Moneyplan Sos With Steve Stewart | Budget Wisely | Get Out Of Debt | Pay Attention, Not Interest

#41: The media doesn’t make money unless they sell advertising. What do they need for advertisers to pay them money? They need eyeballs. Regardless of what you read, approach everything with critical thinking. For more information, visit the show notes at  

#40: Who am I? Your humble servant and Personal Finance Architect! How did I come to be a coach? That is a question I get often from people who want to become a financial coach and/or take Dave Ramsey’s Counselor Training. But before I tell you all about that experience, I feel it is important that you know more about me. What caused this goofy guy to become a financial coach and Mr. “Pay Attention Not Interest”? For more information, visit the show notes at  

#39: In this episode I cover various tax-favored retirement plans for U.S. workers. An example of 401k vs ROTH IRA can be found at

#38: 
Cafeteria Plans, aka Flexible Spending Plans, are great ways to save money tax-free on Health Care expenses and Dependent Care expenses. For more information, visit the show notes at  

#37: An overview of insurance options through your company's plan. Full list of resources and notes at

#36: Interest rates are even lower than our 5.35% mortgage. Should we refi? Full math and notes at  

#35: There are only 3 things you can do with money. This applies for both children and adults: Full list of notes at  

#34: I AIN'T PLAYIN' NO MO! The FICO Score is a one-sided system of debt evaluation and does not take into account your true financial history. The 5 Components of a FICO Score: 10% Type of credit (debt) 10% New credit (debt) 15% Credit (debt) history 30% How much you owe 35% Debt payment history It's all based on debt! For more information, visit the show notes at   

#33: Steve Ely, CEO of eCredable, used to work for Equifax running the Direct Consumer Business. One of the challenges he experienced was they had a very limited scope in terms of how they could help consumers. Consumers really wanted help with financial advice or with their credit file but that was not what they were there for. Their primary business was to serve companies, not consumers. He left that company to become CEO of a company that does serve consumers and individuals. Introducing ! A service that helps individuals build a true picture of their payment history that every creditor must take into consideration when they use other credit related information to determine your credit worthiness. What is the difference between traditional credit score lending and eCredable? FICO score: A numerical score based upon Amounts Owed (debt), Credit History (from debt products), New Credit (new debt), Type of Credit (debt), and Payment History (on the debt). In summary, borrow a lot of money and pay interest

#32: Ashley Barnett, Personal Finance Blogger from MoneyTalksCoaching.com, shares her thoughts on Social Security. We know the system is broken -- but can it be fixed? She has an idea and she wrote about it in her blogpost "An Argument For Privatizing Social Security".  Ashely talks about who Social Security is for, it's not just for retirees anymore, and how employees only pay 4.2% towards FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act, or payroll taxes). To repair the system and maintain it in the current state that is it in can be any one of the three following options: Lower Benefits Increased Taxes Borrow (more debt) I don't like any of those options, so Ashley explains to us the benefits of Privatizing Social Security: Your money stays with you Unused funds can be inherited The government can't reduce or withdraw your benefits Privatizing sounds scary, doesn't it? Our MoneyTalksCoach guest uses practical math to explain how Funding Private Accounts, even in a conservative investment option, will net someo

#31: Too much of your take-home pay going to the mortgage makes you "House Poor", and it can be devastating to your financial future. But Owning a home has so many benefits. In this episode we walk through the pros and cons of owning a home. For more information, visit the show notes at  

#30: Glenn and Fredonna didn't have a plan for their money. He handled the finances and she was a "willing bystander" with the budget. When they contacted me they wanted to do better, to have a plan for their money. And I answered the call. They also allowed me to use their struggles for a Real Life Case Study episode. They wanted to be able to provide for their family, give generously, and build a house for themselves but did not know how they were going to do it. They had $1,000 in medical debt, $5,700 owed on a car, and the wife had $20,000 in student loans but decided to become a stay-at-home Mom while making $35,000 a year.  Most of the time a spouse who has $20K in student loans isn't able to stay at home when the other spouse only makes $35K, that is without destroying the future of the entire family. But this couple has locked arms, cut back, and are making it on less than they make! Listen to their story , hear their gentle hearts talk about caring for their two little girls, the way he took his hand

#29: Guest blogger and aspiring Personal Finance Coach Alex Humphrey from AlexSpeaks.com tells us that Everything is Normal. Places, people, things, even the way we think money should be handled is weird to some but becomes normal when you're around it long enough.  Also, Holla From The Impala: The Media Is Winning For more information, visit the show notes at    

#28: Eric Lentz paid off $53,000 in debt over 24 months using his very own Debt Snowball Calculator. While he no longer sells his Debt Snowball Calculator, you can download a copy () or contact me: For more information, visit the show notes at  

#27: John Riley is the US Director of Volunteer Ministries at  and has his eyes on Heaven in 2011. He serves a number of people at Crown who give of their time freely to churches, businesses, and schools in order to produce a true financial peace and freedom. In short, he supports Financial Coaches who help teach Americans how to manage their money God's way. For more information, visit the show notes at    

#26: The step-by-step plan to build a house of Financial Freedom: 1. Work 2. Plan 3. Give 4. Pay for necessities 5. Save $1,000 6. Pay for a few wants 7. Pay off all debt (except mortgage). 8. Save 3-6 months of expenses 9. Save for short-term purchases (repairs, vacations, etc..) 10. Invest wisely 11. Pay off the house 12. Build wealth in order to give a bunch of it away Visit the show notes to download a pdf of this list:

#25: The Great Recovery was simulcast all over America on July 21, 2011. Dave Ramsey called out to Church Leaders and Financial Peace University Coordinators all over America to inject a spirit of hope into our congregations, communities, and our country. The answer won't come from the Government, it certainly won't come from the President, it won't even come from Dave Ramsey himself - but he can start a movement. Here are the four action steps: 1) Start talking to your congregation and community and inject a spirit of hope. 2) Teach financial classes in mass 3) Read Proverbs and start doing Pastoral work 4) Join in The Great Recovery. My co-host for this episode is Mike Young, a Dave Ramsey Certified Coach and host of the Beyond Your Wedding Day podcast. For more information, visit the show notes at

#24: In this Real Life Case Study episode we help a young, single, male college student going off to an out-of-state college this fall. His tuition is paid for and he will be getting a stipend that will cover most of his expenses. So why is this a case study? He already has $90K in student loans. Ouch. Today's guest is NOT a Financial Coach, yet he is uniquely qualified to speak into this college student's life. Zac Bissonnette, writer for Time.com and Author of Debt Free U, is passionate about personal finance and financial literacy issue. Zac has been studying and researching  for years on ways to pay for higher education and views the student loan crisis in America as the most pressing financial issue that we have. He shares his extensive knowledge on private and Federal student loan debt to advise our Real Life Case Study on some choices he can make to improve his financial life before, and while away at, college. For more information, visit the show notes at   

#23: You need to save money. Once you have learned to live on less than you make, what do you do with the extra money? First thing for anyone (whether in debt or not): Have $1,000 in cash put aside for emergencies. When you hit that $1,000 amount, say to yourself out loud "I saved A THOUSAND DOLLARS". Go ahead and practice now. Pretty powerful, huh? Then what? You need to set some Savings Goals. For more information, visit the show notes at  

#22: One giant choice we can make to get control of our money is to stop using credit cards. It may seem impossible but the steps I've laid out in this 4 part series gives anyone some time to work the process and even start back over again if they mess up.  Step 1 - Take the cards out of your wallet, put cash in your wallet Step 2 - Delete credit card numbers from all online accounts, use your bank's BillPay for online payments, Debit for purchases. Start saving the money you haven't been over-spending. Step 3 - Freeze your accounts to any further charges. By now you will start to see how much you've haven't been spending and how much more you can be saving. Step 4 - Realize you haven't been using the cards and you don't need them. Use your Debit card just like you used your credit card, there is no difference and they have the same protections when you don't use your PIN number.  For more information, visit the show notes at