Money In The Bank

On this weeks episode we discuss what our actual spending was in 2021, if we were happy with it and what area's we expect to cut back on in 2022.

This week we chat about the importance of medium-term money and how investing can help you generate wealth for the long run!

From impulse purchases to collecting pokemon cards who told you to buy that? We all end up with items and often there's a lot of marketing behind the scenes to get us to buy specific products. As we try to be aware of these items, we can combat the urge to impulse spend and save thousands of dollars a year, literally, and that's pretty rad.

We're back with our favorite, legendary episode series “Stinky” but with a twist this time! You are the stinky one! Tune in to find out what we've learned about air quality importance, and how you can save money but using less of your everyday cleaning products..

We're facing a labor shortage and it seems like no matter how much companies are paying they still can't find workers. We chat about some of the reasons people have left the workforce and speculate on if we think they are going to come back!

We look ahead to 2022 and discuss retirement account limit changes as well as a potential change to the Backdoor Roth IRA.

Holiday gift buying can be overwhelming and expensive but if you take a step back and remember to enjoy the season you may find yourself spending less money and making more memories. Listen in for some of our tips to have a unique, fun-filled holiday season!

Everyone knows that babies are super expensive right? Not necessarily, while there are some things you can't avoid spending money on there's a lot of ways to save money and especially in the first year keep expenses low. Tune in to find which products we splurged on, which ones we saved on and which ones we found secondhand.

We talk about our new car purchase, how we decided we needed a new car even though our old car was in great shape, how we analyzed our options and if we regret anything!http://ts.la/angela74680

We discuss 10 more ways to build wealth while also living a happy and fulfilling life, because that IS what it's all about!

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/369587

In this weeks episode we give you tips on how to shop around on your next mortgage or refinance and how you can negotiate different items to get the best deal!

In this weeks episode we discuss 529 plans and go through each state to let you know if they offer a credit or a deduction. To spice it up we also list a fun fact for each state, which is totally accurate by the way.

This week we chat about why high deductible plan deserve another look and health savings accounts can be a good tool in your portfolio!

This week we dive into how Biden's proposed 401k tax credit would affect your finances

We sold our second car four years ago and after all this time we chat about if it was a good decision and if we have plans to buy a second car again.

We chat about how to invest, the vehicles you should invest in, and why you should prioritize retirement accounts in this weeks episode!

With historic low interest rates we're seeing a lack of affordable housing as home prices are being driven up which is contributing to more people missing rental or mortgage payments. We discuss the current housing climate and what may happen in the future!

We don’t often get on to talk about SPENDING money but as we’ve continued on our path of frugalism we realized now that we are more intentional with our purchases it’s not always the right answer to just buy the cheapest thing but rather the right product. Today we chat about how we try to be intentional with our purchases to support the small businesses dear to our community and invest in the future we want to see in a post-pandemic world!

We’re back! After a crazy last few months we update you on our life over the past few months and how by saving the last few years we were able to weather the financial storm.

On this weeks episode we discuss how we invest during a market downturn and how we handle volatility with our investing strategy.

This week join us as we chat about how we structure finances as a married couple and how we communicate around big and small purchases.

A couple years ago we moved from a single family home back to a small apartment and in that process we intentionally got rid of many material possessions that we no longer had the space for. As we've transitioned to a more minimalist lifestyle we've continued to donate various items that no longer serve our needs. We look back on what we got rid of, how we feel after getting rid of everything and what items we ultimately miss.

What should you do if your income is reduced? On this episode we talk though how to budget on a reduced income by focusing on essential expenses and potential items to reduce during crunch time. We also discuss how to leverage your emergency fund to buy some time and ultimately develop a new, sustainable plan going forward.

From time to time the calculation behind the FICO credit score changes. As FICO 10 is being rolled out this year and credit bureaus look towards moving over to this new system we update you on what those changes will mean for you. Join us this week as we discuss these changes and how you can improve your score going forward.

As a follow-up to our episode last week we chat about the coronavirus financial relief package that the US passed recently. Now the details have emerged so we are able to dive a bit deeper and provide some more clarity on the issues.

Join us this week as we give real time updates involving tax payments, student loans and mortgage relief in the US due to the coronavirus outbreak. This podcast was recorded on March 21, 2020 and we will aim to provide updates as we learn more.

Imagine a house with super low energy bills that is also warm in each and every room in the winter, a house that is cool in the summer, and most importantly a house with no bugs. What if we challenged our current building standards and made better homes? Tune in this week to hear our opinion of the passive house movement and if we plan to join the growing trend someday.

We chat about the current market swings and what you should do. This episode was recorded on March 12 which saw the largest market single day decrease since 1987. In this episode we discuss what our plans are with the market and how we stick to the plan even in tough times.

As expecting parents there is a lot to learn and research as you anticipate your new baby. We chat about some of the big purchases like cribs, car seats, etc and chat through how we figured out what was right for us. While getting a nursery ready can seem overwhelming, by taking a step back and finding the right products it can truly fit any budget!

About 20% of Americans will experience identity theft in the next year. Until it happens to you it’s easy to think that it will never happen. On today’s episode we chat about what happens when your identity gets stolen as well as some tips that everybody should be doing to prevent it!

An Investment Policy Statement sounds scary & fancy but really it’s something that everyone should have. Whether it’s simply a few lines jotted down on a piece of paper, or a more well-thought out plan - it helps make sure you are comfortable and confident with your investment plan no matter what the market does.

On this weeks episode we chat about various hobbies we have and how we keep the costs down. The key is to just get started with what you have and then slowly add nicer items to your collection as your hobby develops over time.

Frugality is a muscle but luckily it’s a muscle that fills your life with meaning and purpose. By choosing to focus on things that make you happy and only adding items to your life that bring meaning you reduce the amount of money you spend while increasing your overall happiness. It takes a while to change your mindset but once you do it’s a really powerful lesson that continue to reap benefits for years to come.

A couple good books I would recommend for those interested in reading more about personal finance:The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. StanleyRich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon LechterThe Simple Path to Wealth by by JL Collins

Most of us that have 401k’s or IRA’s or even a taxable account will have something called a mutual fund. This is essentially just a collection of stock, which takes the guess work out of picking choosing stocks and sets us up on a path to success. However, if you ever take a step back and click on your 5-character ticker symbol your head might start spinning as you try to make sense of it all. On this weeks episode we open up a Fidelity fund and walk through what all the different information means - you’ll find similar information no matter who your service provider is, but if you want to follow along with us, here’s the fund we were looking at: https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/analysis/315911693?documentType=QFR

What do you do when you have a large expense in a month? For most people this might have to go on a credit card - but today we chat about sinking funds and how setting them up can help absorb large expenses. While emergency funds help to cover unplanned expenses, sinking funds are a great idea for semi-annual tax bills, annual insurance payments, and things that you might not know the exact dollar amount of but can save for anyway like car repair. Tune in to hear how we’ve used sinking funds and how they might benefit you.

We chat through the various emotions of budgeting and prioritizing savings goals. So much of how we manage our finances becomes emotional but if we step back and think about things logically it's typically easier to find a solution.

We took a break from the podcast recently since we were moving. On today's episode we chat through our thought process of moving and the choices we made such as hiring movers, buying instead of renting, how we unpack our house and more!

There's a lot of financial advice out on the internet that is both good and bad. Today we discuss some of the common financial myths we hear and why they aren't super reliable to believe. Tune in to hear our opinions on credit cards, buying a house, and more....

Okay guys get ready for one of our longest episodes ever. We’ve been landlords for a few years now and we’ve learned a lot along that way that we wanted to share with you in this episode. From how we got started in real estate to tips on marketing your property or figuring out if your property will cashflow we cover all of the basics on this episode.

On this weeks episode we finally pull in some information for our international listeners and chat about the different tax rates in different countries as well as how retirement programs work. We compare pension programs to hybrid programs to 401k style savings plans in this episode and talk about what is best for long-term retirement success.

When I was a kid if I complained about being bored my parents always told me to “use my imagination”. As adults it seems like we have lost our ability to use our imagination. I recently saw an article talking about how the average American spends $2,500 a year on entertainment and several people in the comments mentioned they couldn’t imagine cutting their spending in this category. So the challenge this week is to think about ways to be entertained that cost absolutely nothing (or very little). From free content you can stream on your TV to free apps that teach you how to plan an instrument and much more there is something for everybody to explore. You can have a good time, and save some extra dough!

This episode is a bit different than our usual so buckle in and get ready for a rant. We discuss various spending categories and why it’s important to keep an open mind when you are starting to make budget cuts. Instead of immediately thinking it would be impossible to spend a lower amount each month why not set a goal to spend 5% less in a category than the month before? All these baby steps add up and after all, a Millionaire is Made $10 at a time.

In this weeks episode we talk about the big decision of buying a house. How to make sure you save enough for the down payment, those pesky closing costs, as well as setting up a maintenance fund because if there’s anything we’ve learned in our years of home ownership it’s that you will always need a rainy day fun!

The fourth part of our investing series is here! This one covers some more advanced topics such as timing the market with dividends and TLH. If you haven’t listened to our other three episodes on investing I highly recommend checking those out before jumping into this one!

One of the reasons I started the podcast was every time I talked about personal finance with my friends people often remarked "I wish they taught this in school". We pulled together a list of the things every body should learn about personal finance before graduating high school in this weeks episode.

In a world with so much free content how will the payment system change in the future? Patreon has done a lot to help smaller creators make a living but at the same time that passes the burden onto the listeners to support their favorite producers. It’s a fast-changing industry so on this weeks episode we talk about the various models and discuss why we personally haven’t tried to monetize just yet.

In this weeks episode we chat about the things we actually spend money on and when we do spend money we don’t have any guilt about it! We chatted last week about how we don’t follow a strict budget so while we don’t go overboard in any of these categories we’ve learned to be at peace with our spending levels.

Join us as we chat about how we try to optimize each financial decision we make in lieu of a super formal budget. It’s worked well for us for many years so we wanted to share our thought process!

A large goal for many of our listeners is to help pay for their childs college education. With college costs increasing by 4% each year this can quickly inflate to a large amount. In this episode we tackle how much you need to save per month if you want to pitch in $20k each year for your childs education, this information can be found in the table below. We also chat about how to offset that cost with scholarships, community college programs and even exploring other options to education.