Radical Personal Finance

On Episode 133 of the show, I had a listener ask me for my opinion regarding the concept of "mortgage acceleration." Basically, it's the idea of taking out a HELOC on your house instead of (or in addition to) a traditionally amortizing mortgage, putting all your income against the HELOC and then paying your bills out of the HELOC. The key idea with this strategy is that the average daily balance o...

Have you ever wanted to invest through an IRA or 401(k) for the purpose of early retirement but found yourself stymied by the thought of paying a 10% penalty tax to gain access to your money? Well, on today's show I've got good news! If you invest through an IRA or 401(k) but later take the INCOME from the account to pay for an early retirement, you may still come out ahead of the taxable account,...

What would you do if you left your big-shot corporate gig to pursue an entrepreneurial venture which then fell apart? And then you ran for public office? And lost. And then wound up living in your in-law's garage completely flat broke. Would you then go back, admit defeat, and rejoin the corporate grind? Or, would you continue pursuing your dream lifestyle in a systematic way? My guest today went...

Today, I respond in detail to this question from a listener: Hi Joshua, I have been really into personal finance for about 5 years now and am considering becoming a financial advisor, specifically with a large company like you used to work for. I am currently a 31 year old physician making around $150,000. I have spent a long time preparing for my career, but I am always drawn to becoming a financ...

On Fridays, I do a Q&A call-in show which is open to Patrons of the show. Today we cover: Can US Americans Be Transformed Back Into Savers Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early Should I Rent Out My Backyard as a Lot for a Tiny House The Prospect of Creating Radical Personal Finance in Spanish If you'd like to participate in a Q&A call like this, please become a Patron of the show here: www.radicalper...

I've been wanting to bring lots more "brick-and-mortar-type" entrepreneurs and success stories on the show. There are tons of incredible people out there that we can learn from. But, I've learned that it's actually tough for me to get them on the show! Generally, people with money who have nothing to sell don't seem to want to talk publicly about what they've learned. But, even though it's tough,...

I've featured several doom-and-gloom guests on recent shows. I like to give people an opportunity to make their case to me as convincingly as possible and I always enjoy challenging myself with catastrophic predictions. But I struggle with a lot of the advice from those who predict global chaos in short order. Frankly, much of it is impractical. So, in today's show I tackle the subject the way tha...

I like to share as much "behind the curtains of the financial advice industry" stuff as possible. But I like to do it from a diverse perspective. If you like seeing how good financial planning can dramatically impact a real-life scenario, this is a show for you. My guest is Patrick Renn, a 35-year veteran of the financial planning industry. Patrick runs a wealth management firm in Atlanta, GA and...

On Fridays I do a Q&A show for Patrons of the show. www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron   Today, we cover these topics: Thoughts on Giving Unsolicited Advice Average Rate of Return vs. Real Rate of Return Group Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance Decisions and More! Enjoy the show! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon! www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron  

I recently had the opportunity to interview Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad , which is the top selling personal finance book of all time. The concepts of Rich Dad, Poor Dad are well known in the personal finance circles.  Rather than trying to get Robert to outline the content of his 20 books, I sought to unwrap a little bit of the man behind the story. You can judge how I did! E...

In January 2013, I bought a house, proceeded through the whole process really carefully and thought I'd made some pretty good decisions.  But a couple months after closing, I found out that I'd missed an awesome tax credit and kissed $2,000 a year goodbye. How frustrating! I hate missing out on free money, especially when I can get it out of the coffers of the US Government! So, I want to help you...

On Fridays, we do a Q&A phone conference here at Radical Personal Finance. Today's call was unusual in that we only had one caller, so we spent a lengthy amount of time discussing one particular issue. Today's caller was responding to a previous podcast about how my wife and I handle our finances, specifically with regard to my role as a husband and her role as a wife. We had an excellent conversa...

Will you pay less taxes when investing in a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA? Do you know? Are you sure? If you're not sure, the answer may surprise you. Let me know if you're surprised! Joshua Support Radical Personal Finance: www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron  

Hey Radicals! If you have emailed me (especially through the contact form on my website) and I haven't personally responded, please assume that I simply never received your message. I'd love to hear from you, so please write again! From July of 2015 until February of 2016 the contact form had a technical glitch that prevented emails from coming through. That means that I missed hundreds of your co...

Today on the show we answer this question: "Hey Joshua, "I'm a fairly new listener and have been going through some of your older podcasts to absorb as much info as possible. I think you could potentially provide some good advice that I'd love to hear answered in an upcoming podcast if possible... "Since discovering your podcast I've completely changed my thoughts on savings and consumption. I've...

I'm up here in Nashville, TN at the moment and had the opportunity to connect with Dan Miller from 48 Days to the Work You Love . Dan is a legend in the career advice business. He has helped many, many people transition from work that paid the bills to work that they love. Dan has a lifetime's experience as an entrepreneur and in today's interview he shares his advice with us on: Should everyone b...

When I began podcasting, I was looking for information and advice. Although I found some good, there was a real paucity of advice from people who had done something like I wanted to do.  I've been satisfied with a lot of the progress that I've made with Radical Personal Finance, and I want to give back to the podcast and community.  So, in today's show we do not discuss personal finance or money a...

I've long admired Jack Spirko and his show "The Survival Podcast" as a voice of reason in an industry fueled by hyperbole and fear. He does a great job of teaching people how to systematically build a lifestyle of resilience and freedom. And, most important, he teaches that everything you do to build a prepared life should make your  life better if times get tough...or even if they don't. Enjoy th...

On Fridays I do Q&A. If you'd like to participate in a show like this, please become a Patron of the show and you will gain access to the information to call in for these shows. www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron   Today we cover: How to Practice Stealth Wealth How to Locate Assets in a Tax Efficient Manner Refinancing a HELOC to an Amortizing Loan How My Wife and I Handle Day-to-Day Money Enjo...

 I will be in Nashville, TN next week for a conference. If you're in the area, I would love to meet up with you. Please reach out to me on Twitter and let me know that you'd like to connect. www.twitter.com/joshuasheats

Can a hobby of writing about personal finance lead to becoming financially independent in a very short time? It did for Jim Wang, my guest on today's show. Jim founded the site Bargaineering as a part-time hobby. It quickly became a leading voice in the world of personal finance websites.  Ultimately, it led to Jim's becoming financially independent in a shockingly short amount of time. In today's...

My guest today is Ann Barnhardt. I first became aware of Ann in late 2011 after she published a letter detailing the closure of her firm, Barnhardt Capital Management. At the time, this letter troubled me. Many people make strong statements and publish strongly worded essays. But when someone follows through on their word to the point of closing a functioning firm, I pay attention. I never could q...

Over the weekend, I was reading the book "unWorking: Exit the Rat Race, Live Like a Millionaire, And Be Happy Now" by Clark Vandeventer  while sitting in a tire repair shop, waiting for my tire to be patched. When I came to this page , I stopped. And then I had an epiphany. When you're very, very clear on what you want, it's simple and easy to decide what to do. But when you don't know what you wa...

Friday Q&A show today! Is an umbrella liability insurance policy a good idea? Should I buy life insurance for my stay-at-home wife at my job? How do I finance real estate? What type of entity should I choose for real estate investment? Enjoy! Joshua www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/ynab www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I'm delighted to have David Hancock on today's show. David is the founder and CEO of Morgan James Publishing. David has a fascinating business history and you'll benefit greatly from hearing his story. He's also an expert at personal branding and marketing. Most importantly, he's figured out how to make an excellent living on his own terms while doing work he loves! Enjoy! Joshua www.morgan-james-...