The Stacking Benjamins Show

Do rules of thumb and finance "rules" leave you confused? Even better, some contradict others. We've got a great throwback for you today to help you avoid bad advice around rules of thumb. Joe and OG share their top 5 dumbest rules of thumb and why you shouldn't follow them exactly. They share what you should focus on instead to get ahead on your finances.This episode originally aired in 2015 so ignore any current events or giveaways. Check out the original show notes here.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(See our note on sound quality below...this is below par but an EXCELLENT episode).Happy Labor Day, Stackers! We're kicking off fall with fantasy football, pumpkin spice lattes, and some good ol' retirement planning. There's no time like today to get your financial plan in order. Emily Guy Birken not only co-wrote Stacked with Joe, she's also written several other books AND came on our show a few years ago to bust retirement myths. We start our rewind week with a look back at this episode with her. She shares why some common retirement tips might not work as well as they sound.This episode originally aired in 2015 so be sure to ignore any mention of current events. Check out the original show notes here.Enjoy!Note from Joe: In 2015 we decided to make BIG changes in the podcast and experimented with EVERYTHING. We had JUST changed the format, the sound settings...literally everything, and we lost a third of our listeners. Within two months we'd rebounded to garner accolades across the internet. From Kiplinger to Art of Manliness, everyone loved what we were doing. This episode was lost in translation. The material is great....so today we bring it back using as much modern tech as possible to make the audio quality better. You can hear the raw beginnings of what we were aiming for with Stacking Benjamins, AND there's good advice inside of this episode). So...I hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trying to cut back on spending? Now that vacation season is coming to a close and it's back to school for many people, lots of us are thinking of ways to tighten the belt. Today, our roundtable discusses proven ways to save money. Everything from drinking coffee at home to automating your savings to cancelling subscriptions are discussed. Headed into a holiday weekend we decided to make it Game Show Time! so you know it's going to be a ton of fun. To put more Benjamins in your wallet we're joined by savings expert, newspaper columnist and Certified Financial Planner Sarah Catherine Gutierrez (Ladysplaining Money and Aptus Financial). She'll take on our own contributors Len Penzo (len penzo dot com), and co-host OG to see which money saving pro can turn you on to MORE exciting ways to save a buck (or more!). Who do you think will guess the most answers that show up in the piece we reference?The challenge doesn't stop there. Doug will share his trivia. Can OG pull even farther ahead of the group?Enjoy!You'll find show notes at StackingBenjamins.com.Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are on our newsletter, The 201, available at StackingBenjamins.com/201. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's cooking this holiday weekend? Labor Day picnics are just around the corner and tons of people like you are planning festive weekend fun. Not sure what food to prep? Not great with the grill? We've got you covered. Chef Marie Saba joins us with not only LOTS of puns from her hilarious new book, but she also shares some delicious and easy recipes to make your Labor Day picnic or get-together a success. We also chat about her career, because one of Instagram's most famous chefs didn't start out in the kitchen. She'll inspire you with how she pivoted careers to focus on what she loves.We're continuing the food theme in our headline segment. One 27 year old spends $1,000 a week eating at restaurants. Wow! We'll share the rest of the piece on how they allocate the rest of their food budget. We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to an anonymous caller who wants to know how to find the right financial advisor for them. Doug will also share his trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When life gets you down, it's easy to fall into a death spiral of negativity. The harder choice? Figuring out how adversity makes you stronger and picking yourself back up for another round. Twila True was born into the Lakota tribe, in the poorest county in the United States. From a young age, she knew she wanted to find her own way and not rely on another person for financial stability. Today she'll share how she pulled herself out of the cycle of poverty, and into ownership of multiple successful businesses. Both Entrepreneur and Success magazine have honored her with top honors in 2022, and now she'll walk through the steps she took.Target date funds are back in the news. In our headline segment, we're talking about another lawsuit over excessive fees in investment accounts. We tell you what happened, what you can do to protect your accounts from excessive fees, and why we don't love target date funds. We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to Nick who has a question about wash sales. And Doug will share his trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year the personal finance community comes together for the Plutus Awards, an annual ceremony that shines a light on some of the best and brightest brands in our space. If you're looking for new podcasts to listen to, new blogs to read, videos to watch, or social media to follow, you're going to love today's show.We start off this special episode with a simulcast of the actual award reveal, which happened on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. Miranda Marquit represents the Plutus Awards and joins Joe to share this year's list. (Because of the live nature of the show, there is some wobbly audio in this segment of the presentation).Then, in our second segment of the show, Joe is joined by a cast of financial commentator to walk through nine of the categories and comment on the various brands. Athena Lent (Money Smart Latina & Slate PF columnist), joins freelance writer/podcaster Eric Rosenberg, and podcaster Chris Browning (Popcorn Finance and This is Awkward). Who's probably going to win each? Who do our panelists want to win? How are these creators different? What are the trends in personal finance media today? We'll dive into all of that in our longest (by far!) episode of the year.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does your dream retirement look like? One popular blogger had high expectations for retirement, and now, four years in, reviews some WOW unexpected changes in his life. If you've ever fantasized about how you'll spend your retirement days, today's show is for you. What if it doesn't go as planned? Our regulars (OG, Paula Pant and Len Penzo) are back for Paula's last episode for the next 10 months while she's off at Columbia University for an amazing business journalism fellowship. They talk about retirement expectations vs. reality, planning for retirement, and what to think about now, even if that's long before retirement.And of course, Doug will share his amazing trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ON a recent Money Rehab podcast episode, financial commentator Nicole Lapin brought up some pretty explosive reactions to words said by talk show host Dave Ramsey. On today's show, we ask the basic question, "Do commentators attacking each other hinder their efforts to spread financial literacy?" But, we also zero in on exactly what language Ramsey used that Lapin objects to. We invited her on the show to explain, and we're delighted that she took us up on the offer! Today she dives into her sometimes very personal reasons why she objects to what Ramsey says. We question her about how we treat each other as humans, the usefulness of commentators checking each other, the role of religion in financial discussions, and more.But, that's not all. Bed, Bath and Beyond is in the news, and it's partly because of Gamestop! What's the connection? We'll share and also help you with some tips about individual stock trading. We also answer a Haven Life Line question from Jeremiah, who's wondering about buying a home vs renting.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Joe and OG are answering YOUR questions, and man do we have some good ones. They explain deflation in more detail, dive into dollar cost averaging, talk about shifting your investment allocation, and talk about the importance of keeping your accounts safe online.In our headline segment, we talk to Ken Tumin from MagnifyMoney about their recent saving index survey. Are Americans saving more or less now than they did a year ago? What age group is saving the most? Ken will share the results. We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to Dan who has a question about his employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). And of course, Doug will share his trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are the grocery store and gas pump killing your Stacked vibe? While tightening the budget belt is one way to control your finances, you can't shrink your way to greatness. Today we'll present another option: increasing your income! Today we'll share lots of ideas on how to make money...so many that in fact, we hope you'll finish this show realizing that a future side hustle idea is closer than you think. Cody Berman is an expert side hustler and also the host of the popular FI Show podcast. Today he joins entrepreneur Paula Pant (Afford Anything), and our very own OG, with thoughts on some of the popular ways people try to bring in some extra cash. They'll share how to get started, what to avoid, and common mistakes and misconceptions, so you're off and running in the right direction and without any messy situations.And you know we can't forget about our trivia competition. Today? Doug's sharing some delicious, jello themed trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices