The Stacking Benjamins Show

We're finishing this week off with a timely rewind episode handpicked by the Fintern: eight smart things to do with $1,000 right now.  You can check out our original show notes below: What should you do with a small windfall? Today we ask, if you had $1,000, how should you best use it? We have an article that gives us eight great options, but we ask our panel which of those is best...and why? THAT alone gets rolling a fanstastic discussion between OG, Len Penzo, and special guest from the Money Nerds podcast, Whitney Hansen. We'll also turn our eye on FinTech. We talk to FinTech company founders most weeks on this show, but from the near-outside looking in, where's the ball headed? Rory Holland from CSTMR has a front row seat at the FinTech party, and answers the questions...what's the problem, how's it being solved, and what's next for FinTech? You'll see LOTS of possible directions for FinTech (and...psst....your money) after you hear this interview. We also answer Carolyn's three-oh call for help to the Blooom hotline. Her 21 year old son is graduating from college and she's concerned about claiming him. Can she claim him as a dependent still? On top of that, we'll also answer a letter from another listener, share Doug's trivia, and more. Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins as well. MagnifyMoney.com saves users on average $450 when they compare, ditch, switch and save on credit cards, student loan refinancing, checking, savings and more. Check out MagnifyMoney.com for your savings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to our Wednesday rewind show! With so much job uncertainty going around right now, the Fintern decided now would be a good time to revisit a great interview we had with freelance extraordinaire Vincent Pugliese. Vincent took himself from a mountain of debt to a successful freelance business, and shared with us his stories, lessons, and experiences he learned along the way. You can read the original show notes below: He had $140,000 in debt, a crappy paying job, and a baby on the way. What would Vincent Pugliese do? We ask the award-winning photographer that very question on today's show. He's photographed four Presidents and every major sport's national championship in the USA, but his debt story will have you shaking your head today. Plus, in our headlines segment, health savings accounts are all the rage, but what's going on with all of this money sitting in cash? We'll address that AND talk about new tax law spurring 401k contributions. We'll of course have more from the world of financial planning, throw out the Haven Life line to lucky listener Chris, who wonders, "Should a 20 year old hire a financial advisor?" Of course, we'll still score with some of Doug's delightful trivia, and more. Thanks toThanks to TurboTax Live for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Get a personal review of your tax return with a CPA or EA backed with a one-hundred percent Accuracy Guarantee. Connect with a TurboTax Live expert at TurboTaxLive.com/SB. Thanks also to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring today's show. Compare, ditch, switch and save on consolidation loans, credit cards, student loans, auto loans and more at StackingBenjamins.com/MagnifyMoney.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Communicating with your partner about money can be difficult in the best of situations, let alone staying inside for weeks on end. That's why to kick off our rewind week the Fintern picked a topic that will hopefully keep you out of some hot water: how you can stop fighting about money! You can check out the original show notes below:   Looking for the perfect budget? Maybe the key isn't counting every penny or finding the perfect spreadsheet. Elle Martinez, author of the new book Couple Money, believes that whether you're single or married the answer might lie in communication, and we'll tackle how to have money dates and stop fighting about money on today's show. In our headlines segment, we share a story about comedian Tracy Morgan. Apparently Walmart, who paid him $90M after a severe accident in 2015, wants more proof about his injury. We'll discuss disability coverage and more from that fallout. Then we throw out the Haven Life line to Susan, who asks about taking out a student loan for her son so he can establish credit. We'll also answer a letter from Julian about Roth IRAs, help Doug bring down the trivia, and sprinkle in some pick up lines along the way.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People (and that includes us!) tend to react emotionally to big change. For us, that's running out of pizza rolls, but when it comes to money, that often means investors can make a bad situation worse by thinking with their heart instead of their head. Today we're going over the coronavirus financial checklist: steps you should be taking not only to make sure your financial bases are covered, but your mental health as well. Pete the Planner from Hey Money! joins Paula Pant and OG on today's show to tackle the best ways to weather any financial storm. Halfway through the show we'll take a break from our financial checkup and turn our attention to our Friday Fintech segment. While our age-old advice of being diversified isn't going anywhere, we understand that people will experiment with individual stocks. Today Joe rings up Michael Patak from BlueChxp, to discuss how you can learn to invest without pouring all your sandbox money down the drain. During our Magnify Money call-in Jimmy calls in with an interesting take on how to handle economy downturns and hypothetical job loss. While he understands having an emergency fund, Jimmy suggests it's better to use lines of credit and other people's money before diving into his own funds. Why shouldn't his emergency fund and various financial accounts be his last line of defense? As always, we'll save some time for Doug's trivia. Enjoy the fun! We did! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're anything like us, you probably have a business idea or two that has been floating around in your head since the quarantine began. After all, what else is there to do between Netflix, snacks, taking a nap, eating dinner, and going to sleep learning who knows how many practical new skills? While an idea is always step one, you won't go very far without some practical knowledge. Today we'll talk to entrepreneur Chris Krimitsos, the founder of PodFest, creator of The Messengers documentary, and overall business connector, to find out what it takes to get a new business rolling. Plus, the financial crisis around coronavirus is hitting areas none of us had thought of, including firms like Merrill Lynch taking a step away from their adviser training program. We'll talk about that fallout and what it means for advisory firms. Plus, in our second headline, how much cash should you be putting away each month to send your kid to college debt-free? We know most people are just trying to put food on the table, but graduation is right around the corner and for many kids, college is not that far away. Later in the show, we'll throw the Haven Life Line and shake out some time for Doug's special trivia. Happy Earth Day, peeps! #Doug2020! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maybe you're looking for the perfect new job, or you're hoping to be able to at least HOLD the remote the next time the family watches Netflix. In either case, do you wish you could be a better negotiator? Whether you want more compensation at the office, you're looking for better results with your business, or hoping for improvement in your personal life, being able to connect with the people around you is a vital skill we all need to hone. Today we'll ask negotiating expert Mori Taheripour how she recommends we get the job done. Her answers may surprise you, as they did us when we first read her new book, Bring Yourself. Plus, are you in the sandwich generation? What IS the "sandwich generation"? That means you're caught in the middle supporting older parents and younger children at the time time. In today's headlines segment, we'll tackle a new study completed by online life insurance company Haven Life (they're also a sponsor of our show). To help us make sense of it all we'll ring up our friend Brittney Burgett and talk about how you can accomplish more while trying to take care of everyone else. We're mixing things up for today's Haven Life Line: we'll answer a question pooled from our Instagram surveys. You can keep up to date with our latest Instagram posts HERE. Adrianne wrote in with an important question for so many people these days about unemployment. She asks, will people already on unemployment before COVID-19 be eligible to receive the additional unemployment relief money? There's more to the answer than you'd think, and we'll share the results of our research on the topic during the segment. As always, we'll save time for a slice of Doug's (national pastime inspired) trivia. Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being able to stack Benjamins has as much to do with stacking less stuff as it does with accumulating more money. It takes far less money to reach your goals if you're mindful of your spending. However, there are other advantages. Today we'll focus on the intersection of minimalism, frugality, and environmentalism, as we discuss with our roundtable team of contributors a fantastic piece from the Frugalwoods blog on the topic. Joining us today we welcome the host of the Marriage, Kids and Money podcast, Andy Hill. He'll join Paula Pant from Afford Anything and Len Penzo from Len Penzo dot com on today's show!  Plus, halfway through the show, we'll talk about a company working all over the FinTech front. Diebold Nixdorf is a company you may not have heard of, but on many fronts, they're the firm that helps the apps you live and the companies you use to show with, actually work. We'll talk about innovation in shopping, commerce, and banking with Devon Watson during our Friday FinTech segment. Of course, we'll still feature a MagnifyMoney question from one of our Stacker friends AND debate some Ford Mustang pricing trivia....all just another day on Stacking Benjamins! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How has that phone in your pocket changed the course of finance? It turns out, a TON. Today we talk to Dan Simon, who chronicles the birth and growth of FinTech for us on today's show. We'll discuss the early iPhone and how it became the center of development. We'll then highlight some of the early players and how their interest wasn't so much around banking, trading, or even finance, as it was a way to solve a very specific problem they had. We'll also discuss the future of FinTech. Dan's opinion may surprise you. We'll also shine a light today on the student loan crisis. Good news for borrowers: there was something in the latest government aid package for you. We'll detail many of the helpful provisions with the help of CFP Ryan Law and Certified Student Loan Counsellor Andrew Pentis. Plus, if you're one of the over 6.6 million people who lost their job two weeks ago, we also have some help for you. We wish it was a new job...but instead it's just some financial tips. That's not all! We'll of course throw out the Haven Life line in the funniest way possible AND save time for Doug's totally artistic trivia. Thanks for hanging out with us! If you're helping keep the economy moving during all this...special thanks to YOU! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia Fenet has a job where she commands attention for a living. As lead benefit auctioneer at Christie’s auction house, she has to quickly and effectively command a room. Today she'll show YOU how to sell your abilities to any group. We'll discuss how she broke into auctioneering, which is a tale of persistence, grit, and selling. Then we'll discuss her first auctions, and when she finally found success. While mirroring success helped her first begin the process of working as an auctioneer, it was something altogether different that finally separated her from the pack. Not only that, we'll talk about negotiations, demanding what you're worth, and more. Plus, what do you have in common with professional athletes? It turns out that during this crisis you may have a TON in common with them. Namely, some of the questions they're asking currently about their money sound awfully familiar. We'll cover which questions those might be. AND, we'll also uncover yet another benefit of the relief package, more help with student loans. Sadly, this particular help isn't widely known, but we're helping to get the word out on today's show. Of course, we'll also throw out the Haven Life line AND share some of Doug's after-Easter trivia. Stay safe, everyone! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Experiments aren't just for the laboratory; they can also help with your budget, or your investments. By continually experimenting you're learning a TON about how to manage money, and which techniques work uniquely for you! Joining us today from Balance Financial Coaching, we'll welcome (the totally balanced) coach Heather Albrecht. Joining her, we'll say hello again to Doc G from the Earn and Invest podcast, and round out our discussion with OG, from this very show. Part two of the Payroll Protection Program rolls out today. If you know ANYONE who employs people, we've got BIG news: the government has a program to keep YOU in business. Philip Taylor the founder of PTMoney.com and FinCon will walk us through how YOU can keep people employed on today's show. This is a BIG segment that you won't want to miss if you know ANYONE who employs people. And sure, we'll also help a lucky caller magnify their money on the MagnifyMoney.com hotline, we'll also share a money question about golf AND much, much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices