The Stacking Benjamins Show

Is it really human nature to believe what we're told at first pass, but then start to doubt after the conversation ends? Should we be more doubtful from the get-go? Today we welcome to the basement two men who want to share how to avoid getting sucked into false promises, hoodwinked by snake oil salesmen, and bamboozled by smooth-talking neighbors who have a sweet El Camino: Doctors Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris.In today's headline, we question the legitimacy of the advice given by a more off-the-beaten-path new source. This gives us a chance to put our critical hats on and have a larger discussion about vetting your news sources, how to spot red flags that raise eyebrows, and a few telltale signs that the piece was, at least in part, probably written by ChatGPT.We throw out the Haven Lifeline to Lucas who wants our take on how to correctly calculate the tax basis on shares of stock that were purchased at a discount through an employee stock purchase plan ("ESPP"). And Doug has some explosive trivia!FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/deception-code-Daniel-Simons-and-Christopher-Chabris-1381Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trish Hunt had no idea that one phone call in her late twenties would change her life. This call, for most of us, might stop us in our tracks forever, unable to function or move past events she had no control over. Yet, in that moment, she decided that she had to move. She had to take control. She had to become, in her words, "Unstoppable." Today we'll share her story and her advice for those times in life when you're simply "in the weeds" (up to your armpits in tasks going nowhere) or you're truly dealing with some huge life events that are difficult to restart from. It's a great reminder during our first show of these eight weeks that life moves, whether we do or not...so it's time to start paddling.In our headline segment, we'll help you paddle around some rocks the podcasting world has thrown your way. One company is shutting its doors. We'll not only help you continue to listen to your favorite shows without it (including, hopefully, this one!)...but we'll talk about what happens when you find out your employer might be closing their doors. What do you do to move forward? OG, Joe, and even Doug will have some timely advice.Of course, we'll also throw out the Haven Life line to help a lucky Stacker with life's money problems and Doug will step in with his amazing trivia.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/from-stuck-to-unstoppable-trish-hunt-1380Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fun with taxes! Riveting, isn't it? On this 2017 roundtable powwow, Paula, Len, and Greg McFarlane flexed their obscure tax knowledge.The show originally aired in 2017 so ignore any mention of current events. Check out the original show notes here.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/len-paula-greg-taxes-roundtable-rewind-1379Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t miss our podcast rewind episode where we interview the head of behavioral science at Morningstar, Dr. Steve Wendel, on the topic of some potentially big problems in retirement - and he dishes out eight possible ways to improve your retirement readiness.The show originally aired in 2018 so ignore any mention of current events. Check out the original show notes here.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/dr-steve-wendel-from-morningstar-rewind-1378Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at StackingBenjamins.com/201.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tired of paying retail for everything? David Pogue (of NOVA and CBS Sunday Morning fame) joins us to talk money-saving hacks. How much can you save just by buying at the right time, using the modern version of coupons, and shopping at the right stores? We'll talk about Best Buy, Amazon, Retail Me Not, and more on today's show.That's not all. Rob Berger from Dough Roller joins us to discuss the new Betterment offerings. Is this a company on the attack or one that's been forced to be defensive? We also throw out the Haven Life line to Matt, who asks about the right time to rebalance and take a letter from Rick, who has comments about RFID and also debt cleansing. Of course, Doug still brings home the trivia and much more.The show originally aired in 2017 so ignore any mention of current events.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/money-hacks-david-pogue-rewind-1377Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at StackingBenjamins.com/201.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is real estate the best investment for first-time investors? Today's roundtable discussion is a special one - our panel shares their thoughts, experiences, and opinions about real estate as a viable investment for beginners. We are thrilled to welcome the co-host of our sister show, the Stacking Deeds podcast, Crystal Hammond. Of course, we couldn't have a real estate roundtable and not invite the real estate maven herself, Paula Pant. And, just to bring a little of the opposing viewpoint, we bring on Len Penzo, from Len Penzo dot com.We also dive into the Top 4 Ways to Invest in Real Estate, (and Paula puts Len in his place after he runs his mouth). If you're thinking about dipping your toe into real estate investing, you won't want to miss this!Be sure to stick around for the continued year-long, nerd soap opera that is our trivia contest - all about the infamous Tunguska Event. Will Len extend his trivia dominance another week? Will Crystal do OG a solid and close the gap with Len? Will Paula shock us all and bolt out of the tie for last place? Tune in... the results will shock you!FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/real-estate-roundtable-1376Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you improve your credit, your real estate savvy, your knowledge of taxes, your ability to budget and save, and more? You listen to shows like SB, watch YouTube, read books, and surround yourself with great people! A new series from Million Stories gives you ALL of those topics AND combines them in a humorous, fun, introductory way, and today we go behind the scenes to see how they made it! We speak to host Andini Mankosinski who is NOT a money expert herself, so the series features her learning alongside off of the viewers. We'll share clips, talk about trying to make the often-dry topic of money exciting and fun, and more.In our headline segment, we share some new data from Vanguard Investments on 401k plans. How many people are using them? We'll dive into that AND help you get started using yours. Of course, we'll also share Doug's trivia, answer a call from help to the Haven Life line, and more. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many think that the people who write about money on the internet were either born with a special "saving and investing" gene, or they had to grind their way to the top. The good news? Our guest today, The Humble Dollar's Jonathan Clements (and former Wall Street Journal Personal Finance columnist) shares tales from some of the top writers on his site and how they stumbled their way to victory. We talk about paying down debt, investing wisely, rent vs. buy, and much, much more.In our headline segment, a new study shows what product mix changes financial advisors intend to use with clients in the next twelve months. Can their tweaks help you with your own money? We'll share. Plus, in our TikTok minute, two creators have found a way to get rich quick: rob a bank...but creatively! You'll hear it here.Of course, we'll also share Doug's mind-bending trivia and much, much more! Enjoy!FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/jonathan-clements-1374Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at StackingBenjamins.com/201.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you have assets in a previous employer's retirement plan? Would it be easier to consolidate all your retirement assets into one place? Today we're all about rollovers: what they are, how they work, and why you should care. We welcome Dana Anspach, CFP, the force behind Sensible Money, a financial planning service focused on clients who are nearing/in retirement, to help make sense of what rollovers are and if it makes sense to do one. Joining Dana is, Paula Pant, who has more knowledge about rollovers than pop culture, as well as our in-house CFP, OG.Dana also shares some of her experiences about rollover horror stories - and what steps you can take to avoid mistakes - and the potential tax consequences that may ensue. Paula chimes in with her experiences and thoughts on the rollover process, and OG imparts his wisdom on what scenarios may make for a more difficult rollover process.Doug brings the heat with some fast-paced this-day-in-history travel-themed trivia.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/friday-roundtable-401k-rollovers-1373-2Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rosalia Gitau is a force of nature. Don't take our word for it...Monday's guest Michael Gilmore, creator of the prestigious Money Awareness and Inclusion awards, said that to US when we interviewed him. That's when we knew we needed to talk to Rosalia. We're super glad we did and you'll be happy you sat in to listen, because in this interview performed LIVE on the Fireside app, we dive into: Her upbringing in poverty as an immigrant and an orphan How she found early success, including a mentor Her path to success (not nearly close to finished!) How she used her grandfather's success secret to create her own success How she dove into what women DO and what women WANT to create a financial space for them with Bixie You'll learn all of this and SO much more on today's show. No trivia today. No headline. No Haven Life line....just us and Rosalia on this VERY special interview episode.FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/Bixie-app-women-investors-risalia-gitau-1372Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at StackingBenjamins.com/201.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices