Radical Personal Finance

I like the change of the calendar year. It's a convenient time to sit down and take an inventory of where things are and assess the plans for where things are going. 2014 was an awesome year. It was certainly one of the more challenging times of my life and was filled with change of all types. But it was awesome. 2015 will be transformative. This year, I'll be heavily focused on stepping up my gam...

As we begin a new year, I think it's fitting to start with a discussion of financial independence! My desire for all of you is that you may experience financial independence as you define it and that you may establish a workable plan this year toward its achievement. Tim Stobbs  is right in the middle of his financial independence plan. After stumbling across the idea of early retirement/financial...

My guest today is Paul Merriman . I was introduced to Paul by a couple of listeners who requested I bring him on the show. I'm glad they did! Paul is an experienced financial advisor. But, he did that as a retirement hobby rather than as a wealth-building strategy. To build his wealth, Paul took over, built, and then sold a manufacturing company. After retiring in 1982, he proceeded to build Merri...

Today, I bring you an interview with a dynamo: Eva  from TeensGotCents.com . I met Eva in New Orleans at the FinCon conference. She was attending with her mother and I was incredibly impressed with her. Eva writes about about personal finance for a teen audience. She began at the age of 15 and she shares her own journey and also gives advice for other young people. In the interview, we weave two t...

Personal finance touches every aspect of life by definition. Every aspect of our life involves finance in some way. As we make the decisions of life, we're constantly faced with cost and opportunity cost: Is it wise of me to allocate this $100 to a memorable evening's entertainment with my family or to set it aside toward a larger vacation fund? Should I use some extra money to upgrade the look an...

My guest today is Dr. Vern Poythress . Dr. Poythress is a mathematician and a theologian. Most important for this discussion, he and his wife, Diane, are parents to two children, both boys. Dr. Poythress authored an article entitled " How I Helped My Boys to Become Christian Men ," in which he outlined his family's approach to establishing a formal rite of passage for his sons to become men at 12...

My guest today is Ben Falk . Ben is a really incredible permaculture designer with a comprehensive focus. Ben runs a planning firm called Whole Systems Design . Through this firm, he "identifies, designs, and develops human habitats - landscape and infrastructure systems - that yield perennial abundance and enduring value. These are adaptive, resilient and secure places in a future of peak oil, cl...

On Fridays, I answer your questions! I decided I didn't want to handle any of the in-depth, math-related questions today so I chose these three questions to handle. 1:41 - What can I do to prepare for being the executor of someone's estate? 16:49 - How can I reconcile the idea of being a specialist in my field with the advantages of being a generalist? 48:09 - What can I do to ensure a smoothe tra...

Today, we welcome Jim Rawles , Founder and Editor of SurvivalBlog.com  back on the show to discuss improving your lifestyle and personal resilience by moving. We talk about optimizing your lifestyle within the United States by carefully selecting your location as well as the pros and cons of international expatriation. Topics include: Ideas for playing  the "State Line Jumping Game"  (living in a...

Today on the show, I've got some last-minute tax planning ideas for you. These are all ideas and tactics that you can use in the last two weeks of 2014 to lower your income tax bill. I hope you don't defer your tax planning to the end of December. The end of the year is far too late to start talking about the really good stuff. Good tax planning should begin before January 1. But, these types of i...

Is education something that we buy or something that we work for? Ever thought about that? My guest today is Scott Young. I first heard of Scott when I watched his TEDx talk on  "How to Get an MIT education for $2,000." This interview is filled with tidbits that will be useful to you whether you're designing your own education or whether you're helping someone else with their educational plan. Enj...

I love real estate investing. I think it's one of the most accessible, realistic ways for people to grow their long-term wealth at an excellent rate of return. Today, I'm thrilled to bring you an interview with  John Schaub . John is widely renowned as one of the good guys. John has been investing in real estate for decades. He's also been teaching the subject for decades. He has a wealth of ideas...

Today, we have a really fun Q&A for you! I hope you enjoy! Here are the questions I answer: 2:25 If I have the cash, should I pay cash for a house or invest it? 17:13 Should I use my Coverdell ESA to speculate on early-stage biotech stocks? 28:05 Should a physician try to continue a private practice with a partial ownership interest or take a full-time hospital job? 40:38 How can I account for the...

Today, I have a really great interview on finance from a Canadian Perspective. But make sure to listen whether you're Canadian or not. My guest is Dan Bortolotti, founder of the Canadian Couch Potato  website. He has a really great story where he began as a personal finance writer and blogger and later moved into the space of being a professional financial advisor. We chat about: The value of a pa...

The new year is fast upon us. Even though we're in the midst of the busy holiday season, this is a convenient time to consider the success and failures of this year and look forward to plans for next year. Even though the articles you're now seeing in your feeds on "10 End-Of-The-Year Planning Ideas" can be useful, they just don't get it done because they're not focused on the core need. The funda...

Financial Planning is--and should be--fully integrated with every aspect of life. Often, there are non-financial ways of hitting financial goals that are more efficient than just simply "buying the solution." Helping your children develop their talent is one such area of focus. If you can launch a young man or woman with real, useful skills that have an economic value in the marketplace and which...

Doug Nordman is a really neat guy who has made an incredible contribution to the Early Retirement (ER) community. Known affectionately in various forums as "Nords,"  he contributes a rational, learned perspective on financial topics. He and his wife both retired from the US Navy. Doug was 41 and has somehow managed to stay retired for the last decade. ;) Join us today for a really neat discussion...

It's Friday! That means a Q&A show for you. Today, I answer all of these questions. Here are the questions and the time stamp for where each can be found in the episode. Enjoy! Joshua 10:00 - Brandon: How do I convey our financial information to my executor if my wife and I die? Should I have my testamantery trust managed by a professional trustee? 29:43 - Kyle: How do I save money on taxes as a y...

In today's world, it's easy to find reasons for pessimism. And yet, we truly live in a time of greater abundance and quality of life than ever before. Join me today as I share some reasons for being thankful and grateful to be alive today. It's a good time to be alive. Joshua Links: Ericsson Mobility Report for November 2014 How Fast is 5G?  

Today we have a really fun interview with  Steve Maxwell . Steve is the father of eight and his three oldest sons have all purchased their houses debt-free, in their 20s, and before marriage! His younger two sons have the same vision and are on track for a similar result. How cool is that?! Steve is an electrical engineer by training. He left his engineering job however and now spends his time wri...

Today, I have a really great show for you with Christopher DeLaney. Christopher and his wife have two little kids and they maintain a modern lifestyle without a car! Impressive! Christopher is gentle, unassuming, knowledgeable, and very helpful! Enjoy this interview! Joshua Links: Article about Christopher and his family on Bike Portland Interview with Christopher and his wife on the Sprocket Podc...

Well, it took a few days longer than I planned because of the fact that its 600 incredibly dense pages, but today I share with you my review and critique of Tony Robbins' new book. This was a very challenging project for me and frankly, it simply bogged me down in research. It's really a great book. Highly recommened. But, it also has some things I'm not imporessed with and some minor and major fl...

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 ha...

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: elementary school expenses secondary school expenses homeschool expenses (in some states) college expenses vocational school expenses and more! Perhaps more importantly, there are very few thi...

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: Written children's books Contributed to the book  1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die Travelled Written a book on Radical Immediate Retirement Th...