019 and using promo code sb2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 17, 2019 • 1h 19min
Quitting Your Job at 31 to Achieve a Life Goal (Your Letters)
Today we're all about your letters. We'll start with a question about moving funds around to avoid some taxes, jump into helping a 25-year-old decide whether to max out his retirement accounts, answer a question about robo advisors, and then launch into helping kids with money, how to save for a house, and more.In our headlines segment we'll talk to Joe Jiminez from The Alternate Life podcast. Maybe you've had the urge to quit your day job and go on a journey, but few of us have actually followed through. Joe Jiminez dumped the job and spent his summer walking the Continental Divide Trail. We might not be able to take the summer off ourselves, but we'll at least ask Joe what it's like.Then later on, we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Reggie, who's heard on the show that OG isn't particularly fond of Betterment or Wealthfront. Reggie has a bulk of his money in Wealthfront and Betterment, so he's wondering...what's the issue?As always, we'll still save some time for Doug's trivia...which today is exceptionally epic.Thanks to Proper Cloth for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Get $20 off your first custom shirt at Propercloth.com/sb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices


