How to Money

Sherlock Holmes is a literary character we’re all familiar with who has the uncanny ability to solve any mystery he comes across. And one of the things that sets the British detective apart from others is his use of inductive reasoning to solve his cases. He begins with observations which then propel him in his search for the truth. Deductive reasoning, on the other hand, begins with a hypothesis and then uses the facts in order to confirm a theory. And so as we’re trying to figure out how wealthy we need to be, we think that taking the Holmsian approach is most helpful. Rather than picking a nice round number out of thin air like $1 million, we’re doing some observing and we’re asking some questions! Because regardless of how much money you already have set aside for retirement, you could be missing the mark if you’re only reading the headline numbers reported by the ‘experts’. Today’s episode should help you to realize you probably don’t need as much money as you think, you’ll gain a healthier view of work vs retirement, and we’ll go over some practical calculations to help you decide how much money you’ll *literally* need. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending. Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey. MG7: and maybe you’re well on your way to financial independence but you’re looking for some financial reassurance, that’s when heading over to HowToMoney.com/Advisor and getting matched with a highly vetted financial advisor makes sense. During this episode we enjoyed a Double Clutch Nitro Oatmeal Stout by Gruner Brothers- thanks for donating this one to the show Katie! 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.

Traveling for free sounds like a lofty goal for most folks. Sure if you’re single or if you’re a DINK couple- but there’s no way you can pull that off with an entire family in tow! Well, it’s actually easier than you think and our guest, Lyn Mettler, is here to explain how. Lyn is a long-time travel journalist who has been featured on the Today Show and US News & World Report. And she practices what she preaches as she and her family travel and fly, for free, about six times every single year! We cover her simple approach, what three credit cards to focus on in order to give you the most bang for your buck, a smart approach to the Southwest Companion Pass, getting into Disney on the cheap, how to use points to erase travel expenses, and plenty more travel tips on today’s episode. Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Lyn: You can learn every detail there is to know about scoring free airfare over at Lyn's site Families Fly Free. And check out her podcast while you're at it! Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending. Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey. MG7: and maybe you’re well on your way to financial independence but you’re looking for some financial reassurance, that’s when heading over to HowToMoney.com/Advisor and getting matched with a highly vetted financial advisor makes sense. During this episode we enjoyed a Che Si Dice by Halfway Crooks! 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.

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it! 1 - Caring for parents: how do I financially prepare to take care of my parents as they enter their later years? 2 - Partial retirement: would contributing to a Roth or traditional IRA allow me to pay less taxes and retire earlier? 3 - Charitable giving: can I use a donor advised fund to strategically give to my local church, even if they don’t accept electronic payments? 4 - Extra mortgage payments: should I stop making extra payments on our house and instead invest those dollars? 5 - Old 401k: what should I do with my old 401k after accepting a new job? Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Credit card perks: one of our favorite credit cards currently has a $300 bonus when you spend $500 in the first 3 months! Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey. Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! During this episode we enjoyed a Polotmavý by von Trapp 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.

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s best financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them 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: Deceptive dollar stores When it pays to go cheap Warrior dividends Less great target date funds Moderate millionaires The wealth effect Underperforming financial advisors Time to update those beneficiaries Wanna be real estate moguls Frustrated flippers Don’t gamble Robinhood pushing prop bets Betting your credit card balance Debit card cashback Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending. Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical. Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey. MG7: and maybe you’re well on your way to financial independence but you’re looking for some financial reassurance, that’s when heading over to HowToMoney.com/Advisor and getting matched with a highly vetted financial advisor makes sense. 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.

Tall fellas UNITE! Joel has to contend with talking with someone who is taller than him for a change, but that’s mostly besides the point (unless tall guys actually invest differently than the rest of the population!?). We’re joined by Ben Felix – one of the clearest voices in finance and investing who is co-host of the Rational Reminder podcast and also runs a killer YouTube channel full of thoughtful, evidence-based investing advice. Ben is a CFA, CFP, the Chief Investment Officer at PWL Capital and more importantly, he helps regular folks understand the why behind their investing decisions. We discuss topics like: The biggest reason to invest rather than save Savings rates based on individual circumstances How more financial advisors are shifting to behavioral coaching The only free lunch in invested Why target date funds aren’t optimal What DIY investors need to look out for And plenty of other topics! Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Check out Ben’s podcast over on Youtube along with his helpful channel where he posts on investing, financial decision-making, and living a good life. 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. Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. 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.