The Stacking Benjamins Show

What do you enjoy spending more money on? Maybe you like to stay at top-rated resorts when you travel? Or, you enjoy the experience of a nice dinner out? And what things do you spend less on because your experience isn't an better when you spend more? Generic vs. name brands at the grocery store? Or taking public transportation when you travel? Today our roundtable discusses a blog post about spending more on what you value and being frugal in other areas of spending and your life.Cody Berman from The FI Show and Gwen Merz from Fiery Millennials join our roundtable with Len Penzo to talk about mindset and what they value as it relates to financial independence.And you don't want to miss the guesses our roundtable has for Doug's Houdini-related trivia today!Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much does the truth matter when telling your money story? What about if you were telling the story of a new nation? Turns out, this happens more than most of us realize and today we talk about a famous story from the American Revolution that may be different than you remember. Jeff Lantos joins us to talk about why the true story of Paul Revere's ride might not be what we remember. We dive into how and why the story was altered and how it relates to the modern-day. The themes of embellishment, advocating for yourself and community are discussed as it relates to Paul Revere and modern-day.We are including two headlines today because one just isn't enough for the stories we found! First, we look at a study done by the University of Chicago that charts your attractiveness to the opposite sex based on your height. AND, they tell you how much more you need to earn if you are shorter to be as attractive as someone taller. Yep, you heard that right! For our second headline, crypto is in the news again...and not for good reason. Tether is being investigated for bank fraud and we share all our opinions on that and crypto in general!We'll also throw out the Haven Life line and Joe gives a behind-the-scenes look at how we choose our guests for the show. And we can't forget about Doug and his cookie-related trivia!Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine fleeing your hometown with nothing but the hope and will to survive. Or risking your life to gather information needed to incriminate some of the worst players in history. We are declaring this week "history week" here at Stacking Benjamins and we're delivering quite the suite of guests for you! Today, Retired U.S. Army Major General Mari Eder joins us to share stories of some brave women of World War II and the impact they had on their communities. What does this have to do with money? Today's stories have a much larger scope than money, but bravery, persistence, focus, willpower, and more, in the face of long odds, will all be discussed on today's episode.During our headline, we talk about tapping your home equity for cash. Nothing has ever gone wrong with the housing market before, right? Sure, leverage can be used to your advantage but not at the detriment to the rest of your financial plan. Joe and OG give us their opinions and you know they are going to be candid! Speaking of leverage, our TikTok video is a hilarious example of this.We'll also throw out the Haven Life line and answer a caller's question about retirement contributions. And since it's history week here, Doug will include some history related trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How rigid are your money habits? What will happen when your "optimized" financial situation comes crashing down because you didn't think about what could possibly go wrong in the future? Beyond that, does the stuff we own, own us or set us free? How can we strive to be more financially flexible and what strategies can we use to get there? Those are some great questions and today we'll answer them all, because today our roundtable discusses a piece about financial flexibility, both philosophically and practically. Andy Hill from Marriage Kids and Money joins Paula and OG to share their favorite tips and hacks to help you become more financially flexible.We'll also hear some of Doug's book related trivia, and it's all from our live recording from the Fireside app!Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would be your first step in the right direction when life isn't going your way? How would you move forward and make the most important change ever? Brandy Mabra journeyed from bankruptcy to successful CEO coach and today shares her journey. She knew she needed to take every opportunity available (and even moved to another state!) to make a better life for her and her son. After a few crucial and well-thought pivots in her career, she started her coaching and consulting business and shares tips we can all use when faced with hurdles, however big or small.During our headline segment, did you know that Olympic athletes earned money when they won medals? Neither did we, and at one point IRS taxed that income. It's hard to believe that you can rep the USA brand and Uncle Sam could still find you! After that eye-popper, we'll finish the show with a Haven Life line call from Julie who has questions about saving for her kids' future. And Doug will throw in some Madonna themed trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A financial setback could hit any of us at any time. How will you rebound? What steps should you take first and what financial changes should you make? Managing money in a crisis if FAR different than following the normal rules, and today's guest, Michele Cagan, knows first-hand what it's like to experience a major financial setback. Today she'll share her journey and advice for you if you've suffered a health crisis, divorce, death in the family, disability, or any other of life's crises.During our headline segment, we dive into a piece about life expectancy in the U.S. and how it could impact your financial plan. Assuming a life expectancy that is too short or too long can both lead to problems with your plan. We also listen to a TikTok video about real estate investing and the power it could have on your financial freedom (but don't worry, we'll give you our brutally honest opinion on that and share some of our own stories).We also help answer Scottie's question about rolling over an old 401k during our Haven Life line call. Scotties a proud Iowan! ...and we'll be sure to include Doug's trivia!Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you know if your trading strategies are helping or hurting your overall portfolio goals? Maybe you're chasing the market or trading based on what your friends and family are trading? Lucky for you, our roundtable today talks about six trading habits that might be keeping you poor and they offer lots of sound advice on how to avoid these mistakes. Whether you're a long time investor or a trader, we'll cover the gamut of tips for you on this episode.Rosetta Bryson from Simple Trader Pro joins our roundtable with Len and OG today to discuss these trading habits. And we'll also have Doug share some of his sports related trivia, on this live show performed on the Fireside app.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

F is for Fun. And we have a ton of fun today talking to Rob Phelan about his new children's book M is for Money. He was inspired by reading with his own son and realizing there weren't any books on the market that teach basic personal finance to kids. Even if you don't have kids yourself, this book might be a great gift for a kid in your family. We also dive into financial literacy in general and why so few programs are successful. If you have any interest in improving the money habits of the people around you, we've got you covered.During our headline segment, IRA and tax expert Ed Slott joins us to talk about a five billion dollar Roth IRA! That's right, Peter Thiel's Roth IRA balance is over a cool five b's at this point. Ed helps explain how it happened and what changes Congress might make to prevent this in the future. For many who dream about crypto riches, can you replicate Thiel's feat (or score a measly 2-3 million) in YOUR Roth IRA? We'll ask Ed about that as well.We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to Justin who wrote in to our basement Facebook group to ask about how much to gift his niece for graduation (we have some great ideas and alternatives to monetary gifts!). And of course we'll leave time for Doug's amazing trivia.Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 minutes. Today we talk to Chris Field about changing the world using only 1% of your time (14 minutes a day). Chris will share why "charity begins at home" is a misguided approach to life...not for the world around you, but for your own return on investment. The work he's done has made an impact on the world and he shares how you can make a difference too (and it's much easier than you may think!)We also share some bad news during our headline segment. The new inflation numbers are in and they're ugly with a capital "ugh." What does this mean though, really, for you? It turns out...a lot. We'll walk through inflation with regard to your job, your savings, your spending, and more. We'll also share why experts say that inflation isn't as ugly as the numbers may suggest.Speaking of ugly...we'll also share a TikTok video that's gone viral recently about a job interview...or at least the "promise" of one. Somebody named Chuck might be cleaning out his desk now that this video's out. And, there's no better way to round out the show than by talking about franchise businesses during our Haven Life line call. Doug's trivia? Well that's just the cherry on top, isn't it?Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you buy second-hand clothes instead of new? How about waiting to buy that special something until there's an awesome deal? Dumpster dive? Argue with clerks for a discount? There's a ton of frugal living tips out there but when does frugal cross the line and you're just being cheap? Today our roundtable team discusses the five times one blogger says that being frugal goes too far. Plus, we're performing this episode LIVE on the new Fireside app, so you'll hear from several members of our live audience, too (we've also linked their information below)!Joining us for this special episode we welcome half of the Frugal Friends podcast duo, Jen Smith. Plus, OG and Paula Pant (Afford Anything) pitch in to make this a wide-ranging, fun conversation with more than several takeaways. We discuss the value of our time as it relates to purchases, the tendency to overconsume when we see a deal, and we'll all share some great stories about our own frugal living.Of course, what would a Friday episode be like without our trivia challenge? Diania Merriam (EconoMe Conference) takes over the "Doug" duties today and dishes a great question for our contestants. Enjoy!Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices