

How to Money
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Best friends Joel and Matt are the co-hosts of How to Money which is all about providing the knowledge & tools that normal folks need to thrive in areas like debt payoff, DIY investing, and crucial money tricks that will provide continuous help along your journey. We believe that access to unbiased and jargon-free personal finance guidance is more necessary than ever before. When you handle your money in a purposeful, thoughtful way that works for your lifestyle, you can really start living a rich life.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 6, 2023 • 51min
Ask HTM - Expensive Family Vacations, Making Extra Mortgage Payments, & Forfeiting Credit Card Rewards #640
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - My family vacations are getting too expensive and I’m not sure I can attend- what should I do? 2 - As an 11 year old, how should I save or spend $2,000 that I have in my bank account? 3 - What is the most optimal way to make extra payments and pay off my mortgage early? 4 - Am I paying off my credit card too soon in order to receive the points and rewards? 5 - How much money do I need to have invested in order to retire? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Double Coud IPA by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 3, 2023 • 35min
Friday Flight - Junking Fees, Costly Casas, & Procrastination Penalties #639
Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: Google Lens to snag a deal, junking fees, reduced monthly insurance costs for FHA backed mortgages, costly casas due to low inventory, HGTVification of the housing market, renting on standby, the death of customer service, our favorite wireless provider takes home gold, the rise of 4-day workweeks, breaking the fever of workism, investing procrastination penalties, & screaming tooth fairy payouts. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 1, 2023 • 56min
Is Early Retirement A Smart Goal? #638
Cinderella is such an absurd story! Seriously, when you stop and think- it’s pretty messed up: a prince dances with a girl he’s never met before for one night, and then he sends his goons around town to find her so they can get married. There’s a reason you go on dates for at least a few weeks before proposing. You’ve gotta kick the tires and perform some due diligence! Similarly, you might be completely obsessed with the idea of early retirement upon first hearing about it. And articles out there on the web sure do make it sound enticing. And it might be the right move for some folks, but not before thinking it through on a bunch of fronts. So we’re going to offer our thoughts on how to decide if retiring sooner than your peers is a good goal. We’re going to tackle a number of questions both financial in nature (like sequence of returns risk and ‘one more year syndrome’) but also some personal questions as well (like hobbies and how you’ll spend your days), that’ll help you decide if early retirement is a goal worth pursuing. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Ferrous by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 27, 2023 • 51min
Using Debt to Build Wealth with Tom Anderson #637
Virtually all conventional wisdom points folks in the direction of paying off their debt. “Debt is dumb” is a line you’ll hear after listening to most personal finance podcasts for about 30 seconds. It's the mantra and driving force behind many money experts out there. But our guest today wants money savvy folks to take another look, and to reconsider debt. Tom Anderson is the author of the NYT best seller “The Value of Debt” and he has actually written multiple books on the different ways that we can utilize debt to build wealth. While most financial planning experts are only looking at debt as something to be eliminated, Tom advocates for the strategic use of debt. Listen as we discuss optimal debt ratios, the importance of liquidity, the psychological reality of debt, and plenty more on today’s episode! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Helles Lager by New Park Brewing- thanks, Matthieu!! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 24, 2023 • 32min
Friday Flight - Erupting Equity, Apprenticeships that Pay, & Scammy Savings #636
Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: a helpful Apple Card feature, apprenticeships that pay, prepping for student loans, Rivian bikes, e-bike rebates, expensive babysitters, end of life plans for your electronics, scammy high interest savings, erupting equity, & disappearing flexible spending dollars. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 22, 2023 • 52min
Butchering Your Grocery Bill #635
Do you know something that we’re all currently doing? Breathing. It’s something we rarely actively think about, but it turns out that there are ways to improve our technique- by breathing through our nose instead of our mouths, or by taking deeper slower breaths. Well we’re talking about another basic subject today: buying groceries. This elementary practice seems simple on the surface, but just like breathing there are tactics that you can implement in order to save more money at the supermarket. The cost of food has always been a big deal as it’s typically our third largest expense. But it’s a bigger deal than ever with grocery prices up nearly 12% in December compared to a year ago. Inflation is making it more expensive to eat! Listen for how much you should be spending every month, our take on meal delivery services, and many other money saving tips that you can implement in order to butcher your grocery bill today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Darken by Upland Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 20, 2023 • 53min
Ask HTM - Personal Loans for a Crypto Biz, Travel Nursing FTW, & Small Business Benefits #634
We’re kicking off the week by answering listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - I took out personal loans to start a BTC mining business: should I use Roth contributions to pay them off? 2 - Should I pursue travel nursing in order to double my salary? 3 - As a teacher, can I afford to invest more aggressively since I have a pension? 4 - Investing via Acorns: smart move or should I consider other providers? 5 - What are some benefits or tax write-offs as we’ve started a new business? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Lindemans Framboise! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 17, 2023 • 32min
Friday Flight - Cheating Charities, Sketchy Retailer Tactics, & Starving to Save #633
Time for a Friday Flight- our sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like: newsletter referral program rewards and shoutouts, tax-free state relief payments, free money for home improvements, how to appeal your property tax assessment, the worst way to invest, using or losing your points, cheating charities, starving to save, sketchy retailer tactics, & the myth of the informed consumer. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 15, 2023 • 49min
Did the Pandemic Change Personal Finance? #632
Cults are fascinating. The amount of gaslighting and denial of reality that takes place in order to perpetuate the movement is simply mind boggling. And one of the most interesting parts is to see interviews with the folks who finally got out. For years they couldn’t see clearly as they were essentially brainwashed, but now they look back on everything they experienced in a completely different light. When you’re in the midst of something so enveloping and all-consuming it can be difficult to know your right from your left, to know the difference between truth and lies. And similarly it can be difficult to discern the magnitude and scope of the impact of something like a global pandemic on our lives until some time has passed. But now that we had a few years between us and lockdowns, we wanted to discuss the specific ways in which Covid 19 has jolted personal finance and how we should respond to those changes. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Mango Funk Yoself by Meddlesome Brewing- thanks Ben & Rachael for donating this one to the podcast! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money! Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 13, 2023 • 57min
Solutions for Money Anxiety with Financial Therapist Lindsay, Bryan-Podvin #631
There’s more to successfully handling your money than just figuring out the financial nuts and bolts. Money has emotional and psychological components to it as well, which is at the core of what our guest today focuses on. We’re happy to be joined by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, who happens to be the first financial therapist in the state of Michigan. She is a social worker-turned-financial therapist. She’s also the author of the book, The Financial Anxiety Solution, which is a workbook to help folks stop stressing about money by applying therapy techniques to their relationship with money. We’re excited to talk about how having more knowledge may not be the solution to your financial woes, how procrastination and perfectionism are tied at the hip, the value of understanding your financial archetype, how to have productive money conversations with a partner, & much more today! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here. Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius. During this episode we enjoyed a Mexican Lager by High Cotton Brewing- thanks Ben & Rachael for donating this one to the podcast! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.