Stacking Benjamins: Your Gateway to Financial Independence

Happy Birthday to our namesake Benjamin Franklin!! Today we'll celebrate by talking about one of our favorite topics, leaving your 9-5 job early. To help us, we welcome the woman behind the new EconoMe Conference, Diania Merriam, Len Penzo from Len Penzo dot com, and the wonderful OG from our very own podcast! This piece, written by Jessica Garbarino for her Every Single Dollar blog, is titled Why I Walked Away from a Six-Figure Job , and goes over some very good reasons to leave a "good" job AND many of the strategies she used to ensure she wouldn't have to return. (Big thanks to Mindy Jensen from BiggerPockets Money for reading it today as well!) Frustrated with your money management skills? Don't feel like you have enough of a handle on your monthly expenses? At the halfway mark of today's episode, we'll hear from Belinda Rosenblum and Joe, as they unveil the exciting new course offered by the Stacking Benjamins team, Making Money Easy. We'll walk through all of the details today. It's been a long time since we've had a Stacking Benjamins course, so we're thrilled to tell you about it today. And finally, during our MagnifyMoney segment we will answer a question from Reddit.com on whether or not a man is in the wrong for not wanting "free" childcare from his mother-in-law. Where do you stand? Is he on the right side of this argument? As always, of course we'll quiz our contributors with an epic gameshow question about Ben Franklin from our neighbor, Doug. We'll have all that and more on today's show! Hope you can join the fun!

Your retirement options just became more robust. A new law called The SECURE Act passed late last year and today we're sharing ALL of the information you need to know to change your plan to take advantage of this new, exciting legislation. If this is new to you, don't worry, we've got you covered. We'll begin the show with Joe & OG bringing you up to speed on the details. But if you're wondering how to use it well, we have something even better. Joining us on today's show we'll have Aimee Kwain from Fidelity Investments, Dan Keady from TIAA, and the Retirement Answer Man himself, Roger Whitney to walk us through their thoughts about the new law. Our goal today is to help you to understand how the SECURE Act impacts you, and we're excited about all you're about to learn. Of course, this is a Stacking Benjamins episode, so that isn't all....later we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Leo, who is wondering what he should do with his money while he's saving up for a downpayment on a house. Should he invest, or keep the money safe in a high-yield savings account? Hoping for more? We've gotcha covererd. We'll also save some time for Doug's amazing weight loss trivia.

Are you frustrated that your average day doesn't start out chasing your goals but instead reacting to everything else going on? Between kids, spouse or friends, and co-workers, how are you supposed to get ahead on YOUR agenda? Good news, today we chat with Romi Neustadt, the bestselling author of You Can Have It All ...just not at the same damned time! We'll have an amazing conversation focusing on how to REALLY set goals that stick (hint: you don't start with goal setting), how to keep your priorities in line, and the key to focus like a laser on the things that are most important if you want to get everything possible out of life. Plus, during our headlines, we'll examine some financial horror stories that very well could happen to you. Have you had some big changes in your life and haven't gotten around to updating your beneficiaries? While this may seem like something you can wait on, we're fairly certain today's ugly stories of people who put it off will make you jump on it sooner rather than later. Then, in our second piece, we're taking a broader view on "rules of thumb." Everyone considers the 10,000 steps a day mantra as a hard fact, but experts say there's a better goal you should have in mind. Being the savvy people we are (no eye-rolls please), we'll make some parallels to when people go wrong with financial rules of thumb. During our Have Life Line segment we'll answer a question from Richard, who can't get happy hour off his mind. With plenty of birthdays he feels obligated to attend in the next couple of months, how should Richard balance out budgeting and social obligations? And of course, we'll always save some time for Doug's trivia.

For many of us, "charity begins at home" is our constant refrain. But you have to admit, it feels good to give and to be a part of a community. Not only are you helping those around you, but you're also working together with your family or friends on a higher purpose. That's why we're thrilled today to talk with our friends, Scott Maderer from Inspired Stewardship , our good friend Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast, and the wonderful OG from our very own podcast about how they give! We'll share a piece from Marriage, Kids, and Money's Andy Hill about how he teaches his kids to give and get LOTS of great ideas from the team. Plus, at the halfway mark of today's episode we'll hear from Saul Cohen from Round during our Friday FinTech segment. Round helps investors find exclusive investment opportunities so they can invest actively like the 1%. How does it work? Saul will walk us through Round's mission and how they work with investors. And during our Magnify Money call we'll hear from our good friend Mollie, who wonders about gifts to nephews and nieces. How does she solve the giving problem? As always, of course we'll quiz our contributors with an epic gameshow question by our neighbor, Doug. All that and more on today's show! Hope you can join the fun!

What goals do you want to achieve? It's easier to reach any destination with the right people around you. To help YOU find your best route toward your goals, today we welcome Tim Rhode, author of Tribe of Millionaires, and founder of nonprofit 1 Life Fully Lived, to talk about building your network to reach your ultimate potential. Plus, during our headlines, we'll cover a piece from Bloomberg about how credit card debt has hit an 10-year high, and what that means to you. Spend too much money this last year? Maybe it's time to go back and listen to Monday's debt cleanse episode.... PLUS, how about fees that drive you crazy? We'll highlight a BIZARRE fee that a hotel in West Virginia charged. So random... Later we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Anthony, who calls in to give the those of us in the basement some helpful advice about TSPs (Thrift Savings Plans) that you may have been unaware of. Thanks, Anthony! Of course, we'll save some time for Doug's possum-heavy trivia.