Listen Money Matters - Free Your Inner Financial Badass. All The Stuff You Should Know About Personal Finance.

Knowing and understanding your personality type can help in lots of areas of life.  Everything from choosing a job to saving money.  What type are you? The MBTI, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is not one of those Buzzfeed quizzes that tells you which Disney Princess you are.  This test is science-based and has been in use since the 1940’s. There are no right or wrong answers.  There are sixteen personality types on the MBTI scale.  The answers just indicate your preferences, how you perceive the world around you, and how you make decisions.  There is some bleed over between types.   Maybe you’re an extrovert in one on one situations but more introverted when faced with large groups. Show Notes Influence: The Science and Practice:  The book Andrew referenced. Mint:  The easy way to track your spending. 16 Personalities:  Take the test!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever failed hard?  Not stumbled, but lost everything level of failure.  How can you begin to recover when you are at rock bottom?   Most of us probably won’t hit homeless on the street levels of rock bottom but some of us will have to start over. A new city, a new job, an entirely new career.  Where do you begin when you’re back at square one? Full Article Show Notes Old Dominion Brewing Company Dominion Lager: A crisp, light lager. Tallgrass Brewing Company Buffalo Sweat Vanilla Bean:  A creamy oatmeal stout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College costs have skyrocketed over the last several years.  So unless you want to graduate with crippling debt, you’ll need a college job. Ideally you would spend four years with no obligation other than to study (and party) but not working while in college is not possible for many of us. Thomas is our resident college expert and his first suggestion is to carefully consider the cost of your chosen college.  It’s not longer realistic to attend the best college you can get into.  Not if that college is tens of thousands of dollars more expensive than a second tier choice. Full Article Here Show Notes College Info Geek:  Thomas's site to help you get the most from your college experience. Debt Free College Grad:  Our episode on paying for college with grants and scholarships. Shanice Miller:  Thomas's interview with the debt-free college grad. Earnest:  If you already have student debt, Earnest can help you refinance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Used properly, a credit card can have all sorts of benefits. Used improperly, it can drag you into bankruptcy.  A credit card can be a blessing or a curse. Some people refuse even to touch one. But if you know how to use one, it is a tool like anything else.   Full Article Here Show Notes Tallgrass Brewing Buffalo Sweat:  A sweet, oatmeal cream stout. Credit Karma:  Get your credit score for free. Extra Pack of Peanuts:  Learn how to churn airline miles. LMM How to Improve Your Credit Score:  Hacks to boost your score fast. LMM Best Travel Cards: If you want free flights and hotels, these are the best cards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk a lot about side hustles on the show.  Today we’ll discuss if you should start your own side business.  A side business can be lucrative and the creative outlet that your 9-5 job isn’t.  But it can be a lot of work and time.  We’ll break it down so you can decide if it’s the right decision for you.  Both Andrew and Thomas have had various side hustles.  In fact, Thomas’s site College Info Geek, which is now his full time job, started as a side hustle.  That won’t be the case for all of us, but you can still make some extra cash doing your own thing. Client work side hustles can be lucrative but frustrating.  You have to create someone else’s vision no matter how crappy or ridiculous you think it might be.  Sensitive artist types might want to stay away from client based hustles. A side business shouldn’t be solely about the money.  It should enable you to do something you love doing.  Making money on that is a bonus. It takes about a year and a half to start making money on a side business.  Do you

Looking for a job can be a full time job itself.  Today we interview Adrian Larssen to learn how to take control of the job hunt process. Searching for a job sucks but there are ways to make it easier and to feel like you have some control of the process.  Adrian works for The Muse which can help you in your quest. Full Article Here Show Notes The Muse:  Let them help with your job hunt. 31 Most Common Interview Questions:  And how to answer them! Betterment:  The smart way to invest.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love answering the questions you all send in. Today we have five questions about IPO stock price, a morning routine, what we wish we knew earlier, where to save a downpayment, and early retirement. Show Notes Boulder Beer Winter IPA:  A full-bodied red ale. Buffalo Sweat Oatmeal Cream Stout:  A smooth, dark beer. Mint:  The easy way to manage your money. Betterment:  The smart way to invest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is nothing wrong with starting small.  If you can't quite make the big change, make a little change. You'll get there eventually. Building habits is important but big changes can be daunting.  Our guest, Stephen Guise will tell us how mini habits can be just as good as big habits. Show Notes Boulder Beer Hazed and Infused:  A dry hopped ale. Mini Habits:  Smaller habits, bigger results. Mini Habits Video Course: Stephen's video series. Deep Existence:  Stephen's blog dedicated to personal growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is Part 2 of our delve into Thomas’s financial life.  There wasn’t much to critique in Part 1.  Will Part 2 also make the rest of us feel like losers?  At just 23 Thomas is doing better than many of us a decade or more older.  Let’s see if he’s make any mistakes Andrew can help correct.  (I like Thomas so I’m slightly ashamed of this but I hope he’s made at least one, tiny mistake.)  While it’s impressive that Thomas makes about $69,000 a year, he pays more in taxes because he’s self employed than he would if he made the same salary as an employee.  If you want some advice on small business taxes, check out our recent episode with Johnny Horta. Thomas still lives in Ames, Iowa where he attended college.  He has three roommates and pays $320 a month in rent.  He spends a lot on food, both groceries and eating out.  Part of that is just wanting to get out of the house since he works from home. Last year Thomas saved $500 a month into Vanguard and $500 a month into Simple IRA.  His goal is to “retire” by

We are advocates of automating your finances and that includes automating saving money. But we don’t want saving to crimp your style. That’s why we love Digit. You can automate saving using Digit. We interview Ethan Bloch the CEO of Digit to learn how to automate saving without feeling it in your wallet. Full Article Here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Running a small business has many tax benefits, but it has many tax pitfalls too. To make sure none of us get on the wrong side of the IRS, we will discuss small business tax questions with Johnny Horta.  LMM’s resident tax expert schools us on small business taxes for all our side hustlers out there.  If you run a small business, you’ll have more write-offs than if you are an employee.  The downside is, you have to pay all 15.3% of your FICA and social security taxes rather than paying 7.65% while your employer picks up the other half.  If you’re self-employed, it’s a good idea to set up a Simple or SEP IRA.  A Simple allows you to defer up to $12,500 and a SEP, up to $53,000.  This can help lower your tax burden while helping you save for retirement.  If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to schedule a consultation with an accountant or a tax attorney.  Just ask for a certain amount of time, an hour maybe and ask what they charge for that.  Be sure to have a list of questions to make the most of the

Charles Wheelan is a lecturer in economics at Dartmouth and has authored five books.  He joins us to discuss statistics, politics, and the economy.  Economics is the study of how we allocate scarce resources.  Poverty, health, education, are all affected by how we allocate resources so understanding that can help us to do a better, more fair job at that allocating.  To make money, you have to produce value.  Part of the reason for stagnant middle-class wages is because the value it used to produce is now being produced more cheaply, either through technology or outsourcing to countries where wages are very low.  Money is not the only factor in economics.  Sometimes money can stop people from doing something.  Organ donation for example.  Tying it to money makes people less likely to do it. Sometimes altruism is a greater driver than monetary gain.  Most people will stay where you put them.  Many people don’t save for retirement.  Some companies now automatically enroll new employees in 401K plans.  The employ

Are you looking for a way to invest in real estate without all of the hassles of becoming a landlord? Then REIT investing might be just what you’re looking for. But what the f**k is REIT investing?  Real estate can be an important addition to your investment portfolio, but it seems out of reach for many of us. We don’t even live in our own house, we rent. So how are we going to ever own real estate? There is a way! What is are REIT Investments? A REIT or Real Estate Investment Trust is a company that owns, manages or bankrolls income-producing real estate. The rent generated from the properties is distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends. REIT is similar to a mutual fund and trade on the major market exchanges. It allows individual investors to pool their money and own real estate that they wouldn’t be able to afford on their own. When you own stock in a REIT, you own a small sliver of the apartment or office buildings they own just like when you own stock in a company you own a tiny piece of

Tax time is nearly upon us.  Past guest, contributing writing, and tax expert Johnny Horta joins us to explain the vagaries of the US tax system. Until we get a flat tax (which will never happen) taxes will continue to be a monumental pain in the ass.  So we brought on a guest to give us some expert advice. Show Notes Keegan Ales Mother’s Milk:  A dark, creamy milk stout. Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout:  A creamy, sweet stout. Horta Tax & Financial Services:  Contact Johnny for expert advice. W4 Calculator:  Plug in your numbers to see what your withholdings will be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen McDonough paid off $212,000 in four years.  She works now as a motivational speaker and has authored three books.  Meet The Iron Jen. Jen’s world changed when one of her children developed a chronic medical condition.  As the medical bills piled up, other bills fell behind. Jen found herself unable to afford $20 worth of groceries. That’s the low point that caused Jen and her husband to really tackle their debt and change their relationship with money.   Show Notes The Iron Jen:  Leveraging adversity to reach your potential.  You can also find Jen’s books here. Mint: The easy way to budget. Betterment: The smart way to invest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making and failing to fulfill the same old New Year’s resolutions?  LMM will teach you new ways to make sure this time they actually stick. Once the hangover subsides, we are all gung ho to really stick to our resolutions.  But by February (at the latest), we’re back in the same old habits.  Despair no more!  Meet the Impossible List! The impossible list is not so much a bucket list as an evolving, active guide for what you want to do with your life. You need to have goals, but you need to track them too.  And improve upon them.  So you ran a 5K, congrats!  Maybe now that evolves into doing a triathlon. Show Notes Wild Devil:  An India pale ale. Hitachino Nest Beer:  A fermented ale. The Power of Habit:  How to harness the power of habits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting a new thing is exciting.  But some of us quickly lose our initial enthusiasm.  We’ll discuss how to see things through to the end. What does make you stick with something?  Sometimes it’s the time and money you invested in it.  Sometimes it’s because there are already so many tombstones in your idea graveyard and you can’t stand the thought of adding another.    Show Notes Garun Icelandic Stout:  Intensely rich with notes of chocolate and licorice. I Don’t Feel Like It: Thomas’s video about getting over that mindset. Betterment: The easy way to invest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your morning routine can make or break your day. It can set you up for a good mood and good productivity or send you screaming back under the covers.  Not all of us are morning people.  But you don’t have to be one in order to organize a routine that will set you up for a productive day.  Thomas is a freak who starts his day at 5:50 and finishes thirteen habits practically before the sun comes up.  He wasn’t born that way which means any of us could do the same.  It’s a routine that has evolved over time.  How does Thomas get up so early?  He has monetized sleeping in.  If he doesn’t get up, he stands to lose $30.  Not worth it.  These don’t all have to be monumental habits.  It can be something as simple as taking your vitamins every morning.  Or just getting up fifteen minutes earlier so you can relax into your day rather than rushing around all flustered.  They don’t have to number into the teens either.  Start small.  Wake up early and drink a cup of warm water with the juice of half a lemon in it.  Lemon

Listen, Money Matters is back!  We have a new host, former guest Thomas Frank of College Info Geek.  We’re excited to kick of Season Two. We missed you!  There have been some changes to LMM since our last episode but we are more committed than ever to being your one stop, go to resource for all things finance.  If you’ve been a listener to the show for awhile, you’ll remember Thomas Frank from episodes about money mindfulness, how to choose the best cell phone plan, and our round table discussion dedicated to saving money on college. Thomas is a recent college graduate and has run the site College Info Geek, a blog, podcast, and youtube channel that teaches you to get the most out of college life.  Thomas has run the site for a little more than four years.  For the past two, it has been his full time job and he makes a good living from it. Thomas is just 23 years old and will bring a bit of a younger perspective to our show.  He is also ruthlessly efficient with his time and crazy productive which is someth

Insurance can be confusing so we interview two experts, Todd Berkley and John Young to help us navigate Obamacare and  HSA’s. The affordable care act is a good thing for a lot of previously uninsured Americans but knowing which plan to choose can be tricky. HSA’s can be a great place to park tax free money but can also be confusing.  We get some expert help from our two guests. If you meet the income requirements to receive a subsidy, you must purchase your insurance through Healthcare.gov. If you are not eligible for a subsidy, you are free to purchase insurance on the open market. A web based entity can help if you are wading into the open market.  Todd and John highly recommend plans with an HSA. We discussed HSA’s in depth with Todd and John in Episode 171. They are a great tax shelter. Right now, the penalties for not having health insurance range from $95 to 1% of your income.  The penalties are levied against your tax return.  Next year the penalties are going to go up substantially. There are so