Money Plan SOS - Personal Finance for Everday Americans

#102: Many people can get by without ever doing a budget. Do you qualify as a person that doesn't have to go through this seemingly painful process? The Rich (Financially Independent) Thomas Stanley wrote a book called The Millionaire Next Door. He interviewed millionaires and high income earners. One of the observations he made was a [...] The post People who don't need to budget - MPSOS1...

#101: Have you ever considered where money came from? The basics of all things finance lays in the concept of a centralized currency with variable purchase power. The great news is that it's a very simple subject, but it has morphed into this horrible set of non-tangible products that are being marketed to you day after [...] The post Where money and debt came from - MPSOS 101 [podcast] appear...

#100!!! Timm Etters joins me in sharing listener's inspirational stories and quotes in the 100th episode of the MoneyPlan SOS podcast! I also share one of the inspirational people in my life, my best friend Timm. For more about Timm Etters go to the end of this post. Inspirational Quotes from listeners Tony Dungee: "It's about the journey, [...] The post EPISODE 100: Inspiration from l...

#99: UPDATE! Ready for Zero has retired, but the idea they put forth changed my mind about the Debt Avalanche. Ben from Ready For Zero (now owned by Avant) joins me in a conversation about the #1 reason a Debt Avalanche method could actually work better than the Debt Snowball. For more details, visit http://moneyplansos.com/sos099-getting-ready-for-zero-debt

#98: Erin Lantz from Zillow.com joins me to share ways to avoid lending pitfalls that can prevent you from buying a house. More information can be found at http://moneyplansos.com/sos098-zillow-com-avoid-these-pitfalls-when-buying-a-home

#97: How much does someone's past affect your relationship? Do you see someone's past failures as a problem or see them as exercises for personal growth? What if that failure was an addiction? Would you make the same decision Mandy did? Blogger, mother of three, and wife of an ambitious man Mandy Knight is a mom, [...] The post Which Fork Would You Take? Interview with Mandy Knight appeare...

#96: There is a direct correlation between Personal Finance and Physical Fitness. Currency and calories, consumerism and consumption - they all affect how rich and fit we will become. For more information, visit the show notes at http://moneyplansos.com/sos096-financial-wealth-and-physical-health-are-identical

#95: Purchases are more expensive when we use credit cards. A proposed change to Visa and MasterCard regulations may remove restrictions on vendors and businesses - allowing them to add a surcharge fee when customers pay with a credit card. This fee has always been there, we just never noticed it before. I also share steps you need to take to ensure you are a responsible Debit card user. For more...

#94: Today I break down the tax return Form-1040 into sections to help us better understand what we need - and why we need it. Income tax returns can be difficult. Breaking the 1040 down into sections helped me to understand it better. For full show notes, visit http://moneyplansos.com/sos094-understanding-the-1040-tax-form

#93: Congress averted the Fiscal Cliff. Or did they? Effective with the first payroll of 2013, there are a number of changes to paychecks for employees. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ("Relief Act") was passed by the United States Congress on January 1, 2013, and includes several changes ... For more information, visit http://moneyplansos.com/sos093-why-your-paycheck-is-smaller-a...

#92: Jon White shares a story of how someone gave really bad financial advice to a young couple. You can read his post here: http://jwfinancialcoaching.com/who-are-you-taking-your-advice-from/ He and I agree, there is a lot of advice out there that will lead you to make bad decisions with your money. Jon and I talk about How Financial Coaching is [...] For more, visit http://stevestewart.me/sos092...

#91: Financial Soldier, Jeff Rose, is starting another movement. He is leading the Debt Squad into a battle with debt and we are taking no prisoners. In this interview he shares how he came up with the idea, the goal, and what he expects will happen in the next 90 days. The Debt Movement [...] For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos091-get-out-of-debt-with-the-de...

#90: Putting money into a 401k is a smart tax-saving money move. The Government allows us to sock away up to $17,000 of our hard-earned pay and not pay income tax on it (up to $17,500 in 2013). The money in the account grows without making you pay taxes like a regular investment-type account would, you [...] Read more about how a 401(k) works at https://moneyplansos.com/sos090-how-saving-taxes-wit...

#89: Certified Financial Planner and IRS Enrolled Agent, Jim Blankenship, is the owner and author of FinancialDucksInARow.com, a blog that focuses on taxes, retirement planning, and Social Security. He saw the savings rates as being too low to enable Americans to retire when they wanted to or that they didn't have enough when they needed. Want to learn more? Visit https://moneyplansos.com/sos0...

#88: ONLY 38 MONTHS LEFT ON OUR MORTGAGE! What happens when I throw a little bit extra every month towards the principal? The scales tip towards our debt free date, that's what! UPDATE: We paid off our house in December 2015. For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos088-no-more-mortgage-counting-the-months/

#87: What is the best thing to do with a Christmas Bonus? It depends on your current financial situation. There are only three things you can do with money: Spend it, save it or give it - and we need to do a little of all three. In this episode, I use the example of a $10,000 bonus check. For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos087-smart-moves-for-a-christmas-bonu...

#86: Interview with a YNAB super-user You Need A Budget, an incredibly flexible and easy-to-use software application, started as an excel spreadsheet. Steve Mudie remembers those days as he started using it back in the early days of YNAB. After filing for bankruptcy, Steve Mudie discovered Dave Ramsey. He realized the importance of keeping to a [...] For more information, visit the show notes at h...

#85: Professional Organizer Diana Luetkemeyer joins us again to share tips on how to have a stress free holiday. How do we handle the added responsibilities during the holiday season? Write down your favorite 3 holiday tasks Write down least favorite 3 holiday tasks Delegate least favorite to others (hire someone or ask family to help) The post How To Have A Stress Free Holiday appeared first on M...

#84: Joe Saul-Sehy is a recovering Financial Planner. Currently, he is the co-host of the 2 Guys and Your Money podcast, COO & chief bottle washer at TheFreeFinancialAdvisor.com, and was the Channel 7 WXYZ-TV "Money Man" in a previous life. He joins us today to talk about Financial Advisors and Compliance. For more details, visit https://moneyplansos.com/sos084-advisors-compliance-and-...

#83: We don't give simply to save on taxes - that would be silly. At the center of our spirit is this reason to give: Just because we want to. For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos083-reasons-for-giving/

#82: Negotiation is a strategic communication process to get a deal done or solve a problem. Dave Hilton joins us to talk negotiation skills and how to deal with conflict. For more information, visit https://moneyplansos.com/sos082-understanding-negotiation-and-dealing-with-conflict

#81: Michael Bovee shares the "5 things debt settlement companies won't tell you" For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos081-things-debt-settlement-companies-wont-tell-you/

#80: Emily Chase Smith is a Debt Solutions Attorney that started by practicing bankruptcy law. Emily knows bankruptcy is not always the solution and she helps people determine what their best debt solution is. Find more information in our show notes at https://moneyplansos.com/sos080-debt-solutions-and-bankruptcy-with-emily-chase-smith/

#79: Pregnancy, layoff, or move to another state: These are all situations where you would press "PAUSE" when working Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. For details, visit http://moneyplansos.com/sos079-when-to-push-pause-on-your-total-money-makeover/

#78: Which works best: Paying extra on high interest debt or a the one with the lowest balance? Steve shares what science says about the Debt Snowball method and what you should know if you go the Debt Avalanche route. For many more details, go to https://moneyplansos.com/sos078-highest-interest-rate-or-lowest-balance/