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Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman

Named Best Personal Finance Podcast by Bankrate.com and Kiplinger — and the only podcast the Plutus Awards retired from competition after winning twice — The Stacking Benjamins Show is personal finance that doesn’t put you to sleep.

Hosts Joe Saul-Sehy (former 16-year financial advisor, ex-WXYZ-TV “Money Man”) and Josh “OG” Bannerman, CFP (Certified Financial Planner, Bannerman Wealth) sit around the card table in Joe’s mom’s half-finished basement in Texarkana and talk money with the smartest guests in personal finance, investing, and behavioral economics. As Fast Company wrote, the show “strikes a great balance of fun and functional.”

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: expert guests, real headlines, listener questions, and Doug’s trivia. Topics include investing, retirement planning, budgeting, real estate, behavioral finance, taxes, and financial independence — for anyone who wants to be smarter about money without being talked down to.

Subscribe to The 201 — the free newsletter that goes deeper than the show — at stackingbenjamins.com/201

The Stacking Benjamins Show

You wake up, check your portfolio, and realize one stock has quietly become your entire retirement plan. Maybe it came from an employee stock purchase plan. Maybe Grandma left you a pile of Apple shares. Maybe you bought NVIDIA in 2012 because you liked the graphics card and forgot about it. However you got here, the problem is the same: one company now owns you. Joe and OG walk through exactly how to unwind it -- slowly, tax-efficiently, and without making the emotional decisions that cost people the most money.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • The four ways people end up with concentrated stock -- and which one has the easiest fix that most people skip entirely
 • Why inheriting stock is actually the best time to diversify -- and the step-up in basis rule that eliminates most of the tax bill
 • The conveyor belt strategy for employee stock purchase plans that keeps you collecting the discount without piling up company risk
 • Why "I'll just grow around it" almost never works -- and the math behind why your stock tends to outpace your ability to diversify around it
 • The question Joe asked every client in this situation: which outcome would upset you least -- and why that's the right starting point
 • RSUs as a paycheck, not a loyalty pledge -- and the mental reframe that makes it easier to sell
 • What the Merck/Vioxx story teaches about why the tax bill is almost never the real reason to hold concentrated stock
 • When a slow systematic sell makes sense versus ripping the Band-Aid -- and how to decide which one you can actually live with
 • The estate planning mistake that turns a free inheritance into a massive capital gains bill -- and why the $1 trick backfires every time
 • The insurance planning framework OG and Anna walk through: life, disability, long-term care, and property/casualty -- including the umbrella policy most people skip

Why This Matters Now

If you've spent years building something -- through your career, through conviction, through an inheritance -- the last thing you want is to lose it all because one company had a bad quarter. The diversification conversation feels complicated, but the framework is simpler than most people think. The hard part isn't knowing what to do. It's making the decision when the stock is moving and your emotions are loud.

From the Basement

Joe and OG dig into concentrated stock risk -- how people get there, what it actually costs them, and the five strategies for getting out without making it worse. OG and Anna return for episode two of their financial basics series with a full insurance planning walkthrough -- including the disability insurance gap most people don't know they have. Doug arrives with Mount St. Helens trivia and a dryer situation that may or may not involve auto parts. Stacker Molly's car repair HSA story gets a full investigation and a satisfying resolution.

Resources Mentioned

 • Stacking Benjamins Basics Guide -- season one and season two workbooks free at stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide
 • Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201
 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- stackingbenjamins.com/vault
 • Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement
 • Yahoo Finance / CNBC insider trading tracker -- referenced for monitoring executive stock sales

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Too Much of One Stock? How to Diversify Without Blowing Up Your Tax Bill (SB1843)

What actually separates people who build lasting wealth from everyone else? Not the tips. Not the apps. The habits. Joe put the question to a panel of financial planners, coaches, and bloggers -- and turned it into a game. Seven habits, three rounds, two points up for grabs. Monica Scudieri, who paid off $257,000 in debt and reached financial independence in 10 years, joined OG and Jesse Cramer to find out how well the conventional wisdom matches what actually works.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • The seven millionaire habits Kiplinger identified -- and which ones the panel nailed, missed, and argued about
 • Why continuously educating yourself about money remains one of the highest-leverage habits at any income level
 • The networking truth wealthy people understand that most people don't -- and why "who not how" changes everything about how you approach your career and finances
 • Monica's story: how she turned a divorce, $257,000 in debt, and three rounds of unemployment into financial independence in a decade
 • Why living below your means isn't about deprivation -- it's about creating the margin that makes every other habit possible
 • The pay yourself first argument that actually holds up when your budget is genuinely tight
 • Why OG thinks waking up early is the worst advice in personal finance -- and what he thinks actually matters instead
 • The book recommendations that shaped each panelist's financial philosophy -- including a deep dive on why passive investing still wins
 • Why diversifying your income streams landed on the millionaire habits list -- and what that looks like in practice
 • The complete list of seven habits, revealed at the end -- including the two the panel never guessed

Why This Matters Now

Millionaire habits get discussed constantly and followed inconsistently. The gap isn't usually knowledge -- it's the unsexy reality that these habits have to run in the background for years before the results become visible. This roundtable is worth listening to not because the list is surprising, but because the people talking about it have actually lived it.

From the Basement

Joe, OG, Jesse Cramer, and Monica Scudieri from Grab Your Slice play two rounds of the millionaire habits game while the year-long trivia competition quietly shifts -- Monica guesses closest on a 1940 McDonald's complete meal price and earns Paula Pant's first point in a while. OG extends his lead. Jesse goes 0 for the day and seems fine about it. Doug intervenes on the trivia question to add a milkshake, which turns out to be decisive.

Resources Mentioned

 • Grab Your Slice of Financial Independence by Monica Scudieri -- available wherever books are sold
 • Monica Scudieri financial coaching -- schedule a free 30-minute call at 
grabyourslice.com • Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors -- Jesse Cramer's podcast, wherever you listen; upcoming two-part series on the 14 risks retirees face
 • Automatic Wealth by Michael Masterson -- recommended by Monica as her foundational book
 • A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel -- recommended by Jesse
 • The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and Essentialism by Greg McKeown -- recommended by OG
 • The Truth About Money by Ric Edelman -- recommended by Joe
 • Networking With the Affluent by Dr. Thomas Stanley -- referenced in discussion
 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement • Stacking Benjamins "Benjamins After Dark" Meetups -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/BAD

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Habits That Actually Make Millionaires (SB1842)

Thirty years ago Beth Kobliner wrote the book that a generation of financial planners handed to their clients' kids. The core advice still holds. But the world around it has changed dramatically -- frictionless spending, gambling apps disguised as investment platforms, and a housing market where the average first-time buyer is now 40. Beth comes back to the basement with an updated edition of Get a Financial Life and a clear-eyed take on what's harder now, what's easier, and what was always just common sense.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why the shift to invisible, frictionless money has made spending harder to track -- and the two-week experiment that fixes it without turning into a second job
 • The yours, mine, and ours account system for couples where one person saves and one person spends -- and why autonomy is the key to avoiding money resentment
 • Why putting a price tag on your goals changes your spending behavior more than any budget ever will
 • The biggest mistake first-time home buyers make right now -- and the math on why a 10% down payment often beats waiting for 20%
 • Used versus new car: the $20,000 gap that makes the decision simple -- and the negotiation script that puts you in control at the dealership
 • Student loan reality check for 2026 -- what's changing by July, where to run the numbers, and who qualifies for public service loan forgiveness now that it's actually working
 • Why paying off a 22% credit card is mathematically equivalent to earning 22% guaranteed -- and what that means for how you prioritize your money
 • The gambling platform statistic that should alarm every parent of a 20-something: 25% of Gen Z and millennials consider online gambling an investment
 • The annuity conversation most advisors won't have honestly -- what they're actually selling, what the fees really cover, and the two use cases where they might actually make sense
 • Why an annuity inside an IRA is, in OG's words, an abomination -- and the three questions to ask before signing anything

Why This Matters Now

Whether you're in your 40s and wishing you'd read this at 22, or you're handing it to someone who just graduated, the fundamentals Beth laid out three decades ago are still the fastest path to financial stability. What's changed is the noise around them -- and the sophistication of the products and platforms designed to get in the way.

From the Basement

Beth Kobliner joins Joe and OG to walk through the 30th anniversary edition of Get a Financial Life -- covering homes, cars, student loans, debt, and the new financial traps that didn't exist in 1996. The headline segment digs into a CNBC piece on why retirees are thinking about annuities wrong, which turns into one of the more honest annuity conversations the basement has had. Doug arrives with Spice Girls trivia that everyone over 35 finds embarrassingly easy. The meatloaf debate breaks out at the end and resolves nothing.

Resources Mentioned

 • Get a Financial Life by Beth Kobliner -- 30th anniversary edition available wherever books are sold
 • Beth Kobliner -- 
bethkobliner.com • studentaid.gov -- loan simulator and repayment plan options
 • Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book -- invoice price research before car negotiations; 
edmunds.com • , 
kbb.com • CARFAX -- used car history reports; 
carfax.com • Carvana, Autotrader, CarGurus -- used car shopping platforms
 • CNBC annuities article by Greg Iacurci -- linked at stackingbenjamins.com
 • JP Morgan Guide to the Markets -- referenced in discussion; search "JP Morgan Guide to the Markets"
 • Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/201 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- s
tackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/meetup • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Beth Kobliner on the Money Basics That Still Work 30 Years Later (and the New Traps Nobody Warned You About) SB1841

A new study just confirmed what most people in their 40s already feel but rarely say out loud: running out of money is scarier than death. Gen X is leading that number at 73% -- and the reasons why make a lot of sense when you look at what that generation is actually navigating. No pensions. Rising costs. Longer retirements. Markets that never seem to settle. Joe, OG, and Len Penzo dig into the data, the psychology, and the practical steps that actually move the needle.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why Gen X is more worried about retirement than either baby boomers or millennials -- and the pension gap that explains most of it
 • The Social Security stress test OG recommends for every retirement plan -- and why neither he nor Len think it's going away
 • Why checking your portfolio every time the market drops is one of the most expensive habits a long-term investor can have
 • The automation argument that cuts through the discipline myth -- and why your systems matter far more than your willpower
 • Why the debt normalization shift that happened sometime in the late 1970s is still costing people their retirement today
 • The three-layer retirement income framework OG and Anna walk through -- Social Security, pensions and annuities, and investment withdrawals -- and how to find your gap number
 • The 4% rule explained in plain math -- including the inflation adjustment most people skip and why it matters enormously
 • What sequence of return risk actually means in practice -- and the floor strategy that keeps you from panic-selling at exactly the wrong moment
 • Why running out of money in retirement is mostly a planning problem, not a math problem -- and what that distinction changes
 • The ongoing battle to name OG and Anna's financial basics segment -- and why "The Financial Dwarves with Happy and Grumpy" didn't make the cut

Why This Matters Now

If you're in your 40s and that 67% statistic landed somewhere uncomfortable, you're not behind -- you're paying attention. The gap between fear and a plan is smaller than most people think, and this episode maps it out in terms you can actually act on this week. The math is real, the tools exist, and the biggest obstacle for most people isn't knowledge. It's starting.

From the Basement

Joe, OG, and Len Penzo dig into a sobering Investment News study on retirement fears before OG and Anna kick off season two of their financial basics series with a full retirement income planning walkthrough -- complete with a guidebook you can download and follow along. Doug arrives with Festivus trivia that everyone over 40 finds insultingly easy. The segment naming debate continues with no resolution in sight, though The Study and The Financial Dwarves with Happy and Grumpy both made spirited cases.

Resources Mentioned

 • Len Penzo -- 
lenpenzo.com • ; book: True Money Stories on Amazon
 • JP Morgan Guide to the Markets -- search "JP Morgan Guide to the Markets" for monthly market data
SSA.gov • -- Social Security earnings history and benefit projections
 • Stacking Benjamins Basics Guide -- season one and season two workbooks free at 
stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement • FULL SHOW NOTES: 
https://stackingbenjamins.com/Why-Americans-Fear-Running-Out-of-Money-in-Retirement-More-Than-Dying-1840 • Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at 
https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why 67% of Americans Fear Running Out of Money More Than Dying (And What to Do About It) SB1840

Ever spend an entire afternoon trying to save 38 cents… while completely ignoring the $10 decision sitting right in front of you?

Yeah. We’ve all been there.

In today’s roundtable, we’re diving into the money habits that actually build wealth, and the ones that just make you feel productive while your financial progress spins its wheels. From lifestyle inflation to automated savings to the tiny “money hacks” people obsess over, this episode is all about separating the moves that matter from the stuff that just wastes your time.

And trust us… the conversation goes everywhere in the best possible way.

Joe teams up with Len Penzo and the mysterious Mrs. Adventure Rich for a fast-moving discussion about:

 • Why automating your savings beats relying on “discipline”
 • The sneaky danger of lifestyle inflation after every raise
 • Whether investing spare change is brilliant… or basically pointless
 • The financial habits that create real momentum
 • Why focusing on tiny wins can sometimes cost you bigger victories
 • The retirement risks most people completely overlook
 • Inflation’s hidden effect on your future lifestyle
 • Whether the 4% rule still holds up
 • How to stay motivated when your financial goals feel far away
 • Why you should start “living retirement” now instead of waiting decades

Of course, because this is the basement:

 • Doug shows up in yoga pants and Ugg boots
 • Len reveals his long-range financial “strategic plan”
 • Joe and Len turn into old men reminiscing about dime Slurpees
 • Somebody compares grocery shopping to psychological warfare
 • And there’s at least one discussion involving sandwiches that goes completely off the rails

What makes this conversation especially interesting? About halfway through, you’ll realize this discussion originally happened years ago… and somehow every single topic still feels ripped from today’s headlines. Different year. Same money traps. Same smart moves. Same need for a financial plan that actually works in real life.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re spending too much energy on the wrong financial goals—or you just want smarter ways to make progress without making yourself miserable—this episode belongs in your playlist today.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

40 Ways to Take Control of Your Money -- Which Ones Actually Work (SB1839)

Getting to your first $25,000 saved is harder than anything that comes after it. Not because the math is complicated -- because the habits aren't built yet, the fixed expenses are already set, and the standard advice about cutting small treats completely misses where the real leverage is. Scott Trench, VP of Operations at BiggerPockets and author of Set for Life, brings a roadmap that challenges almost everything you've heard about getting started -- and it begins with a decision most people aren't willing to make.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why the first $25,000 is the hardest milestone -- and why cutting lattes and happy hours won't get you there
 • The three budget categories that actually matter -- and why they account for two thirds of what most people spend
 • Why saving your next $1,000 is more valuable than earning your next $1,000 -- and the tax math that proves it
 • The house hacking strategy that can eliminate your largest monthly expense entirely -- even if you never want to be a full-time landlord
 • Why stocks are less risky than bonds for long-term investors -- and the age-based argument Scott makes that most people miss
 • The counterintuitive case for spending more on fun -- once you've handled the big fixed expenses first
 • Why developing a specialty may actually be riskier than being adaptable -- and what that means for your career strategy
 • The retirement account trap that catches early savers off guard -- and when maxing out isn't the right first move
 • How to actually vet a financial advisor before handing over your money -- and why the problem is often as much the client as the advisor
 • Why international stocks belong in your portfolio even when they've underperformed -- and the rebalancing math that changes the picture

Why This Matters Now

This conversation was originally recorded years ago, but it was pulled from the vault for a reason: saving that first $25,000 feels harder today than it did then. Costs are higher, decisions feel riskier, and it's easier than ever to feel stuck before you even get started. The core framework Scott lays out hasn't changed -- and if anything, it applies more directly now than when it was first recorded.

From the Basement

Scott Trench joins Joe and OG to walk through the early chapters of Set for Life -- the ones that challenge conventional saving wisdom before getting into the real estate strategy BiggerPockets is known for. The headline segment takes on a Bloomberg piece about bad financial advisors and a lawsuit against American Funds, and OG gets considerably more animated than usual about both. Doug arrives with muni bond trivia that turns out to be exactly as straightforward as it sounds -- which is either reassuring or anticlimactic depending on your expectations.

Resources Mentioned

 • Set for Life by Scott Trench -- 
biggerpockets.com/setforlife • The Truth About Money by Ric Edelman -- referenced by Joe as a foundational personal finance read
 • FINRA BrokerCheck -- f
inra.org/brokercheck • ; referenced for vetting financial advisors
 • Stacking Benjamins Scorecard -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- s
tackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to Save Your First $25,000 -- The Roadmap Most People Get Wrong (SB1838)

What if the reason your investment decisions feel so hard isn't the market -- it's how you're wired to think about outcomes? Annie Duke spent years as a professional poker player winning over $4 million in tournaments, then devoted the next chapter of her career to understanding why smart people consistently make bad decisions. The answer has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with how we confuse results with quality. She brings the full framework down to the basement today.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why certainty is the enemy of good decision making -- and the mindset shift that makes uncertainty feel like an advantage instead of a threat
 • The Pete Carroll problem: how tying the outcome of a decision to the quality of the decision is quietly wrecking how you evaluate your investments
 • Why being smarter actually makes this bias worse -- and how intelligent people spin data to confirm what they already believe more effectively than anyone else
 • The difference between wanting to be right and wanting to be accurate -- and why that single distinction changes everything about how you process new information
 • How to hold your beliefs as "works in progress" rather than positions to defend -- and why that opens you up to information that actually improves your decisions
 • Why the stock market's short-term volatility is almost never the signal investors treat it as -- and what a 40-year Berkshire Hathaway chart actually tells you
 • The poker table parallel to long-term investing -- and why you can make all the right moves and still lose, which means a bad outcome never proves a bad decision
 • What the Philly Special play reveals about how we reward boldness only when it works -- and what that tells you about how you judge your own financial choices
 • A listener question on market-cap weighted index funds -- why the s and p is built the way it is and what you'd actually need to do to weight it differently
 • The best personal finance and business books the crew is reading right now -- including picks from OG that go well beyond the usual recommendations

Why This Matters Now

For Stackers in their 40s watching a volatile market and second-guessing decisions that were perfectly sound six months ago, this episode is a direct intervention. The temptation to call a good decision bad because the market moved against you -- or to abandon a long-term strategy because of a short-term result -- is exactly the bias Annie Duke has spent her career studying. The framework she brings today doesn't just apply to poker. It applies to every financial decision you'll make for the rest of your life.

From the Basement

Annie Duke joins Joe and OG to walk through the decision-making framework behind her book Thinking in Bets -- including the Super Bowl story that reframes how most people evaluate every financial move they've ever made. The headline segment tackles parents spending six figures on kids' extracurriculars and what the trade-off actually looks like for retirement savings. Doug arrives with poker-themed trivia about the all-time tournament earnings leader, gets it mostly right, and declares victory anyway. Whether the basement poker tournament ended in anyone's favor is a matter of some dispute.

Resources Mentioned

 • Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke -- available wherever books are sold
 • Annie Duke's website and weekly newsletter -- annieduke.com
 • Annie Duke on Twitter -- @AnniedDuke
 • The Truth About Money by Ric Edelman -- recommended by Joe
 • Set for Life by Scott Trench -- recommended by Joe
 • Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry -- recommended by Joe
 • How to Be a Financial Grownup by Bobbi Rebell -- recommended by Joe
 • The Behavior Gap and The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards -- recommended by OG
 • Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn -- recommended by OG
 • Built to Sell by John Warrillow -- recommended by OG
 • The E-Myth by Michael Gerber -- recommended by Joe
 • The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt -- recommended by Joe
 • Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thinking in Bets: Annie Duke on Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts - Greatest Hits! (SB1837)

You've seen the ads. Invest like the ultra-wealthy. Get access to what the 1% does. But what does the 1% actually do -- and how much of it should a normal person try to copy? Joe, OG, comedian and finance educator Roxanne Duckels, and Jesse Cramer run every popular "rich people investing" idea through a simple filter: steal it, scale it, or skip it. The answers will surprise you -- especially the one where OG wants to delete an entire asset class from existence.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why long-term thinking is the one habit the 1% has that every Stacker should steal immediately -- and the short-term execution piece most people miss when they try
 • The tax strategy obsession that the wealthy genuinely use -- and why Jesse ranks it seventh on his list of financial priorities, not first
 • What paying for advice actually means when you're smart enough to do it yourself -- and why the wealthiest people surround themselves with even smarter people anyway
 • The alternative investment marketing trap hiding inside every "invest like the rich" pitch -- and OG's case for why most people have no business touching any of it
 • Why the accredited investor designation protects almost no one -- and what the real risk is when you lock up money in illiquid investments chasing slightly better returns
 • The leverage conversation that exposes a contradiction hiding in plain sight for every real estate investor
 • Why Roxanne's path to financial independence started with filling her gas tank all the way up -- and what that tells you about long-term thinking at any income level
 • The one question that should precede any alternative investment conversation: does the expected return actually beat what publicly traded equities already offer?
 • What the trivia competition scoreboard looks like heading into the back half of the year -- and whether OG's historic lead is as safe as it looks
 • Why rich habits and "what the 1% does" are two completely different things -- and which one is actually worth chasing

Why This Matters Now

In a noisy market environment, the "invest like the wealthy" pitch gets louder every time volatility spikes. Private credit, non-traded REITs, leveraged real estate, alternative assets -- the marketing machine never stops. For Stackers in their 40s who've built something real and don't want to blow it chasing a category that mostly benefits the people selling it, this episode is a useful reset. The habits worth stealing from the 1% turn out to be remarkably unglamorous.

From the Basement

Joe, OG, Roxanne Duckels from Finance Rox, and Jesse Cramer run the "invest like the rich" playbook through a steal-it-scale-it-skip-it framework -- and nobody agrees on everything, which is exactly what makes it useful. Doug arrives with Mayday trivia about the origin of the distress call and the year it was coined, which turns into one of the cleaner trivia finishes of the season. Whether the basement scoreboard moved in OG's favor or Jesse closed the gap is a question best answered with your earbuds in.

Resources Mentioned

 • Finance Rox -- Roxanne Duckels on 
YouTube • and 
Instagram • @FinanceROX
Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors • -- Jesse Cramer's podcast, wherever you listen
 • Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- recent issue: brokerage vs. UTMA/UGMA vs. Trump accounts for kids; 
stackingbenjamins.com/201 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement • Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/bad

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Invest Like the 1%? What to Steal, What to Scale, and What to Skip (SB1836)

Haley Sacks didn't grow up knowing what a 401k was. She was nannying for a kid named Winthrop on the Upper East Side, doing comedy at night, and getting paid cash under the table. Then she sat in an HR meeting and her eyes glazed over -- and she decided that was the last time she'd be caught unprepared with her own money. Today she's Mrs. Dow Jones, with millions of followers and a new book. The basement finally got her in the chair, and she did not hold back.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • The "future rich person" framework -- what separates people quietly building wealth from everyone else performing it
 • Why the biggest wealth trap isn't overspending -- it's the psychological pull of looking rich before you are
 • How automation is the real secret behind Haley's path to millionaire status -- and why willpower alone was never going to get her there
 • The action movie analogy that finally makes the debt-versus-investing debate make sense -- and which one you tackle first
 • Why your fixed expenses might be the actual problem -- and the two levers you can pull when the math doesn't work
 • The "money date" habit that keeps Haley on track -- and how to make it something you'll actually do every month
 • What a mise en place approach to your finances looks like -- and the four accounts every future rich person needs in place before anything else
 • Why cutting spending has a floor but earning more doesn't -- and how to think creatively about your income ceiling
 • The mortgage volatility conversation hiding in this episode -- including OG's take on where rates actually belong historically and why "date the rate" might be the most useful three words in real estate right now
 • Why comparison is derailing more financial plans than bad investments ever could

Why This Matters Now

If you're in your 40s and you still feel like the millionaire milestone belongs to someone else's story -- someone who started earlier, earned more, or just had better instincts -- this episode is a direct challenge to that belief. Hailey Sacks didn't have better instincts. She had a glazed-over HR meeting and a determination not to be caught unprepared twice. The foundation she built after that moment is exactly what she walks through today.

From the Basement

Mrs. Dow Jones herself -- Haley Sacks -- finally makes it down the stairs and does not disappoint. Joe and OG close the episode with a Wall Street Journal headline on mortgage rate volatility and what it actually means for anyone trying to buy, move, or refinance right now. OG lands what may be the cleanest take of the season: when should you borrow money? When you need to borrow money. Doug arrives with Dow Jones trivia about the longest-tenured company in the index, which turns out to have been added in 1932 and is hiding in plain sight on every household shelf. Whether the basement scoreboard had anything to do with Procter & Gamble is a question best answered with your earbuds in.

Resources Mentioned

 • Future Rich Person by Haley Sacks (Mrs. Dow Jones) -- pre-order with $700 in bonuses at 
mrsdowjones.com/book • ; releases May 12th
 • Mrs. Dow Jones on Instagram and YouTube -- @MrsDowJones
 • Mrs. Dow Jones podcast -- Financial Therapy
 • Wall Street Journal mortgage volatility article by Veronica Dagher and Ben Eisen -- linked at stackingbenjamins.com
 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/bad • Stacking Benjamins Community -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/basement

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mrs. Dow Jones on How to Become a Future Rich Person (Without Giving Up Your Life) SB1835

Most investors spend their energy asking the wrong question. It's not which fund is best -- it's which combination of funds gets you to your actual goal at a cost and complexity level you'll actually maintain. Joe and OG break down the full index investing playbook: where to start, when to add complexity, what Wall Street calls indexing that really isn't, and the one number that should change how you think about your entire portfolio.

What You'll Walk Away With

 • Why the real argument for index investing isn't that nobody beats the market -- it's that you can't predict who will do it next
 • The crockpot principle of index investing -- and why the self-cleaning oven analogy might be even better
 • Why the S&P 500 and the total stock market index are closer than most people think -- and which one Joe is increasingly favoring for the long run
 • The $100,000 turning point: what changes about your investment strategy when the portfolio gets big enough to get scientific
 • The first two additions most Stackers should consider beyond their core index -- and why OG would actually add more than two
 • Why mixing index funds from different companies can quietly undermine your diversification without you ever knowing it
 • How to replace the word "index" with "list" to instantly identify whether a product is actually doing what you think it is
 • The buffered ETFs, factor ETFs, and active ETFs that call themselves indexes -- and why most Stackers should walk right past them
 • Why you're not racing against the index -- you're on a road trip -- and what that shift in framing changes about every investing decision
 • The season one recap from OG and Anna's financial planning basics series -- plus the free workbook that ties all seven episodes together

Why This Matters Now

In your 40s, the portfolio is finally big enough to matter -- and that's exactly when the temptation to complicate things gets strongest. New products, new strategies, and new buzzwords show up constantly, each promising a smarter approach. The investors who come out ahead aren't the ones who found the best fund. They're the ones who built something simple enough to maintain, scientific enough to optimize, and sturdy enough to hold through the moments when everything feels like it's falling apart.

From the Basement

Joe and OG dig into the full index investing playbook -- from the first fund a beginner should buy to the asset class combinations that actually improve long-term outcomes once the portfolio gets big enough to warrant it. OG and Anna close out their seven-week financial planning basics series with a full recap and the surprise release of a free downloadable workbook at stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide. Doug arrives with Nolan Ryan trivia that connects strikeout records to index investing in a way that only the basement could pull off. Whether the analogy fully lands is a question best answered with your earbuds in.

Resources Mentioned

The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins • -- referenced as the foundational text for beginner index investors
 • Prior interviews with JL Collins: 
Interview 1 • and 
Interview 2Paul Merriman's annual asset class research • -- referenced for data on adding small cap value and international to a core S&P portfolio; 
paulmerriman.comiShares • -- referenced as an example of a consistent index fund family worth staying within
JP Morgan Guide to the Markets • -- referenced in prior episode; available at jpmorgan.com
 • Stacking Benjamins Basics Guide -- free seven-episode workbook at 
stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide • Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- weekly investing hot takes from Kevin Bailey at 
stackingbenjamins.com/201 • Stacking Benjamins Vault -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/vault • Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- 
stackingbenjamins.com/bad

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Index Investing 101: Stop Picking Funds and Start Building the Mix That Actually Works (SB1834)

Ever fallen for an investment that seemed like a sure thing... until it wasn’t? You’re not alone. Today, we shine a light on some of the worst investment advice out there—and help you steer clear of it.

Joining Joe at the roundtable are:

 • 
Paula Pant • from 
Afford Anything • 

 • 
Jesse Cramer • from 
Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors • 

 • And 
Don McDonald • , financial pro and former astronaut (not really, but just go with it) from 
Talking Real Money • .

 • 
Infinite banking and other shiny traps • – What sounds like genius often comes with fine print you’ll wish you’d read.

 • 
Penny stocks and the illusion of easy money • – Spoiler: if it feels like a shortcut, it's probably a detour.

 • 
Equity-indexed annuities and their slick sales tactics • – When someone tells you there’s “no downside,” maybe run.

 • 
Gut feelings vs. data • – The panel weighs in on trusting instincts vs. trusting actual math.

 • 
Teachers and 403(b) plans • – A quick peek behind the curtain at one of the most overlooked problem areas in personal finance.

 • 
How not to invest • – A rundown of red flags and hard-won wisdom from people who’ve seen the worst up close.

Meanwhile, Doug brings the trivia thunder with a question about sitcom salaries—and things quickly go from Big Bang to big bucks.

Whether you’ve made a misstep or are just trying to avoid one, this episode will help you tune out the noise, spot the nonsense, and build a smarter, more resilient investment plan.

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/our-least-favorite-investments-1662

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!

 

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Better Investing Using Horrible Investment Products (SB1662)

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