Mon, 24 November 2014
![]() In our current culture, it's easy to become discouraged and feel as though the American Dream is out of reach for the common person. Is it easier to achieve now than in the past? Is it harder? Let's leave that debate for another day. Frankly, it doesn't much matter in your individual situation. What does matter is whether it's possible to improve your circumstances and to pursue your version of happiness. My guests today are proof that the American Dream is alive and well for some people. In many ways, Mark and Lauren Greutman embody an oft-repeated scenario. Married young, four small kids, strongly middle class circumstances, mild to moderate overspending and being stuck in circumstances that felt beyond their control. And yet, a few years after their wakeup experience, they're in a very different place. Mark recently left his job in the corporate world and he and Lauren now work together in the family business. Many of the tools we talk about each day in the show were instrumental in their journey and you'll hear how they are all interwoven. Enjoy! Joshua Links:
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Thu, 20 November 2014
![]() Today, we take a look at one of the most misunderstood and underutilized accounts in your tax-planning aresenal. The Coverdell Education Savings Account can be incredibly useful as a tool for you to pay for:
Perhaps more importantly, there are very few things you can't use as an investment in the account. You can choose to invest in:
But what about the income limitations? Meaningless. You can circumvent them so easily they're utterly meaningless. This account is constantly criticized as being useless. Check out my discussion of the details and see if it deserves the criticism. Enjoy! Joshua Links: |
Wed, 19 November 2014
![]() My guest today is David Downie, an attorney from Australia. David found himself stuck in the middle of his career, frustrated at life and simply decided to quit without much of a backup plan. Many adventures have ensued! Since that time, David has:
The interview is thought-provoking in every way! Enjoy! Joshua Links:
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Tue, 18 November 2014
![]() What can you do if you're feeling a bit stuck financially? Basically stuck in the rat race? Expenses about equal to income and some debt hanging on? Well, one strategy you could pursue would be to dramatically reduce your expenses by getting rid of your stuff, downsizing into a "tiny house," and getting rid of your cars. Today's guest did that! And it ultimately led to her being able to build a lifestyle of financial freedom through entrepreneurship. Tammy Strobel has a Bachelors of Arts in Economics, a Masters degree in Public Administration, and a Masters of Arts in Education. Before starting her micro-business in January of 2010, she worked in the investment management industry and in the social service sector as a peer counselor. As an entrepreneur, she sustains herself through writing, photography, and teaching. Over the last two years, hundreds of students have taken her e-courses to explore photography, writing, and what it means to make time and space for what matters. Enjoy the show! Joshua Links:
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Mon, 17 November 2014
I've done a number of interviews on the show with early retirees and early retiree hopefuls. One common theme is that many of them are using traditional retirement accounts but are planning to retire before 59.5. How is that possible without paying a bunch of penalty tax? Today, I share with you the answer to that question.
Enjoy the show! Joshua Links:
Direct download: RPF0104-Get_Money_Out_of_Retirement_Accounts.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 4:11pm MDT |
Fri, 14 November 2014
![]() It's Friday! Today, I have a Question and Answer show for you and I've decided to handle a bunch of your questions. I felt like I cheated you last week by only answering 3 questions.
Enjoy! Joshua Links: |
Thu, 13 November 2014
![]() There's a lot of interest in our current-day world with the ideas of survivalism and prepping. One visit to your local bookstore's magazine rack will illustrate this to you. Economic recessions and depressions, market instability, political gyrations...all of these things contribute to a general sense of unease for many people. What could we learn about financial planning if we applied the mindset of a survivalist to our current reality? I'm thrilled to bring you an interview today with James Wesley, Rawles. James literally wrote the book on how to survive the end of the world as we know it, among others. Jim has authored 6 books on the topics of modern survivalism:
Jim's blog, SurvivalBlog.com has had almost 70,000,000 unique visits since July of 2005 and is one of the most comprehensive compendiums of survival information online. The interview covers:
Enjoy! Joshua Links: |
Wed, 12 November 2014
Planning for a child's college expenses is a major financial goal for many parents. Unfortunately, this is an area filled with conflicting advice. Some people feel that saving for college is a financial goal of utmost importance; others feel it's not worth the money. Many that desire to save for the goal get constantly conflicting advice on whether to do a pre-paid tuition plan, 529 college savings plan, EE education bonds, cash value life insurance policy, or any of a couple other dozen exotic ways to plan for this expense. Today, we continue our college series by teaching how to do a calculation of the need. I teach you how to use a simple financial calculator and paper and pen and come up with a precise dollar amount to save for. Enjoy! Joshua Links:
How to manually do the math for the college need on a financial calculator: Step 1: Calculate the cost of the first year of college with a simple future value (FV) calculation. PV = -$20,550 (cost of college today) Step 2: Calculate how much money you need to have available when your child is in their first year of college. PMT = $-55,336.48 (cost of college each year) Step 3: Calculate how much the parents need to save in either a lump sum (PV) or yearly amount (PMT) or monthly amount (PMT-convert i and n to monthly amounts). LUMP SUM VERSION YEARLY SAVINGS VERSION
Direct download: RPF0101-Calculate_How_Much_For_College.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 10:39am MDT |
Tue, 11 November 2014
Today, we celebrate our 100th episode! I'm thrilled to hit this milestone! In today's show I share with you a bit about the genesis of the show, the path we've been on so far, and why I have done it the way I have. Additionally, I share with you my vision for the future of the show. Specifically, today I'm launching The Irregulars, my new membership support program. Please listen to the show and understand why I've chosen a listener-support approach to earning money from the show instead of accepting advertisers, affiliate programs, etc. It will make a huge difference in the show. Enjoy! Joshua Links:
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Mon, 10 November 2014
Today, we continue our education series with a discussion of my ideas and vision for primary and secondary school education. One large problem in the world of financial planning is that often parents wait too long to consider college planning. I propose that we instead consider college planning at birth and build flexible, comprehensive plans. This show is purely about some of my ideas for my son's education. I hope you'll consider them and create your own list. Enjoy! Joshua Links:
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Fri, 7 November 2014
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It’s Friday! Time for another Q&A show! I was able to answer a total of three questions: I basically doubled my income from $100,000 to $190,000. I’m spending $30,000 per year. How do I invest all the extra money? My parents want to retire but they only have $150,000 of home equity and Social Security. What […]
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Thu, 6 November 2014
Sometimes it’s easy to think that financial independence is accessible only to “extreme” people. That’s simply not the case. You don’t have to live in a tent in the woods in order to gain financial independence. Certainly, you might be able to do it faster by living in a tent, but if you don’t want […]
Direct download: RPF0097-Eat_Financial_Elephant_Interview.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 8:00am MDT |
Wed, 5 November 2014
Many of you have asked me to do a show on dividends and dividend investing. I decided to do it with an interview format instead of on my own. Today, we talk with Jason from DividendMantra.com about his path to financial independence. Jason woke up financially at the age of 27 to realize that he was […]
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Tue, 4 November 2014
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Today, we continue the Early Retirement FAQs series with Arebelspy, one of the lead moderators in the Mr. Money Mustache forums. We tackle the question of “Should I pay off debt first or invest first?” from every angle we can think of. This show is packed with ideas and perspectives, many of which I’ll bet […]
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Mon, 3 November 2014
Babies are expensive! Right? Well, Mrs. RPF and I haven’t found it to be so. Today, I’d like to introduce you to my wife and we’ll share with you some of the strategies we’ve found useful in raising our son. General themes: Kids will cost you exactly as much money as you have. Or as much as […]
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