How to Money

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s 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: trad hobbies, getting fit on the cheap, gig economy update, Social Security reliance, accessible financial advisors, AI stock tips, binge shopping, top 2025 money goals, hating on Honey, and going after Zelle.

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We’re going all-in today on budgeting with our special guest Jesse Mecham! There are a number of folks listening who might recognize his name, but I’m guessing even more folks are familiar with the company he started back in 2003 while he was still in college: You Need A Budget, or YNAB as it’s commonly known. Millions of individuals have used YNAB to get on a budget which has allowed them to achieve their life-changing financial goals. Whether that’s simply paying off debt or the complicated endeavor of getting on the same page as their partner. Jesse has likely thought more about budgeting over the past 20 years than anyone else out there, so we’re excited to talk with him about all the things that he’s learned over the years. Listen as we discuss why you need a budget in the first place, Jesse’s 4 rules of budgeting, how often you should spend on your budget every month, his approach to credit cards and debt, plus much more!

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For a year that was dominated by headlines of destructive hurricanes, cyberattacks, and political uncertainty, we think it’s more important than ever to highlight some of the good things that happened – and no, we’re not talking about Joel’s Costco rebate check! Not only do we get to share our personal financial wins from 2024, but an incredible number of How To Money listeners have achieved major milestones with their money this year. Creating this episode always fires us up, and we hope it does the same for you! From hanging onto an old 4Runner to keep costs in check, to flying to Hawaii four times for free with a Southwest Companion Pass, and maxing out a 401k for the first time, all the way to hitting millionaire status and getting dentures to save! The stories we’ve heard are nothing short of inspiring and we hope today’s episode not only helps you celebrate these wins but sparks ideas and provides some motivation for some epic financial moves in 2025. Here’s to learning from each other, crushing goals, and making it happen together!

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Sitting on your butt is killing you! According to the Heart Foundation, folks who sit the most are 90% more susceptible to dying from cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. And while taking a load off and having a seat isn’t going to immediately harm you, the accumulation of years and decades of a more sedentary lifestyle could lead to an earlier death! And we feel similarly when it comes to consumer debt. Paying a little interest this month isn’t going to completely wreck your financial future, but it’s a real problem if it becomes a permanent fixture in your life. Not to mention the fact that credit card interest rates are rising and millions of Americans made their holiday purchases with money they don’t have. Listen as we discuss the straightforward steps to create a foolproof plan, where we land on the debt snowball vs debt avalanche approach, as well as some additional helpful tips that will allow you to ditch debt for good.

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We hope that you’re having a wonderful holiday season. And if you celebrate Christmas, or any holiday that involves the exchange of gifts- isn’t it so much fun giving presents and seeing the faces of your loved ones light up? And while that might be the case on Christmas morning, it’s a different story later in the day for many adults and kiddos alike. There’s frequently a post present letdown that many of us experience. Either there was something we wanted that we didn’t get, or the gifts that we did receive aren’t quite as awesome as expected. They don’t make us happy and we easily fall into the trap of pursuing happiness in all the wrong ways. Of course on the surface this is something that you already know, but while many of us would say that we agree with this sentiment, we actually end up living our lives in contradictory ways. In this episode we detail some of the different ways that we’re chasing after happiness, but then we discuss two different types of happiness and how we can make sure that we’re pursuing the kind that will last.

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